COACHELLA VALLEY ANIMAL CAMPUS VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Leading the Revitalization of the Volunteer Program at the Coachella Valley Animal Campus (CVAC).

AIA encourages individuals to become involved in their local communities to promote the welfare of animals.  One example of this work was AIA’s partnership with the Coachella Valley Animal Campus (CVAC), an animal shelter in southern California, which served  the cities of Desert Hot Springs, Indian Wells, Indio, La Quinta, Palm Desert and Rancho Mirage, Indio, and all of Western Riverside County.

We believe a strong volunteer program is a vital component of any successful shelter. Unwanted and abandoned animals brought to shelters often benefit greatly from volunteers who help to socialize cats and dogs, give them exercise and kindness and prepare them to be successfully adopted.
Volunteers could work toward the shared goal of finding loving homes for dogs and cats. In August 2013, AIA began working with CVAC to expand and improve its volunteer program. AIA was recruiting new volunteers and promoting the volunteer program on the radio, through social media, with electronic newsletters, on its website, and with extensive distribution of flyers throughout the valley. AIA also posted videos featuring volunteers at the shelter happily assisting dogs and cats.

Through these efforts, AIA helped to expand and energized the volunteer program at CVAC. 

A transformed and revitalized volunteer program can permit each animal in a shelter to receive individual attention and affection and provide the greatest opportunity for successful adoption. It also can serve as a springboard to the development of foster & youth volunteer programs.