Volunteer and Internship Positions Available at DCAS
Help others. Make a difference. Find purpose. Volunteer.
Animal Care Volunteer Positions at DCAS
From the DuPage County Animal Care and Control Management Team:
DuPage County Animal Care & Control (DCAS) welcomes volunteers who support our mission and desire to contribute to the welfare of animals in our community. Volunteers at DCAS play a crucial role in helping to care for the animals, as well as provide enrichment, training, and socialization for the animals in our care. Volunteers commit to a weekly schedule. A six-month commitment of four hours a month is required for adult volunteers. A three-month commitment of four hours a month is required for children ages 10-17. Children ages 10-17 must volunteer with a parent at all times.
Rabbit Cage Cleaning - Help us keep our bunnies clean and healthy while they wait for their forever homes. Volunteer openings Monday, Tuesday, & Friday mornings. Previous rabbit handling experience preferred.
Rabbit/ Small Animal Socializing - Snuggle the small and furry population at DCAS and prepare them for a lifetime of love with their new families! Volunteer openings Tuesday and Wednesday evenings (1-4pm). Previous small animal/rabbit experience preferred.
Dog Walking/Socializing - Keep our adoptable dog population enriched and get them some valuable out of kennel time! Volunteer opportunities available Wednesday- Saturday.
Dishes/Miscellaneous Kennel Assistance - Help support the kennel staff! Dishes, laundry, and general cleaning are important ways that volunteers can help free up staff time that can be devoted to animal care! Social Media/ Marketing - A great way to volunteer at home! Help create social media posts to promote adoptable animals!
Marketing/Communications Volunteer Positions at DCAS
If you are interested in any of the below volunteer opportunities, please contact Andy Salis by email or phone, (630) 407-2808 . Thank you for your interest!
Photographer – This person will be responsible for taking digital photos of animals available for adoption for website & social media. Will need to also be able to resize/edit as needed and upload to google docs where staff can access images. Must be 18 or older. Must be responsible and able to safely handle cats, dogs, rabbits, and other small animals. Previous animal handling experience and basic knowledge of animal behavior and body language is preferred. Preference will be given to applicants with animal photography experience.
Availability: There are 4 available volunteer positions at this time.
Commitment: We ask that Photography volunteers commit to at least one 1-hour session per week for a minimum of three months.
Photographer’s Apprentice – This person will assist the photographer with taking digital photos of animals available for adoption including running dogs between photo location and kennels, assisting with staging, gaining animal focus, etc. Must be 18 or older. Must be responsible and able to safely handle cats, dogs, rabbits, and other small animals. Previous animal handling experience and basic knowledge of animal behavior and body language is preferred. Preference will be given to applicants with animal photography experience.
Availability: We aim to recruit as many Photographer’s Apprentices as we have Photographers so that they are able to work in teams.
Commitment: We ask that Photography volunteers commit to at least one 1-hour session per week for a minimum of three months.
Social Media Ambassador* – This person will help coordinate efforts to promote adoption animals via our various social media channels. We are seeking one Adoption Ambassador per social media account. Volunteer will keep informed of media shared by staff and other volunteers on google docs and the various DCAS social media groups & pages for repurposing as promotional material on DCAS’s channels. This volunteer may also create original content and/or work with Graphic Design volunteers to coordinate original content or marketing campaigns promoting adoptable animals. Additionally, this person will recommend to staff links to third party educational content suitable for sharing with DCAS’s audience. Twitter and Instagram Ambassadors will be responsible for repurposing & sharing content published on DCAS’s social media anchor, Facebook.
Facebook
Twitter
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Facebook Rescue/Foster Album Manager* - This person will assist DCAS with creating awareness about the many animals housed at DCAS that are not available for direct adoption through DCAS, but are awaiting or have moved out via rescue transfer or foster, to educate the masses about the challenges DCAS faces in securing positive outcomes for these animals. These animals comprise the largest population of dogs in the shelter. Many have special requirements, experience the longest stays, and are hardest to place due to lack of available rescue and foster homes. At the direction of the staff, this person will stay informed of rescue candidate and foster candidate media made available by staff and volunteers and promote the animal or post the animal as transferred. Part of this role will also involve researching rescue partner sites for updates on animals transferred from DCAS, promoting or sharing adoption updates as available to create awareness for those animals and the rescues that step up for them.
eNewsletter Content Coordinator* – This person will continue to expand on the big themes and topics outlined in DCAS’s monthly eNewsletter, sharing relevant and related content throughout the month as “bite-sized” social media posts of varying media to keep the information and education going all month long. This includes sharing existing content, creating original content, or working with graphic design volunteers to create original content, as needed. We are looking for one eNewsletter Content Coordinator at this time.
Graphic Designer* – This person will assist DCAS’s marketing efforts by assisting staff and fellow volunteers with creating/designing media to support a variety of special events, adoption promotions, awareness promotions, program/service offerings, and more. Media may include social media artwork, website banner artwork, flyers, etc. This volunteer may also assist with re-designing DCAS's informational handouts and brochures as time and workload permits. We are seeking 1-2 Graphic Design volunteers at this time.
* Does not require in-person volunteering. Work may be performed remotely.
Internship Positions at DCACC
From the DuPage County Animal Care and Control Management Team:
Students will benefit from participating in the DCACC internship program by gaining valuable experience in all aspects of animal sheltering from administrative to animal care. The internships at DCACC provide a beneficial tool in preparing college students for real-life work in an animal field. Internships can improve student understanding of career choices and increase chances of landing a job after graduation or moving forward into a graduate program. DCACC offers two paid internship tracks: Animal Care and Humane Education. Interns must be able to commit to a 37.5 hour work week including weekends and holidays for a period of 11 weeks beginning May 21st.
Animal Care Internship: (4 internships available) Animal Care Interns will assist the animal caretaking and veterinary staff. Interns will have the opportunity to participate in all aspects of animal care, training, and enrichment alongside experienced staff in an open-admission animal control facility. The Animal Care Internship is the perfect opportunity for college students to gain experience in shelter intake and adoption procedures, animal care, veterinary medicine, animal behavior and training, and so much more! Interns will gain valuable skills relevant to future careers in veterinary medicine, training, and animal husbandry for a variety of species. This internship is ideal for someone who has a passion for animal welfare and wants to take an active role in improving the lives of homeless pets.
Humane Education Internship: (1 internship available) Humane Education Interns will assist experienced education staff in engaging and educating youth and building a community of caring and knowledgeable individuals. The Humane Education Internship is an opportunity for college students looking for experience in education, program development, project evaluation, communication, and so much more! Interns will have the opportunity to develop and implement their own animal education program during summer camp. This is an ideal position for the individual who is passionate about education, animal welfare, and would like to make a difference in the community.
How to Apply: To apply all applicants must for through the official Human Resources Department of DuPage County. The following link: http://www.dupageco.org/hr/ will take you to the Humane Resources page. The job that you are applying for is listed as Seasonal/Intern, 9170. When applying please include a cover letter indicating which internship program you are interested in. Once an application is submitted to Human Resources, it will be reviewed and sent to Animal Control. Once applications have been received a staff member at DuPage County Animal Care & Control will reach out for a phone interview and to schedule an in-person interview to follow. Applications will be accepted through May 1st and internships will begin mid-May.
Questions: For a more complete description of seasonal and internship opportunities click here. If you have any questions regarding the application, please contact our Humane Educator at [email protected] or 630.407.2808.
