A Day in the Life of an AHS Volunteer

I’ve spent a lot of time doing AHS volunteer work today, and find myself mulling over some thoughts about what it’s like to volunteer for AHS.  Because AHS doesn’t have a shelter or office, most of our volunteer work – fostering dogs, creating promotional materials, managing online presence, answering phone calls, fundraising, training, etc. – is done in volunteer’s homes, or as we go about our day to day lives.  Yes, we have regular events, but only for a few hours every couple weekends.  We have monthly meetings, but what happens in between them?  The bulk of the work gets done by people working on their own and communicating, mostly via email, about whatever they’re doing, ideas they have, or problems that come up.

The structure and processes of AHS, and many similar small non-profits that lead a mostly virtual existence, makes it challenging to integrate new volunteers.  How do we find the time to train new people when we’re already so busy doing what we do?  When there isn’t an easy 1-2-3 process for new volunteers to come in, learn, and (if they wish) take on greater leadership roles?  Volunteering isn’t easy and it isn’t always fun.  It’s rewarding, yes.  And in the end, that’s what we hope will motivate people – giving something back to their community and knowing that they’re making a difference.

So what does a day in the life of a volunteer usually look like?  Well, I can’t speak for a dog foster home or a dog team leader.  I’ll have to get one of them to write a blog post about that.  I work more on the administrative end of things.  My day usually involves checking and answering emails, making website updates, working on a newsletter, posting on facebook.  I’m the Vice President of the Board, so if an emergency comes up, my attention and decision are needed.  Now, mind you, this all happens in between my own small business, family obligations, and other interests.  The business of AHS gets conducted in 5 minutes here and there, between the hours of 8am and midnight (and earlier/later, for some of us).

Yesterday, I set up a plastic shelf in our new storage unit and organized some boxes of dog supplies, paper goods, and t-shirts.  This afternoon, I spent 2 hours organizing volunteer inquiries into a database and answering emails.  I went through my notes from Tuesday’s Operations meeting and sent the emails and made the phone calls I said I would make.  I outlined two newsletters, one that will go out this evening, and one that is in production for March.  In a few minutes when I finish this blog post, I’ll pick up the messages from our message line, and send them by email to a dozen different volunteers who are responsible for returning the calls.  Vouchers will be issued.  Dogs will be rescued.  Appointments will be scheduled.  And tomorrow, it will all need to be done all over again.

I guess my hope with this blog post is that people who are interested in AHS, volunteering for us, or volunteering in general will begin to understand that AHS is far, far more than an Adoptathon on the second Sunday of every month.  It’s more than a phone number.  It’s dozens of volunteers doing small things, and big things, in their homes and cars and on their phones every day.  And all those small and big things add up to a really big thing, which is hundreds of dogs rescued and hundreds of spay/neuter vouchers issued every year.

Together, we can accomplish so much more than we could alone.  Do you want to be part of this team?  Call our phone line at 671-7445.  I’ll pick up your message.

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