Teen Volunteers at Front Street - City of Sacramento

Animal Care

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TEEN VOLUNTEERS

TEEN VOLUNTEERS ROCK! We value and appreciate our teen volunteers. Teens bring dedication, passion, creativity, and energy to our volunteer program. Some teens volunteer for a short time to complete a school project and others volunteer year-round. The first step in joining our teen program is to attend a shelter orientation and a shelter basics class.

All volunteers under the age of 16 must have their parent or guardian attend both the orientation and the shelter basics class and then plan to volunteer with them. Parents must also complete a volunteer application and sign up for the orientation.

If you are volunteering to complete school-required community service, you are solely responsible for completing your hours in a timely manner. The Front Street Animal Shelter cannot guarantee that you will be able to complete all of your required hours within your school's timeframe. We encourage you to sign up early to get a headstart on your hours. Last-minute requests for hours will not be accommodated.

Students participating for credit in Front Street Animal Shelter’s Student Project Program must complete these steps:

Download the STUDENT PROJECT PROGRAM GUIDE (PDF format)
Create a PROFILE for the Front Street Animal Shelter’s volunteer program. In your profile, be sure to check the following:

Enter your correct contact information
Answer the School Project questions
Be sure to write down your username and password, as you will need to log in to your profile to complete your project

Complete the STUDENT PROJECT APPLICATION.
Complete the online New Volunteer Orientation class. You can access this from your Better Impact volunteer profile.
Choose your project from the ideas listed in the guide.
Once you have completed Steps 1 through 5, please request a meeting with our Volunteer Program Manager to discuss your project and be confirmed in the Student Project Program. Your project is NOT approved until you complete this meeting! To schedule a meeting, sign up for a Student Project Meet with the Volunteer Program Manager appointment through your Better Impact volunteer profile. Your meeting may be in person or via Zoom, depending on restrictions and preference.

For Teens who are 16 or 17 years old

Volunteers aged 16 and 17 years old may volunteer independently. They do not need adult partners. However, these teens are held to the same expectations as adult volunteers. Please fill out your VOLUNTEER PROFILE and complete the online volunteer orientation!

Need to complete your student project? We welcome our high school students! Here is what you will need to do:

Download and review the STUDENT PROJECT PROGRAM GUIDE (PDF format)
Submit a STUDENT PROJECT APPLICATION
Complete your VOLUNTEER PROFILE online
Once you have completed your student project application and your volunteer profile, sign up for a Student Project Meet with the Volunteer Program Manager appointment through your volunteer profile in order to schedule a project meeting.
We are only able to accept student project applications between September 1st and March 15th. Please get the application process started before March 15th or you will need to complete your project with another organization.

For Teens who are 12 to 15 years old

Volunteer with an adult partner. Teens aged 12 to 15 must have an adult partner volunteer come with them them each time they are scheduled for a volunteer shift. Adult partner volunteers must complete a volunteer profile, orientation, and shelter basics class. Adult partner volunteers must be either the teen's parent or guardian OR someone approved by the teen's parent or guardian. The Teen Volunteer Form has a section where the parent/guardian can designate who will be the adult partner. Teens and their adult partners can do almost everything any regular member of the volunteer team can do and can sign up for any shift that meets their schedule and qualifications.

PLEASE NOTE: Some activities are not appropriate for all ages and may have an age restriction.

FOR Children Under 12 Years Old

Children younger than 12 years old may not volunteer here at the shelter, but there are still lots of ways to help shelter animals! Some of these are:

Host a donation drive! We need pet food for our pet food pantry, blankets for our kennels, and newspapers. Donation drives can be held at school or in your neighborhood. Every little bit helps to save lives! Click here for our wish list!

Make dog treat bags! Our dog-training volunteers work very hard to help our dogs learn behaviors that will help them get adopted. The best motivator for our dogs is treats! Simply cutting up hot dogs or cooked chicken into bite-sized pieces and putting them in Ziploc bags will help.

Make cat mats! Are you crafty? Then you can help our cats sleep in comfort. Simply sewing two 20-inch squares of fleece together with batting in the middle creates comfy cat mats that make our kitties purrrr.