Help takes many forms and requires many kinds of volunteers doing many kinds of tasks. Even though a lot of our focus is toward weekend Adopt-a-Pet events, resource and coordination work continues each weekday. HAHS has over 50 volunteers pitching in to help do what needs to be done - and yet there's always a need for additional help in key areas! Every individual has skills that can contribute towards the greater good.

For instance, fostering animals at home is a great way to make a BIG difference in an animal's life (and maybe even your own).

Training is required of all new volunteers before they attend a pet adoption event as a representative of HAHS. If you're interested in volunteering, please contact our Volunteer Team at this e-mail address.

Guidelines for High Schoolers:
Junior volunteers aged 14-17 may earn community service credit - BUT they must be accompanied by a sponsor (parent, guardian or older sibling) for the duration of their service, with both having participated first in the volunteers' basic training session. Unsupervised high school volunteers who are just "dropped off" in groups without sponsors will be required to leave.

So many tasks - but so much satisfaction!

Let us know you're interested to pitch in by contacting our Volunteer Team, or call our voice mail number at 1-800-384-3143 and leave a message. You can also sign up by using the Volunteer Opportunities Sheet from our Downloads page.

How You Can Help

In addition to Adopt-A-Pet events, we spend time at the shelters in Lee's Summit, Missouri, and Ottawa, Kansas, working with the animals and providing adoption counseling to new owners. Some of us take shelter animals into our homes temporarily as "foster parents". We raise money all year long which enables us to provide vaccines and other medical care for shelter animals.

There's always a lot to do:

• staff our adoptions
• foster families for really-special pets
• raise funds
• write and/or edit articles
• assemble adoption packets
• manage paperwork
• walk and bathe dogs
• marketing experts
• photographers for Web site animal bios
• phone help for pet adoption follow up calls

Let us know if you have questions or how you would like to help by contacting our Volunteer Team at 1-800-384-3143 or through this e-mail address.

Adopt-A-Pet Events

Dogs and cats from the shelters are transported to several different locations each weekend. Visit our Maps and Locations page to see where we work.

Volunteers can do any of the following:

• load and transport pets to the adoption sites
• help set up cat cages and/or hold one or two dogs
• provide adopter assistance and answer questions about the animals

Please use this e-mail address or call 1-800-384-3143 to volunteer.

Follow-up Committee

Volunteers are needed to serve on our Follow-Up Calling Committee to place calls to our adoptive families on the well-being of their animals in addition to spay/neuter follow-up. Work from your home on this vital and enjoyable project. To become a part of this team, Please contact our Volunteer Team at this e-mail address or call 1-800-384-3143 for details.