10 Things to Know Before Volunteering
What you need to Know Before Volunteering
I have recently learned the hard way that even when volunteering you need to do your research. My family has been volunteering and fostering with a local animal rescue since the beginning of the year. All the pictures of the cute puppies who needed help made my brain go to mush and I didn’t look much further than the animals that needed help. Questioning and finding out how things worked and talking with previous volunteers never came to my mind until I was burned last week after an unfortunate incident. I decided to sit down and come up with a list of questions, I wish I had asked when we started working with this group. These will now be an important part of which organization I volunteer with and hope others can avoid being burned themselves by finding out the answers to these 10 questions.
10 Things to know before Volunteering
- Is the organization or group an established 501(c)( 3).
- How long as the organization been around.
- How many volunteers?
- Organization/Management of Volunteers
- Will training be provided?
- What is required of you when volunteering.
- Do they have references from current and previous volunteers you can speak to.
- How long of a commitment is required?
- Can families volunteer together?
- What is the organizations mission?
If you are volunteering for an animal rescue, these are some additional questions to ask.
- How many animals are currently seeking homes?
- How many adoptions are done weekly/monthly?
- What is the foster and adoption policies?
- If your foster animal does not work out in your home, what is the process for re-homing?
- What is the return rate on animals?
- What type of disclosure is provided on previous incidents (bites, attacks,etc.)?
- What is provided from the rescue?
- What is expected of you/What do you have to provide?
Check out all the reasons I became a Furry Foster Parent!
Volunteering can be a very rewarding experience as long as you are equipped with knowledge ahead of time. So get ready to make a difference and change your feelings towards helping out. Just make sure that you have asked these 10 questions so you have the answers you need to know before volunteering.
Topic: know before volunteering
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