Other Volunteer Opportunities
The 1,600+ animals at the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary need a lot of love and care from our volunteers, but there are also other ways you can help us with your time and skills. The following volunteer opportunities are available to volunteers 18 and older.
Sanctuary Store
Volunteering in the Sanctuary Store is a fun way to engage with visitors and volunteers from all over the world. Our Sanctuary Store is located in the Best Friends Welcome Center. It's a great place to take a break from working outside or if you have any mobility challenges. While volunteering in the Sanctuary Store you may be asked to help with the following tasks:
- Checking in merchandise: count, fold, quality inspection, apply price tags
- Organizing and cleaning the store: fold, dust, restock
- Physical inventory counts
- Making price signs for merchandise
- Other special projects as needed
Are you interested in volunteering at the Sanctuary Store? Click here to get started. If you already have a volunteer account with Best Friends, log-in here.
Angels Rest
Volunteering in Angels Rest is a Sanctuary experience like no other. You're honoring the many thousands of beloved animals who have passed by helping maintain the beauty of their final resting place. While volunteering you may be asked to help with the following tasks:
- Tidying sites
- Sweeping
- Raking
- Weeding
- Light pruning of bushes
- Straightening and cleaning site markers
- Picking up trash
- Painting chime tree posts
- Miscellaneous special projects
To keep you safe, here are a few things that you should be aware of before volunteering in Angels Rest:
- Closed-toe shoes are required
- Long pants are recommended
- Work gloves will be provided
- Hats and sunscreen are recommended
- Bring water as it's important to stay hydrated in the desert heat
Are you interested in volunteering at Angels Rest? Please contact the Sanctuary Volunteer Department at volunteers@bestfriends.org or 435-319-0622 to schedule your shifts in Angels Rest.
Landscaping
In addition to all of the fluff and the wet noses, the natural beauty of the Sanctuary is, no doubt, why so many people return to visit again and again. Behind the scenes you'll find many people working hard to ensure the Sanctuary is beautiful and safe for its inhabitants and visitors. If you love plants and digging in the earth, here are some ways you can help our Landscaping Team:
- Weeding - by hand or by hoe
- Greenhouse/Nursery - Repotting, cleaning
- Watering
- Seed collection
- Trash pickup
- Tree pruning
- Planting
- Special seasonal projects
Are you interested in volunteering with Landscaping? Please contact the Sanctuary Volunteer Department at volunteers@bestfriends.org or 435-319-0622 to schedule your shifts in Landscaping.
Community Cat Program
Best Friends' Four Directions program helps the free-roaming cats of Southern Utah and Northern Arizona. Thanks to the program, thousands in a radius of about 150 miles surrounding the Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah, are getting the help they need: trap-neuter-return (TNR) services, food, and veterinary care.
Volunteers help our Community Cat Coordinator pick up community cats from the Best Friends clinic and return them to their trapping location. The core responsibilities include:
- Loading and unloading trapped cats in and out of vans
- Releasing cats from traps
- Cleaning traps
- Helping to ensure cats are returned to proper locations by following paperwork to track traps, locations, and cats
The shifts typically meet at 8 a.m. at the Best Friends clinic and can go as late as 5 p.m. Please note, this can often be a very emotionally draining (but rewarding!) day.
Please email sutahccp@bestfriends.org to sign up for a shift today!
Sanctuary Service Project
Keep the sanctuary beautiful and safe while meeting other volunteers! The Sanctuary Service Project group will work on a variety of projects across the Sanctuary. You'll be working with other volunteers as well as a Group Coordinator who will transport you around the sanctuary. Some project examples are:
- Trail maintenance
- Weeding
- Painting
- Cleaning of animal areas
To keep you safe, here are a few things that you should be aware of before volunteering for a service project:
- Closed-toe shoes are required
- Long pants are recommended
- Hats and sunscreen are recommended
- Bring water as it's important to stay hydrated in the desert heat
Are you interested in volunteering for a Sanctuary Service Project? Click here to get started. If you already have a volunteer account with Best Friends, log-in here.
