There are many things that help the Roosevelt Park Zoo to be successful. Volunteers from throughout the community are one of these. These individuals and groups give of their time to assist the zoo in creating a clean, inviting campus for all to enjoy. Over the past few years, I have watched individuals and groups take up rakes, shovels, hammers, and drills in volunteering their time to make the zoo look nice or to create furniture for some of the animals’ habitats.

While all volunteers are welcome and appreciated there are times they show up unscheduled and this can create undue stress on our limited personnel. Most volunteers and groups schedule their volunteerism ahead of time so the zoo can prepare for a specific project and provide the tools needed to complete the project. On these occasions the zoo benefits and the volunteers can feel the sense of accomplishment and appreciation. That is what we would like for all of those who serve. The zoo has begun to restructure its volunteer program to develop opportunities for long-term volunteers as well as those who serve once or twice a year.

The long-term volunteers will include those that have the time and enthusiasm to want to be a part of the zoo and serve as a part of our education department or even helping to support the animal care staff. These volunteers will go through training to understand their role and learn more about the zoo and its day-to-day operation to be ambassadors for sharing information either in a formal setting as a part of our educational programming or informally working out on zoo grounds.

The occasional, or episodic volunteers will include those groups or individuals that may not be a regular around the zoo but can be just as effective because when their work is combined with those that came before and will come after over the course of the year. A new component of the program is designed for those that want to serve, but whose schedule makes it difficult to plan. For now, we are referring to this group as the Wild Bunch. Individuals with this group will apply and instead of scheduling a specific time to volunteer will agree to be contacted when a specific need arises and decide if this need fits their schedule. This would be something like a large project that needs a lot of hands or a special event that needs some additional help. Regardless of the type of service a person is volunteering for, the new program will strive to make the experience more purposeful and rewarding.

Volunteers are a key component to the zoo’s success and now seems to be the time to formalize and restructure the program to better serve both the zoo and those who support our mission. Once the plan is completed, the zoo will hold a Volunteer Fair to provide more specific information about the opportunities ahead for those interested in becoming a part of and supporting the efforts of the Roosevelt Park Zoo.