The ACC has a staff of just a few employees, and we rely on the assistance of volunteers to help care for our cats and dogs. Whether you live on the island or are just here for vacation, we welcome any time you can devote to volunteering.
Want to get involved?
Canine & Feline Volunteering
We are always in need of volunteers to help with our twice daily dog walks (Monday: 4pm & Tuesday – Friday: 8:30 am and 3:00 pm). However, walks aren’t the only activity you can participate in! Read about additional volunteering opportunities below.
Canine Volunteering Activities
- Walking, socializing, and playing with dogs & puppies
- Cleaning and storing laundry & dishes
- Brushing and bathing dogs
- Assisting staff with feedings
Feline Volunteering Activities
- Socializing and playing with cats & kittens
- Cleaning and storing laundry & dishes
- Cleaning and drying cat cages and play areas
- Washing, drying, and refilling litter boxes
- Brushing and grooming cats
- Assisting staff with feedings
If you will be working directly with the dogs, you must be comfortable with and physically capable of handling medium to large dogs, and must be able to move quickly and be able to deal with a large dog that might jump.
Whenever possible, all precautions are taken to keep both the animals and the volunteers safe. However, Animal Care Center of St John is a shelter with many animals of assorted personalities, breeds, and energy levels—it is important to remember that circumstances arise which cannot always be predicted or prevented. Examples of these circumstances include: dog bites, cat bites or scratches, being pulled, knocked down, or falling when walking a hyper or anxious dog.
Programs
Adoption and Fostering Programs
Many of our island residents open their hearts and homes to our shelter cats and dogs by either adopting or fostering them. Even off-island adoption has been made easy. Island vets can provide shots and health certificates, and small animals are permitted to ride in the airplane cabin for a low fee. The ACC Staff members are available for advice, encouragement, and help with adoptions and fostering. Everyone has the opportunity to visit with a small sample of our adorable and adoptable animals at the Marketplace each Tuesday from 11:00am to 2:00pm. Staff and volunteers are present to answer questions concerning adoption, pet care, and ACC operations. Stop by, say hello, pet a pet or, better yet, provide a forever home.
Feeding Station Program
Many of the cats that are trapped for our spay/neuter program are found near our approximately 30 feeding stations located throughout the island. These stations are supplied regularly with food and water by dedicated volunteers. More feeding stations are being built by animal advocates and continually added to areas in need. The ACC supplies cat food for many of the stations; however, local residents also donate food for other stations as well as for feral cats that come to their homes.
Feral Cats - Spay/Neuter Release Program
We have approximately thirty feeding stations around the island for feeding feral cats. Part of our program is to trap feral cats on Wednesday nights, bring them to our local Vet office on Thursday morning for testing, spay/neuter, and vaccinations, and then pick them up at the end of the day and release them back to where they were trapped. We are always in need of volunteers to assist with trapping. Traps can be picked up from the ACC during business hours, Monday through Friday.
VolunTourism Program
Animal Care Center information is placed in guest welcome packets in rental villas and resorts around the island. Visitors to St. John are invited to tour the shelter, walk the dogs, spend time with the cats, or volunteer to fill some other need. Some folks tour or make a donation, and others enjoy directly interacting with the animals. For more information on becoming a VolunTourist, contact us about setting up a visit.
Voluntourism
Looks Good, Feels Good & Does Good
These days, the hot new way to travel is not so much defined by the means of the vacation–i.e. the flight, the hotel, the gorgeous destination–but by the end result of a trip.
Voluntourism is sweeping the world as the trend for travelers in the know. The idea is simple, and it’s catching.
Everyone from college students to retired couples is finding a way to lend a hand and spend their vacations helping others in the communities they are visiting. There comes a point — generally when you’re on your third Cruzan and Diet, sunburned over 60 percent of your body, and the kids are screaming in the infinity pool — when you start wonder if there is more to the whole vacation concept than lying on a beach getting toasted. A way of showing thanks for your own good fortunes, perhaps. You want a chance to contribute more to a local economy than buying overpriced trinkets that neither you nor your friends back home really need.
Voluntourism’s recent upswing might be a reaction to significant world events. Tourism dollars are essential to bringing back a weakened local economy, so voluntourists help with both their hands and their money. And many travelers want to interact with a culture in a more meaningful way than tramping through its tourist attractions.
Be the change… Enjoy a Voluntourism adventure in St. John and return with treasured memories and incredible stories, knowing you have touched lives of loving animals in need. And don’t forget maybe the best reason – people feel good when they’re helping. Studies have shown that there is a positive relationship between health and volunteering.
Refer to our contact information below, and give us a call to learn more about our Voluntourism program.
Send Us a Gift
We rely on donations of every kind to help us out with our daily needs for the animals at the ACC.
Gift List
The Animal Care Center of St. John relies on donations to keep its animals happy and healthy, and is very fortunate to have such a kind and generous following. Here are some items that the shelter could always use!
- Vacuum bags (Eureka MM)
- Frontline flea repellent (dogs & cats)
- Tough and durable toys (dogs & cats)
- Treats (dogs & cats)
- Litter pans (M – XL)
- Dog harnesses (S – XL)
- Dog tick collars (S – XL)
- Dog beds
- Airline pet carriers
- Dog poop bags
- Gift certificates to Canines, Cats and Critters/Kmart
Check out our gift list on Amazon for an easy one-click experience to help us out.
Thank you so much for your interest and support. The shelter truly thrives off of the year-round donations received from near and far. Thank you again!