Opportunities for Kids

Jump to:

• Ages 12 and Under
• Ages 13-15
• Ages 16 and Over

 
SPIN Kids Under 12

Alex collected supplies for SPIN and brought them to the SPIN microchip clinic!

Kids under age 12 can help SPIN in many ways. Always ask your parents or guardian if it is okay for you to become a SPIN volunteer or donor. 

• RUN A FUNDRAISER
  Let SPIN know you are going to have a party or put on a play to raise money for the animals at SPIN. If you are having a birthday party or a special event like a bar/bat mitzvah, consider having your guests give a gift of cat food or dog toys.
   
• Save soda cans, wash them out, redeem them at your grocery store and send SPIN the money.
   
• Have a lemonade stand in the summer or a hot chocolate stand at a soccer game in the fall and have people drop money in a SPIN bottle.
   
• Have a penny jar-any time you forget to clean your room and Mom or Dad has to remind you-pay the clean genie... and then clean your room. Work out a deal with Mom and Dad-if you can sneak around the living room and tidy it up without being asked, maybe Mom and Dad would donate some spare change to the clean genie.
   
• Rake leaves for SPIN. Do you have an elderly neighbor that has a hard time raking or shoveling his walkway? Form a group of SPIN KIDS that do special jobs in your neighborhood. Check with Mom and Dad about who you can help and when and where.
   
• Ask your parents about when they were little. Did they do paper drives where you collect newspapers and their scout group earned money? We don't need as many newspapers as they may have collected, but we can sure use bath towels and warm blankets. They should be clean and folded when you donate them.
   
• We need help putting up posters in your neighborhood and at your grocery store and pharmacy. Get a group of your friends together and make a poster advertising a SPIN event. Go to our calendar section or call us to get help getting started. 781-235-1218 and leave your name and telephone number.
   
• Do you knit or crochet? Check out our link to the Snuggles project and get a pattern for making cage liners to keep our cats and kittens cozy while they wait to be adopted.
   
• Have a neighborhood pet fashion show or an animal circus with your pet doing a new trick.
   
• Write a letter to the editor about how you help animals.
   
• Learn about different types of pets by reading books at the library.
   
• Find out what veterinarians and animal control officers do.
   
• When you are ready to have a new pet, consider adopting a pet from a SPIN shelter and give him or her a great new family.
   
• If you have any great ideas you want to share about raising money for SPIN, call us and let us know! 781-235-1218 Don't forget to leave your name and telephone number (Always ask your parent or guardian if it's okay to phone first!)

Back to top.

SPIN Kids 13-15
 

SPIN Kids 13-15 can continue with projects they have started at a younger age. You can also volunteer to organize neighborhood and school groups to help SPIN. Always check out what you'd like to do with your parents and SPIN for suggestions first.

8th Grade Students socialize a new litter of kittens
 

Get started by asking yourself these questions:

• Do you love animals?
   
• Do you have an older neighbor that may need help walking his dog or brushing her cat? 
   
• Do you know how to work with animals that are not yours so you keep safe? 
   
• Are you willing to do some pet sitting or pet walking?
   
• Do you want to donate a portion of your fee to raise money for the animals at the SPIN transition shelters to help pay for their veterinarian, food, shots, bedding or toys?
   
• Can you use your computer skills to check out our website and www.petfinder.com to see what animals are available for adoption? Download them and post them at your school or grocery store.
   
• Can you check out some alternate sites-like jigsaw puzzles? Try the animal ones at Jigzone.com.

Back to top.

 SPIN Kids 16 and Up
 

Summer Student Volunteers

Students volunteerd all summer long, helping socialize the shy cats. The first student to arrive would clean the cages, changing litter boxes and providing fresh food and water. Then it was play time.

Some of the shy cats needed pet and purr time until they felt more comfortable before starting to play. Having a variety of student volunteers helped the cats adapt to human interaction and thus, they became more adoptable.

Some were one-time volunteers and others came once a week. Some came daily for an hour or two. Others were returning for a second summer of volunteering: Otilia, John, Aliyah, Sowante, Megan, Jen, Emily, Cardine, Danielle, Alex, Ben, Greg, and Nicholas.

Kudos, gratitude and many purrs to all!

DIRECT CARE
 

On rare occasions, we will approve a 16 year old for direct care.
Parent and child must undergo training together. If a child wishes to do direct care without a parent being present, he must receive an okay in writing from the parent who underwent training AND must receive special approval from the Executive Director of SPIN AND the SPIN Shelter Manager.

 The applicant must be able to demonstrate:

•  Common sense
   
•  Awareness of safety factors
   
•  Reliability to complete assignments or arrange coverage if unable to complete the shift.
   
•  He/She must also be approved to be in the shelter without parental supervision by the other volunteer on that shift WHO WILL NOT ASSUME ANY PARENTAL SUPERVISION RESPONSIBILITIES.
   
•  He/She must also agree to attend direct care meetings as a condition of being permitted this special consideration.

 In the past, these individuals have demonstrated commitment to SPIN in other volunteer roles, or have been involved with animals in preparation for becoming a vet tech or veterinarian in the future. They are individuals who are mature for their age, assume responsibility, follow directions carefully, work well with adults and are cautious in handling animals.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP:

If you have a license, we occasionally need volunteers to drive our animals from the transition shelters to the vets or to the adoption center. We also need drivers who will pick up animals in the Senior for Senior program and bring them to the groomer or to the vet's office.

We need computer aficionados that can help our web pages sparkle, create links, edit copy, become stringers in their community, and design brochures for us.

We need Eagle scouts to do special projects for us. Andy, a talented Eagle Scout, supervised the installation of new cages at our transitional sites and adoption center. He got his crew together, did the publicity, and made the project happen.

We need greeters at the adoption center at Pet World in Natick 12-4 on weekends. While prospective adopters are waiting to speak with the counselors, greeters help them to locate information they will need to begin the adoption process. Greeters must be outgoing, like cats, and be neatly dressed.

We need students to organize bake sales, carwashes, dog washes, help with our annual yard sale, hand out flyers at community events, post events on community websites and notices at libraries and stores.

Call 781-235-1218 to request a volunteer application or ask a question.

Back to top.