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Volunteer Opportunities
Our volunteers are
our most valuable resource, and the combined knowledge and experience
of our staff is enormous. We will be pleased to share that knowledge,
to teach you about wildlife and its care, and about south Florida's
fascinating ecosystems. In return, we expect to integrate your skills,
your work, and your dedication into the furtherance of the objectives
of the Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital. If your personal goals include
animals and the environment, and if you can offer your skills in a
reliable and professional manner, we want your help! Together, we can
make south Florida a better place for both people and animals to live.
Help us to help them remain wild and free!
Animal
care | Rescue | Fund Raising | Office
Tasks | Maintenance/Construction
Overview
Although both paid and unpaid members of our staff consider themselves
to be "animal lovers", professionalism requires that sentiment
and personal preference be secondary to the betterment of south Florida's
rich natural environment. The animals in our care are not pets, nor
is it our intention to make them so, and they usually fail to appreciate
the efforts made on their behalf. Sometimes our best efforts are
less than successful, and animals must be humanely euthanized. The
only rewards lie in seeing an animal returned to the natural system
where it belongs. Some of the tasks our volunteers perform include:
ANIMAL
CARE
Cleaning and feeding
the wild animals in our care requires perhaps the largest part of
our time. Cages must be cleaned and animals must be fed and medicated
sometimes on an around-the-clock basis. This work is often tedious,
dirty and tiring. Still, it must be done 365 days a year, regardless
of any possible interference. Volunteers who perform these duties
are asked to choose a day (or days) of the week, and to be at the
Hospital each week on that day. Hours are from 9 AM until about 12
noon.
ANIMAL
RESCUE
Though most new
patients are brought to our hospital by the public, occasionally
the need arrises to pick up an injured animal. From the simplest
sparrow in a shoebox to a magnificent bald eagle on an island in
the Indian River, both the animal and the people involved must be
treated with the greatest respect and dignity. An ability to handle
both the animal and the persons involved is critical. Volunteer rescuers
must be available "on call" during days and hours chosen
by the volunteer.
FUND
RAISING
All activities
of TCWH are funded by private contribution, and raising these funds
is a necessary function. Solicitations are made of both individuals
and groups to acquire these funds. Toward this end, TCWH appears
at many fairs and festivals throughout south Florida to promote its
work. Volunteers are needed to set up and operate our display booths
where we can meet the general public.
OFFICE
TASKS
Telephone
work, filing and record keeping, preparation and mailing of correspondence
and advertising, all are as necessary to this organization as to
any other. There is little glamour to office work, but without it
the organization would cease to function.
CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE
Cages and grounds
require constant maintenance. Skills from simple labor for yard work
to finish carpentry are provided by volunteers.
General Summary
It is not expected that any one person will be competent (or even interested)
in all aspects of the total operation. Some of our volunteers perform
only very specific tasks; others are active in many ways. Please
bear in mind, though, that as a professional organization dedicated
to the betterment of our natural environment, some things are forbidden.
Volunteer staff may not:
- treat the wild
animals in our care as pets, nor allow or encourage others to do
so.
- take personal
possession of a wild animal for any reason, whether to interfere
with its treatment or its humane destruction, or to make personal
use of the animal.
- represent Treasure
Coast Wildlife Hospital in any way or for any purpose without the
express permission of the Director
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Download
a Volunteer
Overview Booklet as a PDF file and learn how you can become a member
of our team
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