The Next New Volunteer Training will be the 3rd Weekend in January, 2027
During ordinary disaster incidents only NVADG-trained Disaster Service Worker (DSW) volunteers are activated for emergency sheltering and evacuation.
Working with animals during disasters requires training before the disaster strikes.
As a Community Animal Response Team (CART), NVADG volunteers must take the minimum 16-hour New Volunteer training class, get a background check, and be a sworn Disaster Service Worker for Butte County. Volunteers train all year on processes unique to emergency response during disasters and NVADG’s Shelterly technology. Incident Command System knowledge is required. Team members depend on each other to know what and how to follow protocols. This knowledge is essential to keep everyone safe: workers, the public and the animals.
If you are considering volunteering with NVADG we’d love to have you! The required new volunteer orientation and awareness training is offered every January over the 3rd weekend. Plan now to attend! All volunteers continue training through June. Registration opens around mid-November. Watch for more information!
Due to the complexity of this training, we only offer it once a year.
PS – Physical requirements for working during a disaster vary by role, but most positions share a core set of physical demands related to standing, walking, heat tolerance, kneeling, squatting and lifting.
In order to assure basic safety of volunteers and animals, new volunteers are required to be able to perform, at a minimum, the following physical functions:
- Ability to stand and walk for extended periods (often 2–8 hours)
- Ability to kneel, squat, bend, and reach to clean cages, handle animals, or access supplies
- Ability to perform repetitive cleaning tasks such as mopping, scrubbing, hosing, disinfecting
- Ability to lift 25 lbs