About
Hello and thank you for your interest in volunteering with Pima Animal Care Center!
Join the largest group of lifesavers in Pima County and volunteer to help PACC pets! At PACC, we rely on our volunteers who contribute a whopping 100,000+ hours of volunteer service annually. That’s the equivalent of 48+ full-time staff members. We have volunteer opportunities for all abilities, and we'd be honored to have you join our team!
PLEASE BE SURE TO CLICK THE "JOIN" BUTTON NEAR THE TOP OF THIS PAGE. YOUR APPLICATION WILL NOT BE COMPLETE UNTIL YOU JOIN!
Ready to start the online Volunteer Orientation process now that you clicked 'JOIN' at the top of the page? Click here to access Volunteer Orientation!
To learn more about our volunteer opportunities, age limits, and available group activities, read below:
(Please note: At this time, PACC does not have a court-ordered community service program at the shelter.)
Volunteer Opportunities
We have volunteer roles in nearly every department at PACC. There are a handful of ways to assist our teams with animals in the shelter. These positions are dependent on schedules, availability in the department and skill. There are also opportunities for individuals who are interested in supporting our mission through roles with no direct contact with animals. Administrative support (reception work, data entry, and more) at PACC is critical for our daily operations.
The everyday tasks that need to be performed for the welfare of the animals are activities that we have named 'Jump Starts'. Jump Start activities include tasks such as laundry, dishes, sorting donations and overall helping to keep our public spaces tidy! The Jump Start activities are where new volunteers will focus their time to learn about our operations and start to learn the layout of our big facility. Even our most tenured volunteers enjoy working on Jump Start activities when volunteering at the shelter.
Age Requirements
Children under the age of 12
- May participate in our Paws and Pages community reading program with a parent/guardian.
Children ages 12-15
- May volunteer with their parent/guardian supervising and doing same activity as the child the entire time.
- Children can participate in non-animal handling activities like sorting donated items, laundry, dishes, stocking the Pet Pantry and more.
- Children ages 12 and up are also welcome to participate in our Paws and Pages community reading program.
Children ages 16 and 17
- May volunteer without a guardian present. Must do orientation and tour with their parent, who must then sign the waiver required for the teen to volunteer alone.
- Are welcome to do both non-animal handling activities and activities that require animal handling (like dog walking).
Looking for group volunteer activities?
- PACC can accommodate to 15 people per volunteering event.
- This request is quite popular so you should plan for dates that are about a month or two out from when you are making the request.
- All ages are welcome but children 15 and younger should have a guardian present. Note: Kids are not allowed to handle animals.
- Activities are determined by the needs of the organization at the time requested and may not include direct animal-handling opportunities. A popular activity we offer is Public Dog Walks, which can take place October through April.
If you'd like to set up a group volunteering activity, please email us at paccvolunteer@pima.gov.