HART is run entirely by volunteers and it absolutely takes a team to run a rescue. We have a great group of volunteers but are always in need of fresh bodies to help out with the endless tasks associated with the day to day operation of HART.
A few key areas we always need help with:
Foster Volunteers
Short or long term - this is our greatest need. We need fosters who offer home-like settings and a structured environment. This can be a home with or without other dogs. You can learn more about this aspect of volunteering in the Fostering section of this site.
Volunteer Drivers
We call this aspect transport and it involves volunteers each taking a "leg" of a dog's journey from point A to point B. Most times the dog is moving from the Bancroft area to it's foster home. Our foster homes are located throughout Ontario with most being in the Belleville area, GTA or around Guelph. We especially need volunteers drivers in the Toronto area!
Home visit volunteers
We always need people who can do a home assessment for us to assess potential adopters across the province. Requirements are that you love dogs (naturally!) and able to view a potential adopter with a critical but fair eye.
Events and Fundraising
We attend events all over the province and are always looking for volunteers to help out. Duties include setting up tables, tents, selling raffle tickets, manning a BBQ, organizing, you name it. During the summer months we have many events taking place in Bancroft but we also take part in southern Ontario events as well.
Photos/Video
Not of all foster families have cameras! A dog's picture can make or break their ability to get noticed on Petfinder. A great picture will sell a dog faster than any words we can write. Also, a dog with a good video gets adopted far more quickly than a dog without one. You would need to be able to visit foster homes to take pictures/videos of dogs.
Administrative Tasks
This is kind of a catch-all category that encompasses a whole bunch of behind the scenes tasks. Things like writing Petfinder bios, articles for social media, newsletters or the website. Also doing reference checks, adoption followups, adoption screening and more. There are countless things that need doing that we could always use help with.
A Life Saved
With the help of many volunteers, this guy was rescued in the nick of time from a high kill shelter. If it weren't for the dedication of our volunteers he would have been euthanized. We think you'll agree that he's pretty happy to be alive!