Animal Care Volunteer
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at the Wildlife Sanctuary of NWFL. Our volunteers are our most 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 minor children are not able to accompany without explicit permission from sanctuary administration.
2. Animal care volunteer applicants pay a $20 application fee at the time of submitting their application to the Sanctuary. This fee covers the cost of volunteer orientation and printed materials.
3. Animal Care Volunteers primarily role is household type chores including washing dishes, sweeping, mopping, and laundry. With time, volunteers are given the opportunity to learn the necessary skills to feed baby birds and mammals. Foster volunteer opportunities are available after long-term dedication.
4. Volunteers must remember: our goal is always to rehabilitate and release animals we receive when medically possible. These animals are not pets and must be cared for accordingly. Minimal contact is essential to ensure they remain wild and will be successful upon release.
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. With only 2 full-time staff, we depend heavily on our volunteers to make the sanctuary successful. Consider your work/family/school schedule. Are you able to dedicate three hours a week to the Sanctuary? When changes come up, we understand. However, due to patient care needs, scheduling changes must be discussed in advanced outside of emergencies.
If Animal Care Volunteer sounds like it is for you, please 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 here or are available at the front door 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 our most 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, staffing 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 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. Please remember our goal is always to rehabilitate and release patients when medically 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 educational 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 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 use the form below to be added to the email list!