Do Something Day: Celebrate the spirit of volunteering by helping out at the RSPCA Yagoona shelter

Help our furry friends by volunteering at the RSPCA Yagoona shelter in the spirit of DoSomething Day.

• Thousands take part in random acts of kindness
• It’s time to DoSomething
• Do something near you
• Your Local Club

Every week, RSPCA volunteer Cori lends a helping hand as a kennel volunteer assistant at the Yagoona shelter.

Volunteers make a positive difference by helping out at RSPCA shelters, care centres and veterinary hospitals.

There are roles without direct contact such as administration, customer service, gardening and maintenance, photography and local community fundraising as well as jobs with face-to-face interactions with animals.

RSPCA volunteer Cori with Jack who is up for adoption. Picture: Tim Clapin

There are roles with direct and indirect contact with animals. Picture: John Appleyard

Volunteer kennel assistants, for instance, help with feeding, cleaning and exercising the dogs.

They also provide them with training, socialisation and environmental enrichment.

Cori, who volunteers every Thursday from 8-11am, said it was the most rewarding thing she had done.

“Obviously coming here you want them to go to their forever home and just make it easier for them while they’re in the kennels as well, make their process a little bit easier for them,” she said.

“In all honesty I get to hang out with the puppies so it’s lovely, it’s really amazing.

“The first thing I do when I come in I generally help the girls feed the dogs and I take them out for a walk and give them a lot of attention as well. We take them to the yards even and play fetch.”

She encouraged others to get involved with the cause.

“It is the most rewarding thing you could possibly do. You’re volunteering your time to a really great cause. I mean, you get to hang out with animals – what’s better than that?”

Individuals can volunteer on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis depending on the role.

RSPCA NSW relies on the support of hundreds of volunteers who provide basic care to animals in need at the shelter.

Do something Day is Australia’s biggest ever celebration of random acts of kindness and volunteering.

Volunteering at the Yagoona shelter is heaps of fun.

For ideas what to do, click on our Kindomiser on the DoSomething! Day page and generate a random act of kindness and commit to it and share it with us using the hashtags #dosomethingday and #giveyourbest!

Launched by NewsLocal newspapers, the DoSomething charity and Your Local Club and supported by the Pratt Foundation, the day is all about encouraging everyone to do something positive in their communities.