Animal Care Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the Wildlife Sanctuary of NWFL. Our volunteers are a valuable asset to our organization and we encourage you to become a part of our team.
Some things you should know:
1. All animal care volunteers must be 18 years old or older and we cannot allow our volunteers to bring their minor children with them.
2. Animal care volunteer applicants pay a $20 application fee at the time of submitting their application to the Sanctuary. This fee defrays costs of volunteer orientation and printed materials.
3. Volunteers do an abundance of household type chores including washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, and laundry. In addition to daily chores, volunteers are given the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to enable them to feed baby birds and mammals, foster animals in need and participate in fundraising events and releases.
4. Volunteers should keep in mind that our goal is always to rehabilitate and release whenever possible. These animals are not pets and must be cared for accordingly. Minimal contact is essential to ensure they remain wild.
5. Volunteers can help 7 days a week from 8am – 5pm. We need volunteers to help on a predictable schedule, minimum once a week for at least 3 hours. (we ask that volunteers be just as responsible with this opportunity as they would be with a regular job.) We depend heavily on our volunteers to make the Sanctuary successful. Consider your work/family/school schedule. Are you able to dedicate four hours a week to the Sanctuary?
If the rewarding job of Animal Care Volunteer sounds like it is for you, please stop by the Sanctuary and fill out a short application. Upon receipt the volunteer coordinator will call or e-mail you to schedule an orientation that lasts about 2 hours. Volunteer applications can be downloaded and are available at the front desk 7 days a week from 8 AM to 5 PM.
Please email [email protected] for questions about animal care volunteering or to submit your application. We look forward to hearing from you!
Outreach Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the Wildlife Sanctuary of NWFL. Our volunteers are a valuable asset to our organization and we encourage you to become a part of our team.
Some things you should know:
1. All outreach volunteers must be 16 years or older with reliable transportation. Younger volunteers can be accepted if accompanied by an adult.
2. Outreach volunteers may participate in a variety of unique events. Tasks may include set-up/breakdown, chatting with the public, managing group movement, manning merchandise tables, leading small group activities, or even assisting in education if that’s an interest to you. If you have specialized skill sets that you would like to donate your time to such as graphic design, social media, curriculum building, website management, fundraising, or anything of this sort, please reach out to the development staff directly.
3. Volunteers should keep in mind that our goal is always to rehabilitate and release patients whenever possible. Animals located in the hospital and behind-the-scenes are not pets and must be cared for accordingly. Only highly trained staff and volunteers will participate in bird handling. While the sanctuary’s goal is to create a volunteer education program on this subject, it is not yet established.
4. Outreach volunteers will be invited to events as they are scheduled. These events do occur on both weekdays and weekends. We depend heavily on our volunteers to make the sanctuary successful and would appreciate your involvement whenever its possible for your schedule!
If the rewarding job of Outreach Volunteer sounds like it is for you, please email [email protected] to be added to the email list. We look forward to hearing from you!