finding volunteers for bird rescue (Arizona)

[kennyzzz]

hiii, if this is the correct forum to post to, but i really need suggestions for finding dedicated (and competent) volunteers for a bird rescue i volunteer at.

ive been volunteering at the rescue for three years. since i only have a part time job at the moment, i have time to go in twice a week to the rescue, but i cant keep doing this if i want to get a real career and earn enough to move out. each time i go in, it ends up taking 16-17 hours to complete just the outside section and the isolation/new arrivals room. and there are still two other entire rooms that i cant do because there isnt enough time.

this year after i started volunteering twice a week instead of once, i noticed that every single time i came in the second time that week, the birds in that room had the exact same dishes i had left them with, and they were always empty and covered in shizz. prior to this realization, i had assumed that the rescue had enough volunteers that other people were coming in and taking care of the room. but it turns out im the only one who does the isolation room.

it's not the owners fault. she takes care of her mother full time and she has a family she has to take care of too, so she genuinely does not have time. she does tube feed the babies every night though so i at least dont have to do that usually.

i just cant keep doing this, its causing me so much stress/physical pain and taking away time i desperately need. i work other days of the week, so i dont have much time to put towards getting into my desired career (getting into ux design is very time consuming because you have to create projects and do user testing and lots of research and make a portfolio, etc).

i have made posts on facebook and nextdoor before trying to find volunteers, and people comment that they want to volunteer but then they ghost me. there arent any veterinary schools near the rescue so i cant contact anyone there either. i tried contacting the closest audubon society too months ago and they said theyd let their members know but i never heard back from them after that. i considered asking local bird stores if i could hang up flyers, but i realize they probably wouldnt like that because the rescue has lots of birds available for adoption so it wouldnt be in their interest. plus everyone who would see the flyer would probably only be interested in taking care of the parrots anyways

there have been a few people contact the rescue to volunteer, and ive trained them, but they either only show up once, or rarely show up and only take care of the parrots and not the raptors or iso room, which im glad they take care of but the other sections need care too. i also dont blame people for not showing up again because it really really isnt a cleanly place. the birds in the isolation room are kept in tiny containers so poop piles up fast and theyre kept on heating pads so it just reeks when the lids are opened and also bc half the birds die. and the raptor section of the isolation room is always crawling with bugs and rotting rat corpses, which smell especially horrible too.

any suggestions are immensely appreciated, thank you so much

 

[merlinsmom13]

You haven't listed your location. My first thought would be to check with advisors to clubs at your local high school. Students are always looking for ways to beef up their resume for college applications. Good luck!

 

[kennyzzz]

You haven't listed your location. My first thought would be to check with advisors to clubs at your local high school. Students are always looking for ways to beef up their resume for college applications. Good luck!

the location is arizona. i will try that, thank you

 

[~Drini~]

If you are getting some interest online, you can try building a stream of donations, and use the money to actually hire someone.

Perhaps advertising and promoting the rescue's work online could also be incorporated into your ux design portfolio (maybe you can create some sort of unique website, with bird profiles, idk).


Thank you for the work you do!

 

[sunnysmom]

Can they host an open house? Or if there are any local events where you can have a table?

 

[kennyzzz]

the location is arizona. i will try that, thank you

If you are getting some interest online, you can try building a stream of donations, and use the money to actually hire someone.

Perhaps advertising and promoting the rescue's work online could also be incorporated into your ux design portfolio (maybe you can create some sort of unique website, with bird profiles, idk).


Thank you for the work you do!

sadly theres just no way id ever be able to get enough donations to pay someone/people to consistently do work, and id have no way of knowing if they were actually doing everything and doing it correctly. i have tried making social media posts to attract volunteers but it doesnt work. i do plan on designing a volunteer hub app specifically for the rescue, its just that i literally have zero time because all my free time is spent at the rescue. thank you so much for the suggestion though

 

[kennyzzz]

Can they host an open house? Or if there are any local events where you can have a table?

they do events every now and then and i think they've maybe advertised needing volunteers a few times?? but usually the events end up being on saturday, which is one of the days that i go in to volunteer, and i cant go in on fridays or sundays bc fridays i work and sundays are church, and theyre always like at least an hour away from where i live

 

[conurehrdr]

Aaaaaarg! I wish I was closer! I'm up in Manitoba, Canada!

 

[Mockinbirdiva]

It sounds like there are quite a few birds there. What type of species are there? Does the owner have a license for the raptors? There are containers with baby birds? Are they exotics? Truly sounds sad with babies that die and rotting carcasses of rats. Your heart is definitely in the right place and you've been so dedicated to showing up. If you don't show up then are the birds not cared for at all? If the owner really doesn't have time to also dedicate the time to give them the best care do you think they would make the decision to place the birds in a facility where they will be cared for? Sorry to ask so many questions but honestly what you've described doesn't paint a good picture for the birds there even though you work so hard at it while you are there. Thanks for being that person that does show up. I'm sorry it's wearing on you.

 

[kennyzzz]

It sounds like there are quite a few birds there. What type of species are there? Does the owner have a license for the raptors? There are containers with baby birds? Are they exotics? Truly sounds sad with babies that die and rotting carcasses of rats. Your heart is definitely in the right place and you've been so dedicated to showing up. If you don't show up then are the birds not cared for at all? If the owner really doesn't have time to also dedicate the time to give them the best care do you think they would make the decision to place the birds in a facility where they will be cared for? Sorry to ask so many questions but honestly what you've described doesn't paint a good picture for the birds there even though you work so hard at it while you are there. Thanks for being that person that does show up. I'm sorry it's wearing on you.

there are exotic birds, standard wild birds such as pigeons and doves, and birds of prey. yes, the owner has licenses and she is very knowledgable. we have lots of baby birds, and she does feed the baby birds so im not too concerned about them at least. from what i've experienced, the isolation room, minus the tube fed babies, im the only one who takes care of them simply because there arent enough active volunteers and none of the other volunteers want to, they only care about the exotics. i doubt other facilities have space to take in our wild birds bc we ourselves are packed to the max considering its baby bird season. also it would cost too much in gas to constantly be transporting birds to other facilities because the other ones are at least and hour away, and there wouldn't be any reason of there being a bird rescue if theyre all just moved to another rescue. and i dont know if the other rescues would even be any better, sadly most people just dont have time to volunteer, and everyone who does would rather work with dogs and cats. i am going to make a poster and email highschools to see if any aspiring vets/animal workers would be interested in volunteering, but i doubt the students would be able to consistently volunteer considering they go to school full time. thank you for your sympathy

 

[kennyzzz]

Aaaaaarg! I wish I was closer! I'm up in Manitoba, Canada!

 

[merlinsmom13]

I don't mean to criticize but there are 100s of stories about well meaning people starting rescues and then becoming overwhelmed and putting the birds in worse situations than before being 'rescued '. This sounds like the case here. I'm just guessing based on the information you provided. Dead rodents, food and water bowls being dirty, feces piling up are all signs that this rescue is needing outside assistance.

You need to have a hard conversation with the owner. She has to be made to see that she is over her head and the birds she wanted to help are suffering. Why on earth are there baby birds? Reading back over your original post i feel no amount of volunteers is going to help this situation. This is not your responsibility, having all the responsibility and none of the authority will not solve this problem.

If she refuses to contact other rescues to ask for help, you have no other choice but to report her to the authorities. This sounds like a hoarder situation. I also wonder what situation her mother may be in. You'll do a favor to this lady and her family, the animals in her care and yourself. Good luck

 

[kennyzzz]

the location is arizona. i will try that, thank you

I don't mean to criticize but there are 100s of stories about well meaning people starting rescues and then becoming overwhelmed and putting the birds in worse situations than before being 'rescued '. This sounds like the case here. I'm just guessing based on the information you provided. Dead rodents, food and water bowls being dirty, feces piling up are all signs that this rescue is needing outside assistance.

You need to have a hard conversation with the owner. She has to be made to see that she is over her head and the birds she wanted to help are suffering. Why on earth are there baby birds? Reading back over your original post i feel no amount of volunteers is going to help this situation. This is not your responsibility, having all the responsibility and none of the authority will not solve this problem.

If she refuses to contact other rescues to ask for help, you have no other choice but to report her to the authorities. This sounds like a hoarder situation. I also wonder what situation her mother may be in. You'll do a favor to this lady and her family, the animals in her care and yourself. Good luck

thank you so much for the advice. once i find the time, i plan on potentially designing a volunteer hub app/site for the rescue, and my hope is that if inactive volunteers download it, then once they see how much needs to be done then maybe they'll come in more to help