A Food Bank for Family Pets

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Volunteer Roles

There are many ways you can assist Colorado Pet Pantry, bringing your skills and background to our organization. Here are the typical ways our volunteers assist in our mission to feed Colorado pets.

If you have a unique skillset you'd like to share that is not on this list, please reach out to us and start a conversation at volunteer@coloradopetpantry.org.

 

Pet Food Pantries

Meet the families who are directly supported by our pet food assistance program when you volunteer at a pet food pantry. In this role, you will arrive before the pantry opens, help the lead volunteer unload and sort the pet food. Once the pantry is open to the public, you will help distribute the right type of food to each family, based on the pets they have. Once the pet food pantry ends, you will help the lead volunteer clean up and load any leftover supplies into the transport vehicle.

This roles requires about three to four hours per shift and is a prerequisite to becoming a Lead Volunteer at a pet food pantry. 

Watch this short video about what it's like to volunteer at a pet food pantry.

 

Warehouse Sorting

Help us sort and repair donations at the warehouse in Englewood, Colorado. Lifting up to 30 pounds is typical for this role, but we can work within many physical needs. Working at the warehouse can be anywhere from 4 to 20 hours a month, based on your availability.

This role is a prerequisite to becoming a Donation Pickup Volunteer or Pallet Builder (which is how we prep for our pet food pantries).

Watch this short video to learn all about what a typical day in our warehouse looks like.

Outreach Event Staff

We have three types of outreach events.

  • Client-based: We set up a table and introduce ourselves to populations who may need pet food assistance but do not know we exist.
  • Donor or Volunteer-based: We set up at a pet food supply store, festival, expo, or any type of event where we are reaching out to potential donors or volunteers, and letting them know we exist to help pet-owners in Colorado, and teach them how they can get involved.
  • Pouring Event: This is typically a fundraiser, where we get to play 'bartender for a day' and some portion of the event is a donation to our organization. 

These events are vital to the maintenance and growth of our organization. Typical personalities that do well in these events are outgoing, fast paced and excited volunteers who want to share about our mission because they feel the passion that comes from helping pet families in need. If this sounds fun to you, please sign up for an outreach event today!

 

Event Planning

We have several large-scale fundraisers, and we need volunteers to help us make these events a success. Please email volunteer@coloradopetpantry.org if you are interested in this type of role. This can include various types of Fundraising, Marketing, Silent Auction Committee, and other Administrative Tasks.

Lead Volunteers, Donation Pickup Volunteers and other Experienced Roles

Lead Volunteer at a Pet Food Pantry

This role allows us to help many more pets and families in different areas throughout Colorado. To grow our organization, we need more volunteers who can fulfill the following requirements:

  • Volunteer several times at a pet food pantry, determining your interest.
  • Commit to about seven hours per month. We request that you commit to being the lead volunteer for 80% of the next year's pet food pantries at a specific location. This allows for some leeway with vacation, sick days, etc.
  • Lift 30+ pound bags of pet food repetitively.
  • Have a large vehicle, such as a SUV or covered truck.
  • Submit a background check. We are required to run a background check on all drivers, which is a primary function of Lead Volunteers.
  • We will offer you training and support to run the pet food pantry.
  • To begin the process, please sign up for the pet food pantry you're most interested in assisting with.

 

Donation Pickup Volunteer

Colorado Pet Pantry has over 100 donation bins in pet supply stores, vet clinics and other various locations across Colorado. Each location has one or two assigned volunteers who make regular donation pickups to ensure the bins are not overflowing, the stores remain happy, and most of all, the donated pet food and supplies make their way to us and into the hands and paws of those who need them. To become a pickup volunteer, you must have several warehouse shifts under your belt and be comfortable with the processes at the warehouse, as well as the staff who make it all possible. To start this process in becoming a Donation Pickup Volunteer, please sign up for a warehouse shift today!

 

Auction Committee Volunteer

Have a knack for talking to people? We are always looking for savvy volunteers to both secure donations and sponsorships for our two annual auctions (Spring Virtual and Summer In-Person). To join the auction committee we ask that you start off by volunteering at one of our outreach events. If you are passionate about our mission and feel you can do more to help raise funds to feed pets, please reach out to auction@coloradopetpantry.org to express your interest.