General Volunteer Application

Volunteers must be 18 years of age. Please look over the form and be sure you have checked all areas in which you have an interest. The Capital Area Animal Welfare Society is a nonprofit, all-volunteer humane organization serving the Baton Rouge community since 1979. Without volunteers, CAAWS animals would not have a second chance at life. It is very important that you volunteer in the areas of most interest to you. Please take your time to carefully review the brief descriptions of our programs. Check the ones that you feel will give you the best opportunity to contribute to CAAWS and will make your life fuller and richer.

Volunteers will receive instructions and training before participating in all of our programs. The Volunteer Coordinator will contact you for orientation and assignment as soon as possible. Please be patient with this process, as the volunteer coordinator is also a volunteer who works full-time. CAAWS receives numerous applications and contacting every applicant can occasionally take weeks. We do need your help!

Your Name*

Birth Date*

MonthDayYear

Address*

Street Address

Street Address Line 2

CityState / Province

Postal / Zip CodeCountry

Email Address*

Phone (home)*

Phone (cell)

Phone (work)

Most of the positions at CAAWS require a weekly commitment. If you do not have time for a weekly commitment, we can put you on a contact list to help with special events, such as the CAAWS Mystic Krewe of Mutts Mardi Gras Dog Parade or other fund-raisers.

I am interested in helping on a weekly basis on the following days (please indicate AM and/or PM)

monday*

tues*

wed*

thurs*

fri*

sat*

sun*

How did you hear about CAAWS?

Are you volunteering to fulfill community service hours?*

YesNo

Is this community service:

Ordered by a court of law, district attorney office, or law enforcement agencyFor school or other educational purposesFor a reason not listed

How many community service hours are you required to receive?

Are you interested in morning or evening?*

MorningEveningFlexible

Are you able to commit to attending weekly or only for special events?*

WeeklySpecial Events

Have you Volunteered anywhere before?*

YesNo

If so, where?

What kind of volunteer work did you do previously? What sort of duties did you have? How long did you volunteer there for?

Check up to 3 that you're most interested in*

-- Dog Room Shift -- *This is a weekly commitment please only check if you are able to commit weekly* The dog shift consists of cleaning up after the dogs, feeding, medicating if necessary and exercising them as much as time and volunteers will allow. We mainly house large dogs at the shelter and the rest are in foster homes. You would be doing the shift with one to three other volunteers. We require that you attend the same dog shift each week. The shift lasts for a minimum of 3 hours. After training, the morning shift may begin anywhere from 7am-8am. The evening shift may begin anywhere from 4pm-6pm.-- Dog Adoption Days—Volunteers are needed for a variety of activities during Pet Adoption Days on various adoption days (4-6 hours, Saturdays 11-3pm at CAAWS mostly). We ask that you commit to one adoption day a month. These activities include transporting animals, caring for the animals, greeting visitors to the Adoption Center, helping the adoption councilors, becoming a councilor (after advanced training.) This opportunity is acceptable for Community Service.-- Cat Room Shift -- *This is a weekly commitment please only check if you are able to commit weekly* A cat shift consists of sweeping, mopping, scooping liter, cleaning food/water bowls, wiping down the counters, giving medication when needed and generally loving on our babies. We house up to 12 cats at our shelter and they are just loose in the room. You would be assigned a shift once per week; you would be required to do the same shift each week. The shift takes only about an hour but you may stay longer if you want. It is a pretty easy shift if you love cats, and depending on if the kitties want attention that day, they can be real characters. After training, the morning shift may begin anywhere from 7am-10am. The evening shift may begin anywhere from 4pm-8pm.-- Dog/Puppy Foster Care—Open your home and heart and give needed attention to foster animals. Food, some supplies and medical expenses are paid by CAAWS. You supply love, attention and a safe temporary home. You will bring your foster animal to a specified number of Pet Adoption Days per month to give it the opportunity to find its permanent home. You will be under the supervision of and will receive support from the Dog or Cat Foster Coordinator.-- Cat/Kitten Foster Care - Open your home and heart and give needed attention to foster animals. Food, some supplies and medical expenses are paid by CAAWS. You supply love, attention and a safe temporary home. You will bring your foster animal to a specified number of Pet Adoption Days per month to give it the opportunity to find its permanent home. You will be under the supervision of and will receive support from the Dog or Cat Foster Coordinator.-- Public Events—CAAWS needs volunteers to go to local public events and let the community know what we do! As hard as we work, the volunteers know if more people knew the enormity of the homeless animals, the more they would help us. We need reliable, independent, and enthusiastic volunteers to go get the CAAWS word out. Events are sporadic throughout the year, and you would help the Public Events Coordinator in planning and attending the events.-- Humane Education -- Our Humane Education Volunteers and our CAAWS dogs teach responsible pet ownership, spay and neuter, and child safety to groups from Pre-school to adults. Our presentations usually last from 45 minutes to an hour. Larger groups may have multiple sessions that might take up to 3 hours. During the summer months, we give presentations at several libraries. We always need people to help assist with the props, handle the dogs, and/or if interested, you may even do a presentation. All teaching materials will be provided for you, and no training is necessary. This opportunity is usually done during the school day during the week. So availability during the weekdays is a must.-- Pet Touch Therapy (PTT) -- Visit local nursing homes or other care facilities twice monthly (on Saturdays) with your personal pet. Your pet should be gentle, friendly, clean, and current on vaccinations. You will be under the supervision of the Pet Therapy Coordinator. This opportunity is acceptable for Community Service.-- Administrative Help -- There are many ways in which we need help with things like organization, excel spreadsheets, tracking, information gathering, data entry, phone call returns, supply ordering, and etc. If you would like to help us but are unable to due to time constraints or physical disability there may be openings for you “behind the scenes”.

In what ways do you think you could help the most? Why do you want to volunteer with us?*

As a CAAWS volunteer, I agree to acquaint myself with CAAWS policies and to abide by them at all times. I am aware of any risks associated with this volunteer activity, and I agree that CAAWS will not be responsible for any injury or damage to my person or property while I am engaged in volunteer duties for

CAAWS. I understand that CAAWS may terminate my volunteer services at any time for any reason.

By entering the date and clicking on the Submit button you agree to these terms.

I agree to the terms as spelled out above.*

YesNo

CAAWS General Volunteer Application