VOLUNTEERING AT
HEPBURN WILDLIFE SHELTER

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter has an average of 200 animals in care at any one time and relies on a network of volunteers, vets, rescuers, carers and shelter managers. We cannot operate without the hard work of our amazing volunteers, and we cannot adequately express how important reliable and willing volunteers are.

Who can volunteer?

New recruits are always welcome to join our friendly and dedicated team. Below is an outline of the types of opportunities offered by the shelter. Volunteers can be involved in all of these categories or only one.

Shelter workers

These reliable and caring volunteers help out with general duties at the shelter caring for the animal’s day to day needs on shelter premises. A shift is generally 3 hours in duration. As the shelter never closes, we’re extremely grateful to volunteers who remain committed to their designated shift. This work is not glamorous or easy, but it saves lives. A typical shift might include:

Feeding (eg bottles of formula for joeys, fruit for bats, seed for birds)
Cleaning cages and habitat areas (mainly for kangaroos, birds, wombats)
Laundry and cleaning tasks
Meal preparation (eg cutting up fruit, washing or sterilizing feeding bottles)

Requirements:

Must be 16 years old or older
Must be comfortable around wildlife
Must be able to carry out physical tasks such as lifting up to 10kgs, bending, cleaning etc.
Must have a moderate level of fitness as walking between enclosures is involved.
Must be able to get to and from the shelter independently as there is no public transport to this area.
Not suitable for anyone with allergies to fur, pollen or dust.

For more information:

Occasional on-site assistance

For people not able to commit to a weekly shift, we have a number of maintenance tasks that we need help with. These include:

Tip runs
Fencing
Enclosure maintenance
Weeding

Requirements:

Must be 16 years old or older
Must be comfortable around wildlife
Must be able to carry out physical tasks such as lifting up to 10kgs, bending, cleaning etc.
Must have a moderate level of fitness as walking between enclosures is involved.
Must be able to get to and from the shelter independently as there is no public transport to this area.
Not suitable for anyone with allergies to fur, pollen or dust.

For more information:

Fundraising and support

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter would not exist without the tireless work of its fundraising and support volunteers. Fundraising isn’t just about arranging financial support. It’s about building relationships with partners and donors locally and around the world, and assisting with shelter fundraising activities. Previous fundraising experience is always welcome but is not essential. What matters more is your commitment to make a change and become involved. Activities can include:

Organising fund raising events (concerts, trivia nights, street stalls)
Awareness raising (New Year’s Eve parade float, letter writing campaigns to politicians)
Contributing to the shelter’s online and social media presence
Public education (speaking to groups of people, distributing written material)
Creating resources (assisting in working bees, creating digital media or educational material).
Administration support (distributing written material, picking up supplies, collection of donated goods, assisting with fundraising events.)

Requirements:

No ability or age restrictions.

For more information:

Donors and sponsors

Hepburn Wildlife Shelter is always seeking donations. This can be signing up to give a regular cash donation or a one-off cash donation. Vet practices, dental practices, hospitals or equine hospitals that are updating could donate not required or out of date medical items, or equipment they no longer need. (Equipment has to be modern, small, lightweight and portable). Vets, vet nurses or other skilled workers can donate their time. Small businesses (such as mechanics, back hoe drivers, IT consultants) could donate expertise, goods or services.

For more on donating, please go to our donations page.