Help

You can help AHS by donating or volunteering.  Since we don’t receive any contract or government funds, your donations are very important.  There are many ways to support AHS.  Find our more on our website!

We can also use donations of dog food and supplies, crates, outdoor pet shelters, and sometimes other items like office supplies.  If you have an item you’d like to donate, email or call 671-7445 to find out if we can use it.  If we can’t, we’ll direct you to another organization who can.

There are many ways to volunteer with AHS, from being a foster home, to helping out with one-time events, to long term and/or leadership positions, and much more.  Here are some of the volunteer positions we need to fill:

Info Table Staffer – Sit at a table for 2-3 hours outside a local grocery store or coffee shop, distribute AHS literature, collect donations, and answer questions.  Usually requires two people, one to be the spokesperson, and one to handle a dog (dogs are great PR).

Petco Table Staffer – The first and third weekends of each month, we show an adoptable dog at Petco.  Similar to Info Tables, you will have the opportunity to distribute AHS literature and answer questions, collect donations, and help people fill out Statements of Interest for adoptable dogs.

Publicist – Can you write a great press release?  Do you know your way around Bellingham’s online community?  We need someone to post events to local online calendars, maintain contact with local media, and come up with (and implement) other great ideas about how to increase AHS’s visibility in our community.

Transportation – Since all of our dogs live in foster homes, they often have to travel in order to meet potential adopters at Petco or an Adoptathon.  Volunteers who are willing to transport foster dogs to and from events can really help our dogs get the exposure they need in order to find their lifelong homes.

Foster Home – We always need foster homes!  In especially “short supply” are foster homes with no other dogs.  However, we have many different fostering needs – temporary vacation care, dogs with special needs, litters of puppies, young dogs, old dogs, etc.

Special Events – Being a part of an AHS event team includes a few months of intense planning and preparation, and of course the event itself.  If you’re interested in helping out for a shorter period of time, working on a special event planning team might be the right fit for you.  Our biggest event, the Paws and Claws Expo, takes place in August, and planning will begin in March.  There are several smaller events coming up during the holiday season – see our events calendar in this newsletter for more information.

If you’re interested in any of the above volunteer opportunities, please contact us.  Also, if you have a skill that you would love to share with AHS, or an idea for how to help that is not listed here, please let us know!

Have a question about donating or volunteering? Email us, or call 671-7445.