How can a 12 year old volunteer?

Question

I tried many websites, and usually, they are for 16 and older. I would like to do something different this summer, but so far, it seems impossible for a 12 year old to help with animals.

Answer 1

Sometimes a good volunteer is right in your own family maybe someone would love to have there dog brushed or there kitten combed out or someone to play with there pet .Maybe they want someone to walk there dog there ya go the volunteer is on duty .Then when you go for the first volunteer big job your experienced   good luck.

Answer 2

It looks like you'd like to actually work with the animals this year, but many organizations have policies and rules (probably due to their insurance policies) so don't feel defeated.  

Perhaps you could organize a pet food drive for your local shelter this summer and then I would bet the shelter would have you top of the list when you are old enough to actually volunteer with the animals.  Many shelters are having problems with donations right now.  Call the organization in your area and talk to the director... find out what kind of things are most needed.  

Oh-- don't forget to call your local newspaper after you've collected the items and are ready to make the presentation to the shelter.

Good luck.

Answer 3

As far as the age limit goes, it all depends on the shelter or rescue. I am sure that plenty of people on here will tell you specific ages like 18 or 16, but its not that simple.

EACH organization has different rules, different policies. Some you have to be 18 years old, some 16, some younger, and some will let you volunteer with a parent or sign a contract. They are all different, and the only way to find out is to check with each shelter to see what policy they have. By calling or visiting the organization's website you should be able to find the age limit, AS well as your tasks (walking animals, playing with them, cleaning up...etc.).

To find shelters/rescues, follow these directions:

visit : http://www.petfinder.com/

Scroll down, and on the left it says "Find Animal Welfare Groups".

You can put in your location/zip code and it will provide you with a list of all of the animal rescues and shelters in your area.

Go through the list, call them, visit them, or take a look at there websites to see what their age limit is.

Thats the best way of finding out who you can volunteer with.

http://www.volunteermatch.org/ is also a great website for finding shelters and organizations to volunteer with and it will show you when you search which shelters are teen friendly.

Also, I find shelters to have a more strict policy and age limit. Rescues, who work off of foster homes (homes that take in animals until they get adopted), are more lenient about the age limit.

It was difficult for me to find a shelter to volunteer with when I was your age, I had to look for a couple of months until I finally found a shelter that would let me volunteer(the age limit was 13 and over with parent supervision). It worked out great!

It was nice spending more time with my mom.

Volunteering at a shelter is a lot of fun, but some people sometimes have bad experiences and don't want to volunteer because they have been to a bad, high kill shelter. Not all shelters are high kill and if you volunteer with one shelter and have a bad experience that doesn't mean you should stop. Just keep looking for the animal organization that suits you because they are all different. Some will let you play with the animals, and some might want you to do the dirty work, like cleaning up p**p, vomit, laundry, etc. Some might have great outreach, spay/neuter, and other programs that you can get involved with. Your experience just depends on the shelter/rescue.

Just remember to never give up on your search, keep trying, there are MANY MANY shelters and rescues out there and they ALL need your help.

Also, a GREAT website that could help you a lot is http://www.humaneteen.org/?q=forum

The Humane Teen (one of the Humane Society of the United State's programs) website has great suggestion on how teens can help animals (volunteering, fundraising, clubs,..etc.). You can even get advice and help from other teens on the message board or the Humane Advisory Board members. I think that this website would help you so much! Check it out. :)

Answer 4

Usually you can volunteer when you're thirteen. If you are interested in animals, I would go to a kennel or an animal care center and see if they have any camps. If they have one enroll in it for this summer. By next year, they'll probably be more than willing to let you volunteer.