Volunteer Opportunities

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with PAWS. There are many volunteer opportunities available. To learn more about our different volunteer opportunities, please read through the descriptions below.

Centre County PAWS provides a variety of volunteer opportunities for the following groups:

Basic Requirements:

To become a volunteer at Centre County PAWS you must:

Be 13 years old or older
- Children under the age of 18 who are interested in regular volunteering may train to work as a Cat Care volunteer. Youth must always be accompanied and supervised by a parent, legal guardian, or an authorized "responsible adult" (21 or older). Both the youth and adult must complete training class prior to serving as a Cat Care volunteer.
- Under 13? Click here to learn more about how you can help our animals!
Complete your volunteer application and attend a training session
Sign our code of conduct form and liability waiver

Below a brief overview of the types of volunteer opportunities available for adults. More information will be provided during area-specific training sessions.

Read about some of our common dog and cat care FAQs

Help Our Dogs

Dog Care Volunteer: Provide clean water and food to our resident dogs, clean and disinfect dog kennels, and walk/exercise dogs in accordance with PAWS dog handling guidelines
Dog Adoption Helper: Greet visitors to the dog wing, talk to potential adopters, bring dogs into meet and greet rooms, become familiar with the dogs in residence, and spend time with the dogs for socialization
Facilities Volunteer: Help with things like washing dishes, doing laundry, making enrichment treats for the dogs, etc. It does not involve directly handling the dogs, so it is a great way for those who may not be physically able to walk the larger, strong dogs we tend to house within our kennels. Email our Operations Manager to get started with training.

Once you are volunteering with us, there are more ways to get involved, such as:

Dog Adoption Counselor: Talk to potential adopters about PAWS dog adoption requirements, help individuals select an appropriate dog, review and process adoption applications, and coordinate adoption completion times.
Dog Shift Leader: Serve as lead volunteer, stay up-to-date on dog care policies and procedures, provide direction, guidance, and training to shift volunteers, and inform of any problems.
Dog Volunteer Mentor: Complete post-training checklist to train new volunteers, stay up-to-date on dog care policies and procedures, and foster a welcoming environment for new dog volunteers
Dog Line Volunteer: Check voicemails left on the PAWS dog line, provide daily call backs, provide assistance and information to individual callers, and enter information provided into online database

Help Our Cats

Cat Care Volunteer: Help care for and socialize our cats and kittens by providing direct hands-on care of their daily needs. These tasks include feeding, cleaning and scooping of living areas, washing dishes, doing laundry and restocking of supplies in addition to giving out a little
individual love and attention.
Cat Adoption Helper Volunteer: Greet visitors, talk to potential adopters, bring kittens and cats into meet and greet rooms, and spend time with the cats for socialization

Once you are volunteering with us, there are more ways to get involved, such as:

Cat Adoption Counselor: Talk to potential adopters about PAWS adoption requirements, review and process adoption applications, and coordinate adoption completion times
Cat Shift Leader: Serve as lead volunteer, stay up-to-date on cat care policies, provide direction and guidance to shift volunteers, and inform of any problems.
Cat Mentor: Complete post-training checklist to train new volunteers, stay up-to-date on cat care policies and procedures, and communicate with Cat Mentor Coordinator
Cat Pet Partner - PP: Spend time with a cat needing socialization and provide updates and progress reports to Cat Pet Partner Coordinator. Pet Partners must spend at least 1/2 hour 2x a week with their chosen cat.
Cat Line Volunteer: Check voicemails left on the PAWS cat line, provide daily call backs, provide assistance and information to individual callers, and enter information provided into online database

Foster An Animal

Foster A Cat: Spend time playing with and exercising the cat daily, observe the cat, and drop of the kittens/cat Friday night or Saturday morning for weekend showings.
Foster A Dog: Spend time playing with and exercising the dog daily, provide a safe and loving home, and attend weekly dog showings on Sunday from 12-2pm.

Click here to learn more about our Animal Foster program

Other Shelter Opportunities

Front Desk Volunteer: Welcome all visitors and volunteers to PAWS, answer questions, answer phone calls, accept donations from visitors, and help with administrative tasks as needed.
Landscaping Volunteer: Mulch trees, water/plant flower beds, remove rocks from the field to facilitate mowing, and work on other seasonal chores
Marketing Team Volunteer: Work in cooperation with Marketing Director to promote PAWS in a coordinated, coherent, and effective manner. Marketing team members ideally possess such skills in fields such as graphic design, marketing, photography, copywriting, event planning, and/or stewardship