Volunteer
The House Rabbit Society is a 100% volunteer organization. Our volunteers do everything, so we love our volunteers. Rabbits are the third most abandoned pet in the U.S. and since we have over 40 different animal shelters and animal controls calling us for help with rabbits(not to mention the general public), there are always a lot of bunnies who need help. Volunteering can include everything from cleaning cages to helping at events.
Shelter volunteering:
Age Requirements--Many younger people volunteer at our shelter, but we do have some regulations regarding their work eligibility:
Volunteers must be 16 yrs. old to come without parents and they still need to have a parent's permission until they are 18 yrs. old.
Children between 14 - 16 yrs. need to volunteer first WITH a parent or guardian and then if the parents are okay with our set up the child may continue to volunteer alone with the parent dropping off and picking up.
At 10 to 13 years old, a parent or guardian must volunteer right alongside the child EACH time. We are unable to supervise children at all times so it must be the parent's responsibility.
Because we are a 501(c)3 recognized charity, any volunteer work here is also good for community service hours (often required by schools or various organizations) or volunteer hours within the guidelines of many businesses which encourage their employees to do volunteer service.
We have a permit from St. Louis county so that our members may come here and so that we may do educational activities here. Our volunteers are also members. New volunteers would not need to immediately become members as initially it comes under the heading of education and some people may decide that working with the bunnies is not something they like. Those who do stay on need to become members so that we are not in violation of our permit.
Volunteers working at one of our grooming events.
For volunteering at our shelter/adoption center, we have specified volunteer hours and we need to have someone here when new volunteers come. The majority of our volunteers have regular full-time jobs, so only a few are available to come during the day. Most of our volunteers come on weekday evenings from 7pm - 9pm or Saturdays between 9am - 4pm or Sundays between 1pm - 4pm. We try to match our volunteers with the best schedule for them, and when we have experienced volunteers available.
Please fill out a volunteer application if you are interested in volunteering at our shelter. Thanks for considering our rescue for your volunteer time.
Additional volunteer opportunities:
MO HRS does monthly "make bunny toys" events where our volunteers make toys for the shelter buns or store.
Periodic spa days are scheduled where our volunteers help groom both the bunnies in our shelter and our members' rabbits.
Volunteers help at events like the Great Forest Park Balloon Race, Missouri Botanical Gardens' Easter event, Veg Fest, etc. Plus, we have events at our shelter such as the Spring Bunny Experience and Fall Holiday Bunny Boutique.
Sewing: Perhaps you, a friend, or a relative like to sew. We can give them fabric and a pattern to sew rectangular pads to fit our bunny crates. Contact: Pat Daly: wdaly@sbcglobal.net
Sanctuary homes: We need permanent homes with experienced bunny people for a few sanctuary bunnies. Placing our sanctuaries will give us room for more rescues. Many of these rabbits are extremely shy and need good socialization to help them become adoptable or if they are too shy then it allows them to have a happy sanctuary home. Some bunnies are elder buns and they would do much better in a home than in our shelter. Other bunnies may be a bit cranky or they may have a chronic health issue that is not so debilitating that they need to be euthanized. However, it does need to be managed so, again, we need experienced bunny people. MO HRS covers medical costs for sanctuary bunnies. Their caretakers get our best discount on hay and supplies. If you are interested in helping, please