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Diary of a Volunteer : Part 1 : The First Step

I have just recently signed up to volunteer my time with the RSPCA at Fairfield in Brisbane. Over the coming weeks I will document my journey and hopefully inspire other people to help donate their time as well.

So what made me do it?

I’ve always been passionate about animals, I don’t think there has ever been a time in my life when I haven’t been surrounded by some form of pet whether it be a dog or a goldfish. Pet ownership was really the extent of it, I never really ventured outside of this into any thing such as Animal Welfare and Animal Rights.

It wasn’t until recently when unemployed, bored out of my brains and watching far too much Foxtel I stumbled across the Animal Planet channel. Full of shows like Animal Precinct, RSPCA Rescue, ASPCA Rescue, shows that documented animal cruelty and rescues that really pulled some heart strings. I guess the one episode that made me think outside my own backyard was an episode where they found 10 beagles locked in an abandoned house in New York that was about to be demolished. The poor beagles were starving, were so scared of humans and even more scared to leave the building.  It was just so incredibly sad. The ASPCA rescued and rehabilitated the beagles and they all ended up finding loving homes.

Now I know that this is just one story, with a successful outcome and I know that in reality not all cases have such a happy ending, but this was what made me think that I will try and help out in any way that I can.

How to register as a Volunteer?

All I did was go to the RSPCA QLD Website and clicked on the link to Volunteering. It redirected me to a website which had a list of jobs and duties.  When you think of volunteering you may automatically think of cleaning out cages and more hands on work, but they really need people in the office to help out answering phones, data entry and general administration duties.

I sent an email to the Volunteer Coordinator and it took about 2 weeks before we got a hold of each other.  After a quick chat I was put down for some data entry on Saturday afternoons, apparently the busiest time at the shelter.

If you want to volunteer, try and be as flexible as possible without encroaching on your own life. For instance don’t say you only want to work with the animals and will only take the more hands on jobs. Try and help out wherever you are most needed. You may even learn new skills that you can use in your career.

What kind of commitment do you have to give?

You only have to donate one shift a week, which is about 4 hours. It is preferable that you need to commit long term, for instance once a week for 6 months. They have different positions on week days, weekends and after hours – depending on what you want to do. You choose a time that best fits with your life and that will be the shift you do on a weekly basis.

This weekend I will attend a Orientation day where they will show me the system and give me a tour. I have been told to be prepared for some sad situations so hopefully I will keep it together, but overall I am very excited about what the whole experience will bring.

If you are interested in Volunteering with RSPCA and would like more information visit the website (http://www.rspca.org.au/jobs.html) and find your nearest location.