VOLUNTEERING
Welcome to the C.A.R.E.4Paws volunteer page. If you're here, it means you're either already a volunteer or inquiring about joining the C.A.R.E.4Paws team. We're thrilled to have you be a part.
There are many ways to help C.A.R.E.4Paws:
 Sign up to assist during special events and projects.
Be a part of one or more committees on a regular basis.
Donate a special talent to multiple committees as well as to special projects and events.
Share ideas for events, projects and programs you feel C.A.R.E.4Paws is missing and suggest ways for how to realize these ideas.
To help you decide what may work best for you, your schedule and your particular interests and talents, below is an outline of each program and committee, including goals for 2011 and a quick link to email each team lead.
Please know that whether you have one or 20 hours a week or month to spare, your time is much appreciated. >> Community Outreach
With a proven correlation between irresponsible pet ownership and the high number of pets relinquished to shelters, C.A.R.E.4Paws' community outreach promotes the importance of basic pet care, including spaying and neutering, licensing, rabies vaccination and microchipping. Our outreach targets the general public and specific population sectors with a bilingual and bicultural approach.
Accomplishments in 2010: C.A.R.E.4Paws became a member of the Responsible Pet Ownership (R.P.O.) Alliance, which is a close collaboration of organizations such as Santa Barbara County Animal Services, the Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez and Santa Maria Valley Humane Societies, Animal Care Foundation and DAWG to improve animal welfare in the county.
Goals for 2011:
>> To target five specific Santa Barbara neighborhoods and central gathering points within each (such as swap meets, churches, super markets, car shows, athletic events) with the help of a bilingual and bicultural outreach coordinator and a team of volunteers.
>> To develop more bilingual materials to support the outreach.
>> To hire a part-time bilingual outreach coordinator to head the outreach efforts.
>> To recruit a large network of volunteers to help with outreach.
>> To improve media outreach and relations, particularly through Spanish-speaking outlets.
How to help: We need volunteers to help organize and be present at community events; particularly volunteers with Spanish-speaking skills and knowledge of Hispanic culture and values.
Team lead: Lee Heller (click on link to email Lee)
>> Pawsitive Thinking Early Education
Because education is the key to change for animals, today and for generations to come, C.A.R.E.4Paws visits schools from Carpinteria to Santa Maria to talk to kids about compassionate pet care. Our Pawsitive Thinking workshops run 45 minutes to an hour long and include an interactive PowerPoint presentation that convey messages of basic pet care and animal welfare in a fun, easy-to-understand way. We bring three or four C.A.R.E.4Paws volunteers to lead the presentations along with a therapy dog for the children to interact with and learn from.
Accomplishments in 2010:
We kickstarted the program and reached more than 1,000 kindergartners and elementary school children in less than five months. We also published a children's book titled Pawsitive Thinking: How to Be Your Pet's Best Pal (copies are donated to libraries at all the schools we visit).
Goals for 2011:
>> To visit as many of the county's 63 elementary schools as possible.
>> To expand the program to include teenagers, which involves developing an age-appropriate and fun (i.e. "cool") classroom presentation. We will offer incentives, including the opportunity to gain community service hours, to youth who participate in our educational program.
>> Solidify a therapy certification program for C.A.R.E.4Paws' therapy pets.
>> Connect the accomplishments of challenged animals with those of challenged humans to instill the message of empathy for all.
How to help: We are looking for your creative ideas and your time to volunteer to classroom presentations and/or outreach to schools. No teaching experience needed.
Team lead: Karen Perkins
Click here for more program info >> >> Events
Giving adoptable animals exposure outside the shelter environment boosts their chance of finding a forever home. C.A.R.E.4Paws organizes adoption events, like the big annual Wags n’ Whiskers Festival, which features more than 100 dogs, cats and bunnies from shelters and rescue groups countywide.
Accomplishments in 2010:
Wags n' Whiskers inspired 34 dog and cat adoptions and hosted a record number of shelters and rescue groups (19), pet service providers (25) and visitors (more than 1,000). Goals for 2011:
>> To make Wags n’ Whiskers Festival (Sunday August 28) even bigger this year.
>> To broaden the activities menu.
>> To have a stage for the MC and involve more children and visitors to participate in games and fun activities.
>> To improve vendor layout.
>> To offer food and ice cream for visitors.
>> We may consider having a dog parade that ends at the park.
>> To organize first planning meeting in March.
>> Save-the-dates to go out to rescues and vendors by mid-february.
How to help: This committee will have multiple subcommittees to help facilitate all aspects of the festival day (booth set-up, event reps, activities, entertainment, marketing, raffles items and sales, sign creation, stage set-up, food for volunteers,clean-up, etc.) Click here for details.
Team leads: Kim Lowell & Christina Kuhn
Click here for photos from previous events >> >> Dog Training Intervention & Project ResponsiBull
Often, dogs are relinquished to shelters because of behavior problems their owners can’t manage. C.A.R.E.4Paws helps by offering free or low-cost training sessions. Part of this program is Project ResponsiBull, a free three-part program created specifically for owners of pit bulls and pit mixes with the goal to boost pit bull retention (keeping dogs out of the shelter), improve the breed's bad rap and encourage a new generation of pit ambassadors. Project R.B. includes free training, breed education and a free spay/neuter.
Accomplishments in 2010:
Project ResponsiBull reached more than 100 pit bull owners from Carpinteria to Santa Maria. Goals for 2011:
>> To recruit volunteers for dates set and keep developing curriculum/class format.
>> To recruit trainers whose methods are consistent with our program beliefs.
>> Add mixed breed and Project R.B. puppy classes as needed.
>> Develop training program for C4Ps volunteers.
>> Create a Corps of pit bull ambassadors to appear at events.
>> Increase pit bull awareness in our community. How to help: We are looking for volunteers to participate in training sessions and to help develop training curriculum as well as to share ideas for how to develop a pit bull awareness program.
Team lead: Chris Erskine
Click here for more program info and images >> >> Fundraising
C.A.R.E.4Paws' educational programs, spay/neuter clinics and adoption events are made possible thanks to donations and grants, small and large.
Accomplishments in 2010:
We raised around $20,000 in addition to a $27,000 spay and neuter grant from Santa Barbara Humane Society.
Goals for 2011:
>>To raise between $35,000-$50,000 >> Apply for more grants with help of grant writer(s), who will also research grant opportunities.
>> Set up direct deposit account options on the C.A.R.E.4Paws website
and promote scheduled monthly or quarterly automatic deductions to potential donors.
>> Create liaisons with the business community, searching for corporate sponsorships and retail sponsorships (including restaurants).
>> Create liaisons with community as a whole (receiving loose change and percentage of yard sales, etc.)
>> Identify potential major donors and set up meetings to present C4Ps' mission and goals.
>> Increase name recognition through marketing (collaboration with the marketing department needed here).
How to help: We are looking for grant writers and volunteers to spread the word about C.A.R.E.4Paws and its mission and create liaisons with the community.
Team leads: Lee Heller & Judy Hartstone >> Spay & Neuter Outreach
C.A.R.E.4Paws collaborates with pet hospitals and veterinarians across Santa Barbara County to help qualifying low-income pet owners fix their cats and dogs. Our program includes frequent “Spay Days” and individual appointments at various pet clinics.
Accomplishments in 2010:
We fixed nearly 500 dogs and cats (and bunnies) between March and December. We recruited 10 pet clinics for weekly appointments and about 25 vets and 50 vet techs to help with Spay Days. Goals for 2011:
>> To double our spay and neuter numbers.
>> Spay days at CARE Hospital. >> To host bimonthly spay days in south and north county.
>> To join more vet clinics to the program for weekly s/n appointments and spay days.
>> To host two cat spayathons (sponsored by ASAP and ResQcats)
How to help: We need volunteers to help organize and plan for spay days as well as to assist during such events. We also need potential transporting help of pets to/from Santa Barbara and Santa Maria/Lompoc.
Team lead: Carlos Abitia
Click here for more program info. >> PR & Marketing
C.A.R.E.4Paws is known in the community partly from being featured in the media on a regular basis. We also advertise special events in local publications (as funds allow).
Accomplishments in 2010:
C.A.R.E.4Paws was featured in several newspaper articles as well as on the radio and TV, including news clips on KEYT and KCOY and a 30-minute segment on Cox's channel 8, which ran weekly for one month. We also received several free ads from the Independent.
Goals for 2011:
>> To keep developing media relations countywide to boost name recognition and attention to events/accomplishments. >> To build relations with Spanish media outlets and get radio/TV spots.
>> To do target media campaigns in conjunction with community outreach events.
>> To improve social networking, including facebook entry. How to help: We need help with media outreach and marketing as well as translation of press releases and advertising material.
Team lead: Isabelle Gullo
Click here to read about us in the press >> >> Media Communications
C.A.R.E.4paws is building its presence on social platforms and is documenting projects and events to share on our own blog and YouTube.
Accomplishments in 2010:
We successfully filmed and posted Wags n' Whiskers along with dog training classes and a dogwash fundraiser.
Goals for 2011:
>> To keep documenting individual events and projects. >> To create a documentary on responsible pet ownership. >> To grow our facebook and social networking presence.
How to help: Share your multimedia skills and connections.
Team lead: Thomas
Click here to visit the blog >>
>> Misc. ideas from Sunday, Jan. 30 meeting
Translate the C4Ps brochure into Spanish (in the works by Isabelle & Carlos)
Creating a C4Ps pet calendar with rescue animals from all of the county's shelters.
To make the teaching of financial responsibility (that comes with owing a pet) part of the Pawsitive Thinking curriculum.
Creating a SB County Pet Resource Directory (in the works by Judy Hartstone with help of Lee Heller) $$ Drive Day (KEYT to film)
Website banner ads
Create ways for volunteers to communicate through portal off website (in the works with help of Dave Donaldson). Stay tuned!
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