January 18, 2013
Volunteer with the Farm Animal Protection Campaign
Get involved on your campus!
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Student volunteers at Grand Valley State University tabling for Meatless Mondays. Lena Spadacene/The HSUS
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Student volunteer presenting on cage-free eggs to her university. HSGV
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Student volunteers promoting Meatless Mondays on campus. HSGV
About our volunteers
Our dedicated volunteers from across the country are vital to our work in improving the lives of farm animals. Volunteers organize campus support for a switch to cage-free eggs and/or implementation of the Meatless Monday program.
Volunteer opportunity
Click on role title to view expanded position description.
Campus Coordinator Volunteer: Work with a university campus community at moving the school’s purchase of eggs from caged hens to cage-free eggs. Caged hens are confined in barren wire cages so small the birds can’t even spread their wings. Switching to cage-free vastly improves the lives of these animals. Volunteers can also work to implement Meatless Monday on college campuses, an initiative that gets institutions to offer more vegetarian/vegan options and encourages consumers to choose these options. This effort will drastically reduce the number of animals raised on factory farms.
What our volunteers say
"This opportunity appealed to me on both philosophical and practical levels. College campuses serve as epicenters of progressive thinking and creativity; along with values concerning how we learn and interact with others, practices supporting sustainability and animal welfare belong at the heart of campus life. And while the actions of just one person undeniably can make a difference, a campus-wide commitment, with its thousands of students, can reduce the suffering of countless hens. Finally, as students come and go, I hope they will carry the awareness with them, which means a change on a campus can have far-reaching effects off campus as well." —Sharon Discorfano, University of Arizona
Benefits of volunteering
Volunteers learn campaign skills such as working with university officials, organizing student activists, and collaborating with a prominent animal protection organization. Volunteers can strengthen critical thinking, effective communication, networking, time management, and leadership skills while helping to support the mission of The HSUS. Volunteers have the opportunity to work closely with HSUS staff on a vital campaign to help farm animals and will be provided with an opportunity to affect significant positive change. Volunteers will become familiar with the organization and the animal protection field.
Becoming a volunteer
Requirements for our Volunteers:
- Strong communication skills and fluency in English
- Excellent problem-solving capability and the ability to think creatively, in a solution-oriented way
- Eagerness to learn about animal protection issues as well as maintain enthusiasm and strategic thinking to help shape the campaign
- Ability to retain information, pay attention to detail, and ability to teach others about the issues
- Ability to maintain professionalism and have strong interpersonal skills
- Demonstrate flexibility, show initiative, possess strong work ethic and be a quick learner
- Willingness to learn from and work closely with Supervisor
Commitment Policy:
- Volunteers commit 3-4 hours per week for a minimum of three months.
Restrictions:
- Must be enrolled in a college or university or be a current faculty/staff member.
- Must be at least 18 years of age.
Process
- Please review the description and restrictions above to help determine if our volunteer opportunity is the right fit.
- If you would like to proceed, please complete the volunteer application below. After review of your application, a staff member will contact you to discuss the opportunity.
- You must sign a volunteer agreement and a waiver/release of liability.
- You will work with Campus Coordinator volunteer supervisor to develop a strategy for the campaign and will be trained in all aspects of your volunteer work.
