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Animal Care and Control
Volunteers must be at least 16 years old to volunteer with Fort Worth Animal Care & Control.
Volunteer with the Fort Worth Animal Shelter!
Want to make a difference? Join us!
There are so many ways to volunteer your time to help Fort Worth Animal Care and Control (FWACC). We could not save more than 90% of the pets who come through our doors annually without our incredible volunteer team. If you're passionate about helping people and pets, we have a "job" for you!
Volunteers are needed for almost everything we do, but our biggest volunteer needs are:
- Adoption Matchmaker- help families find their perfect match among the 300 or more pets waiting at our shelter.
- Dog Enrichment Program - provide enrichment (in the form of toys, treats, and more) to pets in our care. Enrichment is critically important to help pets stay mentally and physically stimulated while they are in the confinement of a shelter.
- Dog Walking- walk, socialize and train selected pets in our care that are most in need!
- Paw-parazzi - help photograph the pets in our care waiting for their homes. By having clear, distinguishing photos showcasing the animals personality, it helps increase their adoptability and connect them with their new family.
- Play Group Monitors - with over 300 dogs in our shelter on any given day, we rely on our play yard areas to help dogs get much needed exercise and enrichment in play groups. These volunteers help us monitor the yards and ensure the play groups are safe and fun for every dog involved.
- Greeters - help potential adopters find their way around the shelter and meet adoptable cats and dogs
- Off-Site Adoption Centers/Events - assist with adoption matchmaking, cleaning and greeting potential adopters at our two off-site adoption centers and off-site adoption events
- General assistance with cleaning, laundry, dishes, and more!
- Foster Volunteers - volunteering in our foster care program is an extremely rewarding opportunity for individuals and families. Our foster program allows pets that are too young for adoption, who are recovering from an illness or injury, or who are in need of other care to stay in private homes until they are ready to be adopted.
Looking for group activities?
We love having volunteer groups visit us! We are able to accommodate groups of at least 5 but no more than 8 volunteers, all of whom must be at least 18 years old. We call this our “Day of Service Program”. Opportunities are available most Mondays-Sundays, and must be scheduled at least three weeks in advance. Scheduling is made on a first come, first-served basis. Please contact our volunteer coordinator, Melanie Pena @ melanie.pena@fortworthtexas.gov be sure to include the preferred date, time, and names of volunteers in your email).
By choosing to volunteer, you will have the opportunity to strengthen our great city by connecting with families, neighbors, and communities through service. Your help is very much appreciated by staff and the shelter pets - help us make a difference in your community!
General Interests
Adoption Matchmaker
Primarily assists customer service staff with customer service duties in either the lobby, dog kennels, or outside play yards/runs. This position is a support counseling role. All final adoption decisions are made by staff.
• Answers visitor questions and matches visitors to needed resources and services
• Informs visitors of behavioral and/or medical information, previous owner surrender notes on particular animals by accessing shelter database software. (Using shelter tablet. Kiosk or computers)
• Provides guidance on animals that are a good fit for the visitor’s household – pet matching
• Assists visitors with finding a staff member or Dog Walking volunteer to safely remove animal from the kennel for a meet and greet, if necessary
• Encourages foster or field trip/slumber party for potential adopters not yet ready to adopt
Required training: Volunteer orientation, Dog Handling class, Cat Handling class
Mobile Adoption Events
Promote FWACC’s mission and recruit volunteers, adopters, and donors at special events around town. Work at information tables and booths, hang out with adoptable animals and assist during the adoption process while appropriately representing FWACC. Depending on the event, dog walking, animal handling and pet and crate care may be needed. Locations vary across the city.
Requirements: Volunteer Orientation, Dog Handling class
Paw-Parazzi Photo Volunteer
This volunteer position assists with photographing and writing quick bios for animals available for adoption. Having a good, clear picture of the animal as well as a biography about their personality drastically increases their chance at getting adopted quicker. Volunteers in this position would:
• Work alongside Dog Program volunteers to walk, interact with and photograph adoptable dogs in the shelter
• Submit 2-3 pictures (a clear, front facing photo and an interactive photo) to shelter staff
• Submit a dog bio to the shelter staff, describing the animals observed likes, dislikes or personality traits
Requirements: Volunteer Orientation, Dog and/or Cat Handling class
Fire Department
General Interests
Forestry
No matter your level of expertise, whether you're interested in helping out for a day or wanting a more long-term commitment, the Forestry Section has a volunteer opportunity for you.
Volunteer workdays at the Tree Farm projects can vary by season, but often include transplanting trees into containers; planting in the tree fields; weeding; staking and trying trees; and organizing the tree inventory. Bring your family, friends, co-workers and fellow tree enthusiasts. Rain or shine, we'll be here with something to do for every physical activity level.
General Interests
Graffiti Abatement
What type of projects do we have for volunteers?
Blitz Projects
Purpose
To help reduce and discourage criminal defacement of private and public property and make Fort Worth an even more beautiful community.
Duties
In this very visible role, you’ll attack graffiti by painting over it on structures large and small. Most locations have patchwork that shows were graffiti used to be. For this project you will go over the patchwork, making the wall one cohesive color, which not only beautifies the area but also helps our program if the location ever gets graffiti again.
Time Frame
Typically a 2 to 4 hour shift.
Requirements
- Personal transportation is required to travel to each location.
- Must be at least 12 years of age to participate with a supervised group, if you are younger than age 12 you will need one-on-one supervision. Ages 18+ do not need supervision.
- Must wear closed-toed shoes.
- Are okay with outdoor activities and potentially getting paint on clothing.
- No experience necessary.
Keep Fort Worth Beautiful
Keep Fort Worth Beautiful (KFWB) is an award-winning affiliate of Keep America Beautiful and Keep Texas Beautiful that has served our community for more than 40 years. Our mission is to educate and engage Fort Worth residents and businesses to take responsibility for improving their community environment.
KFWB has three goals:
- End Littering
- Improve Recycling
- Beautify Communities
We encourage all residents, businesses and visitors to become a volunteer to help prevent litter and make a difference in our community!
If you have any questions, please contact us at KFWB@fortworthtexas.gov OR our website for more information: fortworthtexas.gov/kfwb
Neighborhood Services
General Interests
Como Community Center
Location:
Como Community Center
4900 Horne Street
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Reports to: Clara Kirby
Community Center Supervisor
North Tri-Ethnic Community Center
Location:
North Tri-Ethnic Community Center
2950 Roosevelt Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76106
Reports to: Arturo Mercado
Community Center Supervisor
Northside Community Center
Location:
Northside Community Center
1100 N.W. 18th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76164
Reports to: Eric Lopez
Community Center Supervisor
Park and Recreation
Chisholm Trail Community Center
Location:
Chisholm Trail Community Center
4936 McPherson Blvd.
Fort Worth, TX 76123
Diamond Hill Community Center
Location:
Diamond Hill Community Center
1701 N.E. 36th Street
Fort Worth, TX 76106
Eugene McCray Community Center
Location:
Eugene McCray Community Center
4932 Wilbarger Street
Fort Worth, TX 76119
Fire Station Community Center
Location:
Fire Station Community Center
1601 Lipscomb Street
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Greenbriar Community Center
Location:
Greenbriar Community Center
5200 Hemphill Street
Fort Worth, TX 76115
Handley Meadowbrook Community Center
Location:
Handley Meadowbrook Community Center
6201 Beaty Street
Fort Worth, TX 76112
Highland Hills Community Center
Location:
Highland Hills Community Center
1600 Glasgow Road
Fort Worth, TX 76134
Hillside Community Center
Location:
Hillside Community Center
1201 East Maddox Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76104
Park Research and Assessment
The City of Fort Worth Park & Recreation Department is creating individual webpages for each of the 290+ parks in the city. We’d like to include history, natural features & iNaturalist info on each park’s webpage. We are seeking volunteers to help us with the following:
- Research & compile history for specific parks (history of previous owners, location within community, archaeology of site, etc.)
- Compile natural history information (flora, fauna, soils, geology, etc.)
- Points of interest at each park
- Continue adding iNat observations
- Take quality photos of significant features of each park
- A field component for assessing the park will be phase 2 of the program.
Registration & online training is required.
Reports to:
Michelle Villafranca
R.D. Evans Community Center
Location:
R.D. Evans Community Center
3242 Lackland Road
Fort Worth, TX 76116
Riverside Community Center
Location:
Riverside Community Center
3700 East Belknap Street
Fort Worth, TX 76111
Southwest Community Center
Location:
Southwest Community Center
6300 Welch Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76133
Sycamore Youth Athletic Center
Location:
Sycamore Youth Athletic Center
2525 East Rosedale Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76105
Thomas Place Community Center
Location:
Thomas Place Community Center
4237 Lafayette Avenue
Fort Worth, TX 76107
Victory Forest Community Center
Location:
Victory Forest Community Center
3427 Hemphill St.
Fort Worth, TX 76110
Reports to:
Peggy McCoy
Community Center Supervisor
