Thank you for wanting to volunteer with us at SafeHaven! SafeHaven is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that strives to better animal welfare in Linn county and beyond. We could not do the lifesaving work that we do without the help of volunteers like you. We have lots of opportunities for corporate groups, scout troops, student clubs, and other organizations to volunteer with us and support our mission!

Group Volunteering Process:

Step 1 – Say Hello!

Reach out to our volunteer coordinator at [email protected] or at 541-928-2789 extension 105 and express your interest in completing a group volunteer project.

Step 2 – Begin Planning!

When planning a group volunteer project it’s important to take into consideration specific skills that your group may have to contribute, time frame you would like to complete the project in, and whether you would like for your project to be on-site at the shelter or off-site. Do you want your project to benefit our animals, support the staff, or improve our facility? There are lots of different directions a group project could go and we would love to hear your ideas!

Some examples of on-site projects include:

• Aiding in the organization and cleanliness of our pet food pantry area.
• Helping us make DIY animal enrichment toys for our furry residents.
• Weeding and beautification of our dog yards and walking track.
• Build shade coverings for our dog yards, this is a great project for scout troops and Eagle Scout projects!
• Assisting with deep cleaning activities.

Some examples of off-site projects:

• Hosting a donation drive at your business or place of work. Drop off of donations can include a tour of our facility and animal socialization time!
• Distributing literature about SafeHaven and our programs in your community. We offer many community support programs, like our Pet Food Pantry and Pets Are Family Fund, and the more people that know about our services, the more families we can support!
• Build benches for our dog yards, this is a great project for scout troops and Eagle Scout projects!
• Be a Blue Bag Hero by becoming a host site for bottle and can collection.

These are just a few ideas and we would love to hear yours! Once you have a plan for your group project, let our volunteer coordinator know and we can help refine the idea and get everything set into motion.

Step 3 – Host your group volunteer project!

It is helpful for us if your volunteer group has a Project Coordinator. The Project Coordinator will be our primary point of contact and the person who will coordinate scheduling between our facility and the rest of the group. While in the final stages of planning it is important to communicate the following details with the volunteer coordinator:

• How many people will be attending? For on-site groups, we prefer groups of around 12 people or less. If your group is much larger than that we would be happy to accommodate your group in multiple sessions. An off-site group can be as large as the Project Coordinator wishes. This makes off-site group projects a great option for large corporate and scout groups!
• What days and times are best for the majority of group members? If this is a corporate group please consider company work policies regarding the project occurring during working hours.
• What supplies are needed? Special considerations may be bringing work gloves from home if you are doing a shelter beautification project. Or if working on DIY toys we could always use more donated scrap fleece and toilet paper/paper towel cardboard tubes! We always try to find creative ways to source supplies at a low/no cost. Please note that SafeHaven most likely cannot purchase additional supplies for projects, but we may be able to provide supplies and materials if they are already in our possession.

As a rule of thumb, we try to keep volunteering fun and easy! We are happy to consult with your Project Coordinator and support project planning.

Step 4 – Visit the Shelter!

If you are completing an on-site volunteer project, we will host your group for roughly 2 hours to facilitate it. The 2 hours is split between project time and animal socialization. If you chose to complete an off-site project our Volunteer Coordinator will schedule a time for your group to drop off your completed project and tour the shelter (and of course pet some of our furry friends)! Whether an off-site or on-site project, your group will get to see firsthand how their project will benefit the shelter pets and SafeHaven’s mission. Touring the shelter can also give you some great ideas for your next volunteer project with us!

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can’t my volunteer group walk dogs?

Our shelter volunteer opportunities that encompass animal enrichment, and more specifically dog walking, require specialized training to ensure the safety of our volunteers, community members, staff, and animals. If you are interested in volunteering to work directly with the animals, we would love to have you! This type of volunteering is more individualized and includes the completion of a general orientation session, and at least one dog handling class. Short-term group projects that require less specialized training and time are a valuable and much appreciated way to contribute to our organization. They are also much more accessible for folks with busy schedules who may not have the time to commit to being a recurring volunteer.

Our group would rather volunteer at the shelter. Why do you offer group projects to occur off-site?

While we love having on-site groups volunteering with us, we have limited staff time and space available to coordinate multiple group projects. By offering off-site projects, we are able to increase the total amount of volunteer groups occurring in any given month, while also offering companies and groups a more flexible mode of volunteering. Off-site volunteer projects can also be more passive and span over longer periods of time. Donation drives are a great way of contributing to SafeHaven without having set group meeting times or requiring much physical labor. Off-site group projects can sometimes be more inclusive of group members needing special accommodations. We love off-site group projects for these reasons, and we would love to answer any questions you may have about them!

Will SafeHaven provide donation receipts for any in-kind donations brought in by the group?

Yes! We are happy to provide donation receipts for in-kind and monetary donations. Donations made to SafeHaven are tax-deductible. You are welcome to prepare a description of the items donated ahead of time to expedite the receipt writing, but we are happy to do that at the time of drop off as well.

Do you offer any type of sponsorship or advertising opportunities for businesses?

Yes! SafeHaven currently holds three regularly scheduled fundraising events each year that rely on sponsors and donations to happen. We have our Spring Fixer Upper for Kittens and Puppers silent Auction, our Stars and Stripes Summer Golf Tournament, and our Rescue Roundup Fall Auction. These events offer various levels of sponsorships for businesses as well as rely on the donation of items/baskets, services, and trips to be successful. We also have kennel sponsorship opportunities available at the shelter. SafeHaven offers advertising space in The Pet Press, our quarterly publication, and on our adoption folders. For more details, to check availability, and for cost information please contact Sara at [email protected].

Will SafeHaven help our organization demonstrate the impact of our group project by promoting the outcome on social media?

We would be happy to share the impact and support your group has provided to our community! We will work with your Project Coordinator to develop a plan of what we can post on our social media platforms.

What is your organization’s mission?

Here at SafeHaven, our mission is Finding Homes, Opening Hearts, and Educating Minds to strengthen and improve the lives of animals and people. We are dedicated to finding permanent, loving homes for all animals entrusted in our care. We are always striving to help residents of our community be the best humane beings they can be by providing compassionate, temporary shelter care, healthy adoptable animals, humane education, and community programs.  You can find more information about our mission, programs, and values at this link: https://safehavenhumane.org/about-us/our-story/

Thank you so much for wanting to complete a group volunteer project with us! Any questions about this program, or the Volunteer Program in general, can be directed to our Volunteer Coordinator at [email protected] or by phone at 541-928-2789 ext 105. General questions about our facility can be answered by our Customer Care team at [email protected] or by phone at 541-928-2789.