Volunteer
Information
If you are
familiar with our Volunteer Program and would like to go directly to
registration, click here. Otherwise,
please read the information below to find an area of service that most interests
you.
Thank
you for your interest in the Alabama Wildlife Center Volunteer Program. We hope you will join
our state-wide network of volunteers who help the Alabama
Wildlife Center
with the enormous responsibility of caring for close to 3,000 wildlife patients each
year. We just could not exist without our volunteers, who assist us 3 shifts per day, 7
days a week, 365 days a year. (Photo by Tom & Sara Bright/Marsha Perry)
We are a non-profit organization and receive no financial aid from the government or
any other agency. Our purpose is to care for injured or orphaned wildlife native to the
state of Alabama with the goal of returning them to the wild, while helping Alabamians
increase their awareness of these beautiful creatures. We run
the Alabama
Wildlife Center with a very limited staff and approximately
300 volunteers. Each year the number of cases brought to us increases. As the demand for
the services we offer increase, so does our need for volunteers.
Our volunteers help the Wildlife Center in many ways, including: helping with the care
of the animals, answering our Hotline calls, giving tours to visitors,
and even providing building maintenance. Some jobs
are not glamorous -- you can definitely expect to get your hands dirty, but the
reward of knowing you're helping a wild creature in need is more than adequate
reward! Each and every
one of our volunteers goes through a basic training and orientation session. Extra
training sessions are offered throughout the year for volunteers who want to become
involved in special programs or teams, such as Foster Parenting, Hotline,
or raptor care,
for example. Because of the demanding nature of some of our rehabilitation work, the minimum age
for volunteers is 18, unless supervised through high
school programs or other special circumstances. Please read the following
descriptions of the areas in which volunteers can be of the most help to us.
Information about how you
can join our dedicated group of volunteers is provided below.
Volunteer Programs
at the
Alabama Wildlife Center
The Alabama Wildlife Center is operated almost entirely by volunteers,
supervised by a small, highly dedicated professional staff. Most Wildlife Center
activities are organized as Programs or "Teams" with special training available
for new volunteers. (A few teams require some experience as an Animal Care Assistant as a
prerequisite for participation.)
Volunteers are welcome to enroll for one or more programs or
teams, but we would like
you to think carefully before over-committing yourself. As Alabama's oldest and largest
wildlife rehabilitation center, many thousands of wild creatures are depending on us for
help. We have to be able to depend on You, the active volunteer ----- we can't do the job
without you!!
Here's what you can do to help:
ANIMAL CARE:
Trained animal care
volunteers working under supervision at the Wildlife
Center provide care for wild orphans of all kinds, from nestling songbirds,
hawks, and owls to baby beavers, squirrels, and fawns. Volunteers learn details
of feeding and behavior for each species, as well
as special techniques to keep these young wild creatures truly wild. These
shifts are 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.; 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.; and 5 p.m. - 9 p.m., 7 days
a week, 365 days a year.
WILDLIFE HOTLINE: Trained hotline
volunteers working at home pick up calls from our answering service. The volunteers return
the calls and give advice about how to keep wild babies with their natural parents, or, if
the babies are truly orphans, they can refer the callers to the Wildlife Center. Well over
half of the calls received by the hotline result in reuniting the babies with their
natural mother. Volunteers also handle many different types of nuisance problems and offer
emergency procedures for injured wildlife, etc. These shifts are 8 a.m. - noon; noon - 5
p.m. and 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. each and every day of the year.
TRANSPORT: It takes a lot of transport to
provide care for wild creatures from all over Alabama. A state-wide network of
trained volunteers helps to relay injured and orphaned raptors to and from
the Wildlife Center.
You don't have to be from the Birmingham area to help out. We are also in constant need of
local transport for the animals. Transport volunteers are on call as needed.
WILDLIFE FOSTER PARENTS:
We need extra help during the peak season to care for the
many infant mammals of low-risk, common species such as opossums and squirrels.
Trained volunteers care for the young wildlings in their homes, under the
supervision of the Foster Parent Supervisor. Like the orphans raised at the
Center, these are not pets, but young wild creatures preparing for life in the
wild. This is a wonderful
project for families, but at least one parent must be the
primary care-giver.
WILDLIFE TOUR GUIDES & EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:
Trained volunteers help visitors tour
the Alabama Wildlife Center and learn about native wildlife
by showing them the wild creatures being cared for, and by explaining the special
techniques we use in caring for them. Volunteers may also visit schools, scouts, and civic
groups to give slide-illustrated programs about the Wildlife Center. A four-hour weekly
shift is preferred, but not required.
GARDEN, GROUNDSKEEPING TEAM:
These
volunteers keep the Wildlife Center gardens and lawn looking neat, trim, colorful, and
attractive.
BUILDING MAINTENANCE TEAM:
These
volunteers keep the preventative maintenance end of
The Wildlife Center in tip-top shape
by routinely checking, fixing, and replacing as necessary, things like washers in faucets,
light bulbs, water hoses, emergency equipment, etc.
OFFICE SUPPORT TEAM: These
volunteers can
assist the office manager in any of the following ways, and will be trained according to
the time the volunteer has to offer and his or her interest as well as skills: using copy
machine; assisting in preparation for volunteer training, bulk mail-outs; typing of
envelopes; preparation of miscellaneous mail-outs; setting up files for the new year,
filing, etc.
Remember, we depend on volunteers to help us provide the care these native wild
creatures must have. Some of the work is strenuous and you
can definitely expect to get your hands dirty, but if you don't mind a little
hard work, the wild animals of Alabama really need your support! Without your help, we just can't do the job!
If you think you're up to the challenge,
click here to find out how you can become
a volunteer.
VOLUNTEER TODAY!
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