The first time we volunteered at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, the staff at the nation’s largest no-kill sanctuary for companion animals tasked me and my husband with socializing a litter of puppies that had recently been dumped. The goal was to show them some love and help get them comfortable being handled, one of the first steps toward making them adoptable.
Whether this was a marketing ploy or simply what needed to be done that day, it worked. When our half-day volunteer shift ended, we signed up to come back the next day – our last before leaving the area to continue exploring Utah’s national parks. Our next assignments at the sanctuary were walking dogs and cleaning food bowls. We have taken several more trips to Utah and have made time to volunteer while there. My husband always chooses to spend time in Dogtown, doing anything from walking dogs and scooping poop to reading books to a skittish canine that eventually calmed down enough to be touched. I’ve also taken shifts in Cat World, petting felines recovering from surgery and prepping food.
Prior to our experiences at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, I assumed most organizations weren’t interested in or equipped to take transient volunteers. I knew you could take entire vacations dedicated to volunteering, but I didn’t realize there were so many options requiring as few as a couple of hours. It’s quite amazing how well Best Friends integrates volunteers daily, making those of us spending our time there feel like we have truly helped the animals as well as the nonprofit’s staff.
Volunteering while vacationing isn’t something we work into every trip, but what a worthy goal that would be.
“It’s an honorable thing to leave a place just as you found it. But taking that a step further and sharing a bit of your time and talent to leave that special place in even better shape demonstrates a true appreciation for a community and leaves you connected in a way you never could have imagined otherwise,” Elisabeth Silverthorne, executive director of the Beach Food Pantry, said in marketing materials devoted to volunteerism in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Starting with my experience at Best Friends, I’ve provided some examples below of the types of volunteer work you might find no matter your destination.
Animal Welfare
A majority of the 1,600 animals living at the 3,700-acre Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah’s Kanab Canyon are dogs and cats, though there are separate areas for other animals including horses, pigs, parrots, rabbits and wild animals ranging from birds to reptiles and rodents. Minimum age to volunteer varies by area, with the Bunny House and Parrot Garden starting at 8 years old with an adult.
In addition to the hands-on work with the animals that I mentioned above, there are needs such as making toys and treats or doing upkeep on the grounds and buildings. Depending on the time of year, volunteer slots can fill up quickly. Shifts can be scheduled as far as one year in advance. Get more information and see the calendar of available shifts at bestfriends.org/volunteer/animal-areas.
Photo credit: MeLinda Schnyder
If you’re able to book well in advance, you might find availability among the cottages and seasonal RV sites that can be rented at the sanctuary. Six miles away in the town of Kanab, the 40-room Best Friends Roadhouse and Mercantile supports the sanctuary and caters to travelers bringing their pets or planning sleepovers with a sanctuary resident. There’s a fenced dog park, pet-grooming station and rooms designed for people and their furry friends.
I also recommend taking one of the many free walking or driving tours offered by the sanctuary, especially on your first visit. The sanctuary grounds are within Angel Canyon and the folks at the welcome center and gift shop can offer tips on beautiful hikes within the canyon.
Regardless of your destination, it’s very likely there’s an animal shelter near your vacation spot. Check online ahead of time to see if they take drop-in volunteers or if you can sign up in advance for structured volunteer times. Tell them how much time you have and ask what activity would help them the most. When we had a four-hour gap between arriving on the island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands and when our room would be ready, we left our bags at the property and asked for directions to the animal care center in Cruz Bay. The staff there was happy to have a few extra hands to walk dogs and it gave us a chance to stretch our legs while seeing the island.
Trail Tending
Most communities with trails for hiking, biking, running or riding horses will also have an agency that relies on volunteers to build and maintain those trails you enjoy as a visitor. A simple Google search can help you find these groups. They typically offer large events – such as the annual park-wide cleanup organized by the Yosemite Climbing Association in Yosemite National Park each September – as well as small group outings for trail stewardship.
For example, the Mariposa Trails nonprofit organizes day-long projects including repairing signage and clearing vegetation from trails on national public lands on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains between Yosemite and the population centers of Mariposa County. Farther west, just off Highway 101 in Morgan Hill, California, the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority offers volunteers projects such as trail maintenance, habitat restoration, fencing and cleanups regularly on Saturday mornings nearly year-round. They are posted at openspaceauthority.org. No training or prior experience is required, and volunteers can be as young as 14 with an accompanied adult.
Beach Cleanup
Similarly to trails, most beach communities rely on volunteers to keep the beach clean and safe. Search online for the city, county or region you’re traveling to and the words “beach cleanup” to find events and efforts to join.
Vacationers along California’s Central Coast can ask for a cleanup kit available at most Avila Beach and Cambria Beach lodging properties as well as some attractions. The free kit includes a collection bag, a glove, a marine debris checklist and a tote bag as an appreciation gift. The idea is that you’ll spend an hour or two enjoying the beach while picking up plastics that can be harmful to marine life and litter on the sand. These do-it-yourself kits are one element of the larger Travel for Good stewardship program coordinated by Highway 1 Road Trip, a destination marketing organization. Check out highway1roadtrip.com/stewardship-travel for more information, from wildlife viewing tips that promote safe engagement to other stewardship activities for you and your family.
Community Building
Another way to find ways to give back is to search the website of the destination marketing organization that represents the place you’re visiting. Some will have links and event listings, while others will go as far as having a list of places to volunteer.
One example is the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, which represents the towns, villages and attractions along 100-plus miles of shoreline making up the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The area is known for its beaches and, among other National Park Service sites, the Wright Brothers National Memorial, honoring Wilbur and Orville Wright’s historic Dec. 17, 1903, flight in Kill Devils Hill.
With just 37,000 year-round residents and more than 100 nonprofit organizations, the community relies on volunteers who come to the Outer Banks as tourists. Through a recent initiative to connect visitors to these opportunities, you will see a volunteer tab on OuterBanks.org that lists dozens of organizations and events taking volunteers. Activities range from working a couple of hours at the local food bank or animal shelter to spending time at a nonprofit attraction or joining beach and land cleanup efforts.
The visitors bureau hopes that by getting involved with local nonprofits, you’ll come away with a deeper appreciation for the community and a greater sense of responsibility to protect and preserve the area while visiting.
Another example is Lake Tahoe, whose tourism is largely tied to natural resources – the largest freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada and the largest alpine lake in North America. The community has a campaign to promote responsible tourism and both the Visit Lake Tahoe and North Lake Tahoe destination marketing organizations promote ways to get involved on their websites.
Many opportunities are available June through September, from workdays coordinated by the Tahoe Rim Trail Association to beach, stream and trail cleanups and citizen science such as aquatic invasive species identification via the League to Save Lake Tahoe. Find an extensive list of ways to get involved with the league’s Keep Tahoe Blue initiative at keeptahoeblue.org/volunteer.
If the concept of being a voluntourist is new to you, I challenge you to start by planning to volunteer on one vacation this year. Hopefully the feeling of giving back to a community you’re visiting makes you want to incorporate volunteering into more vacations.