Welcome to the Belleville Area Humane Society Volunteer Page

Helping animals find their fur-ever homes is one of the most rewarding parts of animal rescue. You can help by volunteering to set up our table display, provide information to individuals who stop by our adoption events, possibly take and oversee an animal at the event and help with clean up.  

Volunteers who assist with cat kennel clean up ensure that the cats' kennel spaces are neat, refreshed each morning and provide the most comfort for their stay at BAHS. You'll swap out dirty or wet linen, wipe down the kennel spaces, follow cat kennel set up protocals, make sure they have sufficient water and if helping first thing in the morning, provide them with breakfast. 

Individuals who assist staff with this morning task pull all the previous day's items from the kennel, follow established kennel space cleaning programs and replace linens and toys, and provide clean water and food based on diet specifications. The ultimate goal is to make the animals' spaces as comfortable for them as possible during their stay.

When you volunteer to help with general shelter cleaning, you'll help BAHS put its best foot forward. You'll help us keep the lobby clear and make sure that our floors, rugs, surfaces, bathrooms, windows and doors are the best they can be for visitors. You'll also help us wash and dry the dishes animals eat from and the linens we use to ensure their "home" here at the shelter is comfortable and tidy.

One of our goals is to provide activities that touch each of our cats' senses. You can help build enrichment activities for distribution to the cats, you can spend socialization time, you can brush cats, talk to them so they get used to many voices and make their time at BAHS as fulfilling for them as possible.

Individuals on this team help spread the word about the great work BAHS does. They may be asked to represent BAHS at youth education opportunities like school visits, lead a session of our summer Youth Volunteer Program, and share humane education information in a variety of settings.  Community education volunteers must be knowledgeable about the Belleville Area Humane Society and our programs.

Community outreach volunteers play an important role in Belleville Area Humane Society's programs designed to help pets remain in the homes with the families that love them. To achieve this goal, volunteers help at low-cost vaccine clinics, low-cost spay/neuter clinics and our monthly pet resource pantry which provides food support to families that have a need. Each program has several available volunteer opportunities. 

Physical exercise for the dogs is an important part of their day. Walkers learn how to get the dogs from their kennels, navigate the shelter and where to walk the dogs during our dog handler training. Rain or shine we like to give the pups time out of their kennels and a chance to stretch their legs, meet new people and experience new sights and smells. 

Foster homes are a vital component of the overall health of our shelter and also help teach important social skills to new animals. Fostering helps animals gain more skills on how to behave in a home environment, work on training, and sleep more comfortably at night. Being in a foster home rather than a shelter environment lowers the emotional and physical stress of animals making them happier, healthier, and more adoptable.

As an event volunteer, you'll play a critical role in helping Belleville Area Humane Society, a 501c3 organization, raise the funds needed to care for the animals and provide outreach services to our community. Each event has its own individual opportunities to help us host an amazing event for participants. 

As a Kitty Corner greeter, you welcome potential adopters into Kitty Corner and facilitate meetings with our adoptable cats. Greeter shifts are Saturday and Sunday to assist the placement team staff members on high-traffic days. 

As a Shelter Lobby greeter, you welcome potential adopters and facilitate meetings with our adoptable dogs and guide potential cat adopters to Kitty Corner. Greeter shifts are Saturday and Sunday to assist placement team staff members on high-traffic days.

Individuals on this team provide basic facility repairs. Volunteer jobs include gutter cleaning, raking leaves in the fall, helping with landscaping and tree trimming, picking up trash from around the property, maintaining walking paths and other important functions that help the shelter operate at full speed.

Office assistant volunteers provide support for event mailings, general office needs and data documentation needs.  

Belleville Area Humane Society is able to have cats and kittens at the Petsmart in Belleville Crossing. Volunteers help keep their spaces tidy, socialize with the cats and assist potential adopters in meeting the cats during Petsmart shifts. 

Great photos of our pets help them get adopted and photographs of our events help us promote the event for the next year. If you're a professional or amateur photographer interested in helping us capture our sweet animals' personalities and memorialize our FUN-draisers, this opportunity might just be for you.

When you volunteer to transport for BAHS, you may be asked to pick up animals from various transport partners, additional food and supplies from our provider and donations from community members or businesses. You may be asked to deliver food to citizens in need of home delivery through our monthly pet resource pantry.