Volunteer for the Animals
Thank you for your interest in the SPCA of Texas Volunteer Program! SPCA of Texas volunteers give their hearts, their time and their all to make every day special for the animals waiting for homes. Volunteers help fulfill our mission by assisting in many ways in the shelter, in the clinic and in the community. Our current volunteers may access our Volgistics Volunteer Information Center here.
It takes a community to save lives! Every hour donated saves resources.
As a volunteer, you’ll save and enrich animal lives, do good things for the community, make new friends, discover new skills and enjoy tail wags, purrs and happy faces. Volunteers are essential in every aspect of our organization, from helping us in the mornings to supporting our closing procedures at night, from directly helping to transform animals’ lives to being an integral part of our many wonderful events and programs. They work with our adopters, visitors, staff and of course, our animals. Our volunteers also help train and mentor other volunteers. Every day is different and every minute makes a difference! Ready to start? Please go to www.spca.org/volunteerfee to submit your non-refundable fee.
How to become an SPCA of Texas Volunteer
Registration payments: $35 individual, $50 parent/child team, $25 court-appointed community service (including truancy) and $20 school community service or short-term volunteer (under 30 hours or less than 4-month time committment).
Once your payment has been verified, you will receive an email containing a link to our online volunteer application. ***Please only submit payment when you’re sure you’re able and willing to start volunteering within the next 30 days.
Next, our staff will provide you with all of the resources you need to get started and grow within our volunteer program.
We welcome Youth Volunteers ages 10-11 when they volunteer with a parent or legal guardian (Yellow team only), Youth Volunteers ages 12-14 with a parent or legal guardian (Yellow & Green teams), Youth Volunteers ages 15-17 solo with no background check and Volunteers age 18+ (all teams)
We ask our Volunteers for a 6 hour per month time commitment and our Volunteers work on set shifts. Volunteer support matters! Our organization wouldn’t be complete without our incredible Volunteers. Volunteers work shoulder to shoulder with staff to further our mission, and each Volunteer team chips in to respond to changing daily needs. We all depend on each other to get the job done.
Please note: if you live in one of these zip codes, there will be no volunteer fee: 75116, 75134, 75203, 75207, 75208, 75210, 75211, 75212, 75215, 75216, 75217, 75223, 75224, 75226, 75227, 75228, 75232, 75233, 75236, 75237, 75241, 75249, 75253. Please email us at volunteer@spca.org or call us at 214-742-7722 for the next step. Please note that this promotion is only available to volunteer applicants. If you are in need of court-appointed community service, please go to www.spca.org/volunteerfee to pay the associated fee and we will email you the application. Thank you!
How our Volunteer teams work:
Our volunteer community is made up of six different teams, identified by color, all of which play an integral part in our mission’s work. Each color represents a progression of training and experience, and volunteers with more training and experience can always help out with tasks up to and including their level.
- The Yellow Team assists in the upkeep of the constant flow of daily operational tasks like laundry, washing dishes, cleaning, greeting customers, helping out in social media, participating in special events and more.
- The Green Team assists in the hands-on care of animals across our organization, cleaning, helping to walk dogs, socialize cats, feeding, grooming, fostering pets, assisting with mobile/offsite adoptions, taking photos of pets to be uploaded to spca.org/findapet and more.
- The Purple Team helps families find the perfect pet as adoption counselors and provide guidance and support to newer volunteers.
- The Blue Team greatly enhances our efforts to handle a larger portion of our animal population. They also modify behavior challenges for shy/fearful pets to make animals more adoptable by working with a larger portion of our population. They assist with dog walking, cat socialization, facilitate play groups and more.
- The Orange Team greatly enhances our efforts to handle a larger portion of our animal population. They also modify behavior challenges for energetic, excitable pets to make animals more adoptable by working with a larger portion of our population. They assist with dog walking, cat socialization, facilitate play groups and more.
- The Red Team members are our most experienced volunteers. Their skillsets encompass all the experience and training necessary to help in any area across the organization.
- The Black Team is made up of our community service volunteers. They assist in the upkeep of the constant flow of daily operational tasks like laundry, washing dishes, and cleaning.
Shifts are available Monday through Sunday:
7:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
12 p.m. to 3 p.m.
3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
5 p.m. to 7 p.m. (Thursday, Friday and Saturday only)
Plus, Volunteers are always welcome to come in and serve above and beyond their scheduled shift!
Our teams work together, too!
- Green Team can do Yellow-level duties
- Purple & Blue Team can do Green- and Yellow-level duties
Interested in Group Volunteering?
Group volunteer opportunities are available Monday-Friday, with morning and afternoon shifts or two- to three-hours. We request that each team member be at least 18 years of age and that the size of the group is no larger than fifteen. Submit your request now!
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