Eight Ways to Use Your Talents to Help a Shelter

The Humane Society of the United States  founded National Shelter Appreciation Week in 1995 to acknowledge and promote the role of animal shelters in our communities. During this appreciation week, people are encouraged to become acquainted with their local animal shelter and learn how they can help them in saving animals' lives.

Today we have eight ways you can use your talents to help your local shelter and show them you appreciate everything they do for the animals and your community. 

8 Ways to Use Your Talents to Help a Shelter

Photographers

High quality photos help animals get adopted faster. With everything shelter staff and volunteers have to do to tend to the animals in their care on a daily basis, time may be very limited for them to actually try to take great photos of adoptable pets. A good photo of an animal will draw more attention and get more web clicks than a poor one. You don’t have to be a professional photographer to volunteer. Some people do photography as a hobby, or maybe you’re a blogger who knows how to take a great photo and edit it. Hearts Speak is a wonderful organization that helps partner photographers with shelters. They are currently working with 1/3 of the animal shelters in the U.S., but wouldn’t it be great to increase that number? 

Photo by ermaltah via Pixabay

Writers 

You may be surprised at how much writing shelters do. A few examples of writing for a shelter include developing adoption profiles for pets who are up for adoption, writing pet bios for their website, and creative ways to write ads for fundraisers. Shelters can also use assistance with grant writing, which can be a tedious process. Get your creative juices flowing and think of other ways your writing skills can be put to use. I had a series on the blog a few years ago called “Will You Adopt Me?” where I showcased adoptable pets looking for their forever homes. Wouldn’t that be a great regular feature for a rescue? 

Photo by Dundanim via Shutterstock

Social Media Managers

If you have ever tried to manage several social media accounts, you know how time consuming and difficult it can be. An active social media account keeps followers interested and engaged. You don’t have to commit to running every social media profile for a shelter (which could be a full-time job in itself.) . If you’re an Instagram pro, know how to run an engaging Twitter account, or really understand the ins and outs of Facebook, offer to help a shelter with one account. High exposure on social media means a shelter can not only get more pets adopted but receive more donations as well. 

Artists

I’ve visited shelters that had beautiful murals painted by volunteers. They really brightened up the space and made it cheerful. If you’re an artist, you may want to consider creating a mural for your favorite shelter. Another way to contribute your talents is to draw portraits of the animals in the shelter that can go with them to their forever homes. What a wonderful gift for their new forever family! 

Photo by Desktop Nexux

Crafters and DIYers

Are you crafty? Put your creative skills to good use. Shelters will appreciate homemade toys, beds, and blankets. Do you know how to make a pet shirt or harness or bandana that says “Adopt Me”? These would come in handy during adoption events, or even when an animal is out for a walk or going on a vet visit. Creative crafters can probably think of 100 more ways to put their skills to use. 

Maybe you’re the go-to DIY person that friends and family call on to help organize their spaces. Some shelters have very limited storage areas and would appreciate a storage system that is neat and makes it easy to find everything they need. 

Graphic Designers and Web Designers

As someone who runs a website, I know how much time graphic and web design can take and how difficult it can be! Shelters will appreciate help getting a website up and running, as well as having it maintained. An eye-catching flyer for fundraising events, adoption events, or social media graphics for announcements will mean the world to someone who either doesn’t know how to make one or doesn’t have the time. If you notice that your local shelter doesn’t have a logo or a brand presence, put one together for them. A cohesive, appealing brand makes the shelter look professional and put together and can widen its reach on the internet.

Photo by AndrewLozovyi via Depositphotos

Animal Behaviorists/Trainers

Shelters can be a very stressful environment for animals. Fear and anxiety can, unfortunately, cause a wonderful animal to be deemed “unadoptable.” This can also lead to issues such as weight loss, aggressive behaviors, withdrawal, weight loss, over-grooming, elimination problems, and others. 

Your skills as an animal behaviorist or trainer can be very helpful to a shelter. You could assist with behavioral evaluations at intake, work with animals to destress them and decrease unwanted behaviors, and even train staff and volunteers to work with the animals. 

Photo by AnatoliYakovenko via Getty Images

Handy People

Repairs can be very expensive. If you’re handy with carpentry, plumbing, or electrical work, your skills can be very valuable to a shelter. Help with painting, putting together furniture, fixing a hole in the wall, and so many other things will be greatly appreciated. 

Pin Us!

We hope this post inspires you to help a shelter with your talents. If you have any other ideas on how to show your shelter your appreciation, please share them in the comments. And let us know if you volunteer for your local shelter.

Dawn

About the Author:

Dawn White is an award-winning writer/blogger and the author of Lola: Diary of a Rescued Cat.  Dawn has been writing in the pet industry for over seven years and has been a contributing writer for the Jackson Galaxy Project’s Cat Pawsitive Pro Program, BlogPaws, and Chewy.com.

Want to make sure you don't miss one of our posts? Join our mailing list to stay up to date. Just enter your email address below.

Subscribe to our Blog