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How you can Help

Volunteers: The Heart and Soul of CPHS

Volunteers are a vital part of the CPHS team. Without them, we would not be able to perform many of the essential functions at our shelter, such as socialization, enrichment, and the promotion of our adoptable animals in the community. They are also crucial to planning, organizing, and executing our events and fundraisers. Events and fundraisers are the core of our funding sources; without volunteers to make them happen, CPHS could literally not afford to function!

CPHS is always looking for eager volunteers to assist with the shelter animals and everyday responsibilities of shelter life. Whether you are interested in walking dogs, helping at events, or socializing cats, there is a place for you at CPHS. The animals are waiting for you…get started today!

A Varied Volunteer Experience

CPHS employs 15-20 full or part-time employees tasked to care for approximately 45 dogs and 100 cats each day. We would be hard pressed to find time to complete all of our tasks without our dedicated volunteers. They are truly the heart of the shelter, and without them our animals would miss out on a variety of experiences that make them well-rounded, adoptable pets.

CPHS offers a wide variety of volunteer experiences. Each helps us meet our goal of providing every animal in our care with a dignified living space, enrichment, socialization, and medical care during their stay with us. Love animals but not ready to work hands on with shelter pets? That’s OK! CPHS provides plenty of ways to help without working directly with our residents.

Ways to Help

Cage and Kennel Cleaning

Dog Walking

Dog and Cat Socializing

Companion for a Day/Canine Cardio dog programs

Public Relations and Events Assistance

Office Assistance

Laundry

Dishes

Customer Service or Greeter

Photography and Videography

Groundskeeping and Maintenance

Make Volunteering a Family Affair

Here at CPHS, we believe that volunteering is important at any age. We do not set a minimum or maximum age for our volunteers - everyone in the family is welcome to come and help our shelter animals! CPHS also welcomes faith based groups, Girl and Boy Scout troops, Key Clubs, National Honor Society students, and any other group of young individuals who want to make a difference in their community without their age standing in the way.

CPHS also welcomes individuals age 17 and under who are performing community service for school, church, or probation. Community service hours for minors are the same as the hours for adults: every day of the year, 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM. Those performing community service under 18 years of age must be supervised by a parent, guardian, or professional.

Age Restricted Volunteer Activities

  • All volunteers age 17 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian age 18 or older. The parent or guardian must be trained in the area of volunteering and work alongside the minor AT ALL times.

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  • Minors are permitted to socialize both cats and dogs. They are also permitted to help walk dogs. However, for safety and liability reasons, the parent or guardian present must be the person holding the leash at all times.

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  • Minors are not permitted to represent CPHS at events where alcohol is being served. Adult volunteers under the age of 21 can represent the shelter at events where alcohol is served, but by law, they are not permitted to drink alcoholic beverages.

Becoming a CPHS Volunteer

Beginning as a volunteer can seem like a daunting task. We at CPHS aim to help you transition seamlessly into your role, whatever your volunteer interests may be. From your initial Volunteer Orientation to your one-on-one training in areas like Dog Walking, Cat Socialization, or Office Assistance, our staff and your fellow volunteers will support you every step of the way until you feel comfortable calling yourself a CPHS volunteer!

Steps to Volunteering

  • Fill out and submit a volunteer application.

    Applications are available online and at the front desk in CPHS’s dog area. This application can also be filled out at your orientation.

    Volunteer Application

  • Attend orientation and review the volunteer manual.

    Orientation provides volunteers with information on CPHS policies and procedures related to working with our resident animals. Orientations are held every Thursday at 5:30PM. One-on-one orientations can be scheduled for those who cannot make the orientation dates.

  • Attend your hands-on orientation.

    After deciding which area of volunteering interests you, schedule your hands-on orientation with the Volunteer Coordinator. This orientation provides in-depth information about the hands-on aspects of CPHS volunteering. Once successfully completed, you are free to volunteer on your own.

  • Need More Information?

    For more information contact Dylan, Volunteer Coordinator, at (814) 942-5402, prompt 5, or email cphsvolunteer@centralpahumane.org

Volunteer Orientation Dates

Volunteer Orientations are held every Thursday at 5:30PM and the 2nd & 4th Saturday's (as needed) of the month at 10:00AM. 

You must be registered prior to attending an orientation.  Please call the Volunteer Coordinator at (814) 942-5402 to schedule a date or you can come into the shelter to do this.  All orientations are held in the administrative building that sits above the shelter on the left-hand side. Just follow the signs!

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In the event of a cancellation, those who have registered will be contacted directly. A notice will also be posted on our Facebook page and Twitter.

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Finding it hard to make our scheduled orientations? Contact For more information the Volunteer Coordinator, at (814) 942-5402, ext 2002, or email cphsvolunteer@centralpahumane.org

Completing Community Service

CPHS welcomes people of all ages to fulfill their community service requirements in our shelter. Community service hours are from 8:30 AM-12:30 PM every day of the year and consist exclusively of our morning cleaning tasks. Community service volunteers clean kennels and cages, replace bedding, feed animals, do laundry and dishes, and provide our residents with a sanitary, dignified place to live.

Attending a volunteer orientation is not required in order to complete community service hours at CPHS. However, if our morning hours pose a schedule conflict, other arrangements that require training may be made. To set up hours for community service, please contact Dylan Kotrick, Volunteer Coordinator, at least 24 hours before your intended shift, at (814) 942-5402, prompt 5, or cphsvolunteer@gmail.com

Volunteer Restrictions

While attending a volunteer orientation is not required, community service volunteers who have not successfully completed CPHS’s Dog Walking course are not permitted to handle our adoptable dogs. This is for the safety of the community service volunteer, our staff members overseeing them, and our canine residents.

Community service volunteers may be asked to handle adoptable cats deemed easy to handle. This will be done so under the supervision of a staff member or trained cleaning volunteer.

In the event that an alternate community service assignment is given, community service volunteers will be asked to represent CPHS in a positive light during any event they are working. Volunteers will be supervised carefully by the Volunteer Coordinator.

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Community Service for Probation

CPHS is happy to provide an environment for adults performing community service as part of their probation, so long as the offense was in no way related to animal cruelty. The hours for probation volunteers are limited to 8:30 AM-12:30 PM every day of the year.

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Probation volunteers will assist in the kennel and cage cleaning process, help with laundry and dishes, and prepare the shelter for opening hours. While no orientation is needed for probation volunteers, they must contact Dylan Kotrick, Volunteer Coordinator, at (814) 942-5402, prompt no. 5, or cphsvolunteer@gmail.com, in order to arrange their start date.

Any paperwork that needs signed must be signed by the Team Leader on duty or the Volunteer Coordinator. Probation volunteers are expected to follow the same rules regarding work ethic, smoke breaks, and the dignified treatment of animals that are followed by our staff. Unless the volunteer has successfully completed CPHS’s Dog Walking course, they are not permitted to handle resident dogs, but they may be asked to handle some of our friendly cats under supervision.

Volunteer Hours

CPHS is open to volunteers 365 days of the year, regardless of whether or not we are open to the public. However, certain volunteer tasks are limited to certain hours of the day or days of the week. These hourly restrictions are imposed for both the safety of our animals and the capacity of our shelter.

To ensure the volunteer schedule is not full, please contact Dylan Kotrick, Volunteer Coordinator, 24 hours in advance at (814) 942-5402, prompt. 5, or cphsvolunteer@gmail.com

Additional volunteer hours are available when CPHS is invited to or hosts its own events. Event hours are sent each month to our list of active volunteers. Slots are filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.

CLEANING & OFFICE

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  •  MON-THURS
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM
    12:30 PM-7:30 PM
     

  •  FRIDAY
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM
    12:30 PM-6:30 PM
     

  •  SAT & SUN
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM
    12:30 PM-4:00 PM

DOGS​

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  •  MON-THURS
    Dog Walking
    12:30 PM-7:30 PM
     

  •  FRIDAY
    Dog Walking
    12:30 PM-6:30 PM
     

  •  SAT & SUN
    Dog Walking
    12:30 PM-4:00 PM

CATS

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  •  MON-THURS
    Socialization
    5:30 PM-7:30 PM
     

  •  FRIDAY
    Socialization
    NONE
     

  •  SAT & SUN
    Socialization
    NONE

COMMUNITY SERVICE
 

  •  MON-THURS
    AM Cleaning
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM
     

  •  FRIDAY
    AM CLEANING
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM
     

  •  SAT & SUN
    AM CLEANING
    8:30 AM-12:30 PM

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