We Foster Challenge

Keeping Up With COVID-19, 3/17: Take Foster & Volunteer Training Online

Written for the COVID-19 Shelter Kit by Katherine Shenar and Kim Alboum

With shelters around the country strategizing ways to keep the critical services we provide up and running, we’re seeing agencies limiting intake, encouraging the community to adopt, and calling for fosters—should pets need a place to stay if their owners are impacted, and to help clear space for new animals needing our care. 

Volunteer orientation and foster training typically take place in-person. In the current pandemic, however, we don’t have that luxury—and time is of the essence. For quicker and safer onboarding, and to ease the burden of staff, The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and The Humane Society of the United States are encouraging shelters to take training and orientation online. Fortunately, this is not a new concept—over the course of two years, for example, the ASPCA’s Los Angeles Pee Wee Foster Program fully trained more than 400 foster volunteers using an online system. Many other organizations are also successfully running similar online training programs, and have resources and tips to share.

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