Volunteer

NOTE: Out of an abundance of caution, we will not be accepting any new volunteers or apprentices until COVID is under control.

New volunteers need to attend a volunteer orientation meeting.  We try to hold approximately 4 of these per year as weather and our time permits and all are posted on our Facebook page when they are scheduled. If you are interested in becoming a CLAWS volunteer, please follow us on facebook at www.facebook.com/ClawsNC and you will be notified when these meetings are scheduled.

With the exception of Hotline Volunteers and Transporters, all volunteers and apprentices must attend a volunteer orientation meeting to learn what CLAWS does and how to safely interact with the animals in our charge prior to starting.  All such events and volunteer opportunities are posted on the facebook page.  

For safety and legal reasons, please DO NOT show up here unannounced.  We are located on private property, and are not open to the public.  Violation of this basic rule is not only breaking the law, but also shows us that you are incapable of following simple directions and therefore probably should not be working around wild animals.

CLAWS, Inc. will be accepting apprentice wildlife rehabilitators in the spring.  The intention of apprenticing is that you end up as a licensed rehabilitator in your own right.  If this is something that interests you please follow our Facebook page and attend an orientation meeting.  This program does not include fawn.  Apprentices are still required to start at public events like all volunteers.

We are, part of the Carrboro/Chapel Hill School District's Service Learning Hours program.  So hours spent helping us with certain projects can count toward these hours and help you toward graduation.

For safety reasons, all animal care and habitat cleaning must be done strictly by us.  This is an ongoing, every day process.

There are other ways you can volunteer to help these animals however. 

• Hotline Helpers are always needed.  This is one of our most important positions.  Hotline Helpers educate continually. To make it easier for our volunteers, we use Google Voice and phone shifts are only 2 hours long.  This means you can be literally anywhere and help with our phones!!!  This is by far our biggest volunteering need, and it's a great way to get started helping wildlife. Everybody that answers phones learns tons about wildlife! We have an extensive manual to walk you through most questions and either Kindra or one of our senior volunteers is always available by facebook messenger whenever you are on phones. So you are never alone!

• Transporters are desperately needed.  We need people who are willing to pick up wildlife in need and transport them to our facility.  We provide training to all transporters.  Examples of animals that may need transport are waterfowl (ducks, geese, etc.), raptors (hawks, owls, falcons, eagles, vultures, etc.) and fawn.  All transporters will be listed on our federal permits.

• Fundraising help.  This is honestly where we need the most help.  This includes planning, working with others in a fun, close environment and most often, speaking to the public.

• Grant writing.  Anybody with this type of experience, who is willing to help, would be GREATLY appreciated!  Since we are a volunteer staff, we cannot pay for this position, but if you find grants that will allow part of the grant to go to you, that is fine with us.

• Additions to the perimeter fence building.  This does not require individuals to be in where the animals are, so it is an acceptable way to volunteer here without risking any injury to or by the animals.

• Building enrichment for the animals.  This entails researching the animals' natural behavior, in order to build things that would "entertain" them in their current environment.

• Building den boxes and other such structures.

• Help at booths.  We do booths at many of the local fairs and festivals.  While we cannot have volunteers handling the animals, we can have them helping to talk to people, hand out literature, and help to educate people about the plight of these animals as well as responsible pet ownership.  In order to help with this activity, you will need an understanding of these things, which we are happy to help with.

• We need people who are willing to help with artwork for our programs or donate artwork for an auction we are planning. 

• Helping with research.  Though we know the animals who live here pretty well, there is such a variety of them, and new things coming to light every day, that we always welcome anybody who wants to help us research about the animals, including, but not limited to, dietary needs as well as cage enrichment.

If you are interested in helping with any of these things, please join our Facebook page.

Also, anybody who has experience writing for grants or finding grants to apply, your services are greatly needed.