Junior Volunteer Program

The Junior Volunteer experience is an eight-part program led by the AWLA’s Humane Educator for 14-17 year olds. Through this program, Junior Volunteers will learn all about the AWLA, shelter operations, fundraising and social media, animal body language, training and more! Each eight-session semester will consist of a mix of virtual and hands-on elements. In-person sessions will be held in small buddy groups at the AWLA in order to give Junior Volunteers a safe and personalized experience.

Upon completion of the program, Junior Volunteers will be able to volunteer at the AWLA during regularly scheduled shifts during a variety of days and times with a program partner. We ask Junior Volunteers to commit to at least four hours of regularly scheduled volunteering per month. After the age of 18, Junior Volunteers are also eligible to participate in the standard volunteer program.

Please note: Handling dogs at the AWLA can be one of the more stressful volunteer roles, and requires volunteers to possess a certain level of confidence, appropriate handling skills, and ability to read dog body language in order for it to be a safe and beneficial experience. We’d like to give Junior Volunteers the opportunity to work with our Junior-Approved dogs if they are at a handling level we think will allow them to safely interact with those dogs. This will be determined during trainings as we assess each Junior Volunteer’s confidence and skills. Not all Junior Volunteers will be able to work with the dogs, and we will evaluate this on an individual basis. We do not want them to be discouraged if they are not able to work with dogs, and would love for them to continue working with our cats, small animals, and helping with Shelter Basics tasks. We hope you understand that this decision will be made with the safety of your child and the animals in mind.

Registration Details

• Junior Volunteer Training programs will take place in the spring and fall.
• All participants must be between 14 and 17 on the date that their session will start.
• The registration fee for the Junior Volunteer Program is $125. This fee helps us offset the costs of the training sessions, educational materials, supplies, a volunteer t-shirt, name badge and a closing celebration event. Any remaining funds assist in the care of animals in need.
• A limited number of scholarships are available for families who demonstrate financial need. You may apply for a scholarship HERE.
• Junior Volunteers are required to attend all sessions of their scheduled program. Please see the program schedule outlined HERE before registering. We will do their best to accommodate scheduling conflicts with advance notice and offer several in-person training sessions. Please email youthprograms@alexandriaanimals.org if you have a conflict with any of the scheduled sessions prior to registering.
• Registration fees are non-refundable and cannot be transferred to other sessions.

Please read the Junior Volunteer agreements and information packet HERE prior to registration.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Have questions about our Junior Volunteer Program? 

Email us at youthprograms@alexandriaanimals.org for more information.