Oregon Humane Society: Volunteering from Home
The goal of my partnership with the Oregon Humane Society was to aid in the care of shelter animals during a time of limited volunteering resources. Additionally, I aim to inform my community of volunteering opportunities that they can partake in with a limited budget or with limited time.
background
The Oregon Humane Society was founded in 1868 by Thomas Lamb Eliot after seeing the neglect and abuse of draft animals. In his lifetime, he also founded Reed College and his organization would later go on to open the Portland Art Museum. Eliot also supported public schools, public libraries, women's right to vote, and the local arts. You can see Eliot's values reflected in their mission statement:
Creating a more humane society.
Today, OHS has grown into a massive organization. They have several thousand volunteers who make up a majority of the staffing at the shelter. They also provide many services to the public such as the OHS Veterinary Hospital, free and low-cost spay and neuter, and humane education programs. OHS believes that the shelter experience should be as humane as possible for animals awaiting their forever homes which is why they have no time limit for their animal guests, they are a no-kill shelter, they have a special agent investigation team to look into reports of animal neglect or abuse, and they have a second chance program for animals who have behavioral or health issues.
At OHS some of my duties include...
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The project
During the time of this class, in-person volunteering was not available at OHS due to the pandemic. Because of this, there has been less volunteering taking place because people aren't as familiar with remote volunteering options. Additionally, this means that the paid staff are overwhelmed with the day-to-day tasks and the animals aren't getting as much attention as they're used to.
The goal of my project is twofold. I would like to assist the staff at OHS by spending a couple of hours a week making DIY projects to keep the animals entertained during their stay at the shelter as well as educate those around me about accessible volunteering opportunities and what that may look like.
When you hear about "volunteering", most of us picture going somewhere in order to provide our skills to a cause we care about. Or perhaps, if you can't give your time - give your money to different organizations. However, there are many ways we can help from home (whether it's because we're remaining cautious due to the pandemic or simply because of a lack of time) that don't cost us anything.
The goal of my project is twofold. I would like to assist the staff at OHS by spending a couple of hours a week making DIY projects to keep the animals entertained during their stay at the shelter as well as educate those around me about accessible volunteering opportunities and what that may look like.
When you hear about "volunteering", most of us picture going somewhere in order to provide our skills to a cause we care about. Or perhaps, if you can't give your time - give your money to different organizations. However, there are many ways we can help from home (whether it's because we're remaining cautious due to the pandemic or simply because of a lack of time) that don't cost us anything.
Over the course of the term, I worked on several projects individually and within small groups. Above are two examples of DIY projects I worked on. Other projects included homemade dog and cat treats, cat toys made from old socks and catnip, small animal chews, and a cat puzzle also made from recycled toilet paper rolls.
Some of the most rewarding moments of this project came from the group effort of my peers working together on these projects. Often these DIY groups would go late into the night because it was the only time we had available, which shows just how limited most of our time was. Additionally, with the help of friends, we were able to come up with more DIY projects than I had originally planned due to pooling our resources. For example, one of the people in our little group was able to provide stuffing from an old pillow in order to make the kitty sock toys.
I feel as though I was successful in reaching out into my own community and letting people know what types of volunteering were available to them. I'm happy with the contributions my peers and I were able to make to OHS and I'm glad that the animals in the shelter will have a more comfortable stay.
About MeMy name is Madeline and I'm a senior at Portland State University. For the past three years, I have been volunteering with the Oregon Humane Society. I'm passionate about this organization because of its commitment to animals well being, accessible pet care, and community building. During the pandemic, finding a way to give back to this organization that I care deeply about from home was important to me. Not only that but spreading the information that you can volunteer with limited time and resources was an important part of my project.
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