PCHS Volunteer Home

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Volunteer Training Sessions Resume July 2021

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The first step to becoming a PCHS volunteer is to attend a general orientation session:

• See the General Orientation link on this page to sign up to attend our general orientation.

• The orientation will give you a general overview of what PCHS is all about as a humane society, what volunteer opportunities are available, age guidelines, where the animals in our care come from, adoption policies, and training required.

• Minimum age for volunteering at PCHS is 12 years old. All volunteers 12 through 17 must be accompanied at the orientation session by a parent or legal guardian. Volunteers aged 16 and 17 may train and volunteer without a parent present, but the parent still must attend the orientation session with the volunteer. Volunteers aged 12 through 15 must be accompanied at all times by a parent or guardian while volunteering.

• The classes are added as the trainers become available (and they are not added on any particular schedule), so please check back if all classes listed above are full (we do not maintain waiting lists, send notification emails or reply to emails asking when more classes are/will be scheduled). More will be scheduled soon, so please just keep checking.

• Weather Policy: If the Rochester Public Schools or other major Rochester events are cancelled due to weather then the volunteer orientation will also be cancelled. In the event that this happens you will need to sign up for a future orientation session. There will not be any "make up" sessions.

• If you have questions about the orientation or volunteering in general, please email us at info@pawsandclaws.org .

PCHS is a volunteer-run, nonprofit organization. Volunteers are a vital and valued part of the PCHS organization. There are many areas we can use help even if you would rather not work directly with the animals. Fundraising is always vital, as well as groundskeeping are some other areas where help is appreciated at the shelter.

Because we do not have staff/volunteers to monitor and set up special projects and tasks, we are not able to accommodate students or other groups looking for service projects.

Volunteering with the animals: We always have plenty of opportunities for dedicated, committed volunteers at our shelter. We invite all new volunteers to become PCHS members (PCHS receives no goverment funds and is supported almost entirely through individual donations). 100% of your donated membership fee is used to provide care for the animals in our shelter. By joining the over 900 other PCHS members, you can show our community how important it is to support the activities at PCHS. We also require a commitment of at least 3 hours per month of hands-on time with the animals. Persons agreeing to these criteria will participate in a 1-hour, hands-on training class if volunteering with the cats, or a 2-hour, hands-on training class if volunteering with the dogs. We realize not everyone is able to commit to these criteria, but there are many other areas within PCHS which could benefit from your help, so please feel free to ask where you might lend a hand.