The Jacksonville Humane Society provides care, comfort and compassion to animals in need while engaging the hearts, hands and minds of our community to bring about an end to the killing of abandoned and orphaned shelter animals. There are a number of ways groups can volunteer at JHS. These include: reading to, interacting with and providing enrichment to our animals, grounds beautification and supply drives.

Impact: Thanks to our work with our partners, Jacksonville is one of the largest no kill cities in the United States. This means that more than 90% of animals make it out of shelters alive - city wide. Jacksonville has been nationally recognized and is considered a model community for those who are pursuing no kill. Each year, JHS cares for 6,000 homeless animals until they find a loving home. Our volunteers help us to ensure that our animals are well socialized and stay happy and healthy in the shelter which, in turn, makes them more adoptable.

Project Availability:

Volunteer Responsibilities: Animal Enrichment: Volunteers help our animals to begin forming positive associations with people through reward based training. The goal of enrichment activities is to eliminate stress and increase adoptions. By offering treats, reading to the animals and participating daily activities, you will help our animals by: curbing their boredom, reducing or eliminating behavior issues, and improving animal confidence with people. Our staff and volunteers participate in many types of activities including: reading to the animals, Kong-stuffing, providing treats for reward training and more. Supply/donation drives help to collect much needed supplies for the shelter. Items we always need include: dog treats, peanut butter, cat toys and treats, dog toys, cleaning and office supplies. Supplies can also be purchased through our Amazon Wishlist. Grounds beautification: Help JHS look its best by participating in ground beautification. Projects include: working to keep our cemetery and grounds looking great, painting, cleaning out the wetlands around the property and gardening.

Attire: Closed toed shoes, long pants and a t-shirt. there will be a possibility of getting dirty or sweaty, so please take that into consideration when dressing to volunteer.

F&B Provided for Volunteers: No

Option to Move Project to a Different Location: No