WE NEED YOU! Volunteers are critical to the success of Canine CellMates. It takes a lot of people to make things happen. You can be one of those people.
Canine CellMates is a very comprehensive program, with volunteer opportunities available for everyone. We have different volunteer teams that could use your help and expertise. Read through our teams and see if there is a team you are interested in. Once you determine how you'd like to help, please either fill out our online volunteer form and hit send or download. One of our team leaders will be in touch to deliver additional information. Thank you in advance for helping us!
Adoption Coordination
Adoption coordination attends Jail Break Tour events to talk to potential adopters and help handle the dogs, helps to screen
adoption applications and do home visits as requested. They also handle posting our dogs on various sites, like Pet Finder
and Pet Harbour. We would also like for the Adoption Coordination team to come up with creative ideas that help to get our
dogs adopted.
Event Planning
The Events Committee helps coordinate all events for the organization, including researching existing community events, planning new events, working with external contacts for venue arrangements, collaborating with animals and civic peers in the community, securing materials for booths, planning day of logistics, defining day of event agendas, organizing and managing volunteers, and ensuring the event runs smoothly. This team works closely with the Fundraising Committee and may work together to hold events that raise both awareness and donations to support our mission. These team members are dynamic and creative people who enjoy developing positive relationships with venues, sponsors, volunteers, staff, jail and the community as a whole. From research to day of volunteering, there is a place for every person interested in event planning.
Marketing
The Marketing team is integral in raising awareness about Canine CellMates, and also assists the Adoptions, Fund-Raising and
Events team in promotions. Marketing responsibilities include Facebook, Instragram and Twitter posting, creation of flyers for
promotion of adoptable dogs, and collateral material development. Marketing is also integral in creation and design of specialty
items like banners, calendars, and t shirts.
Training
If you have good to excellent dog skills, and want to get involved on a level that includes both working with the dogs and interacting with the handlers, the training team is the place for you! Training takes place at the jail 5 days a week. Each class is led by our Lead Trainer with training assistants to help. Classes are held at the annex from 10 - 11:30 am, Monday thru Friday. This position requires a security clearance, to include a background check, and a one-time jail orientation meeting.
Aftercare
The aftercare component is a very fulfilling part of our program. We utilize our contacts, ingenuity, compassion, empathy
and tough love to assist men released from our program to begin to rebuild their lives. We assist them in getting
identification so they can apply for jobs. We may steer them towards a job fair and make sure they have money on their
MARTA card - and the proper clothing - to get there and make an impression. We meet for coffee to talk about next steps in
their lives, pick them up to bring them to our jail break tours so they can remain engaged with us, listen for job opportunities
to pass along to them.
In aftercare, you can be as engaged with the guys as you would like or you can simply feed us information on a job lead,
find a sponsor who will load their MARTA cards or buy them inexpensive phones. Aftercare is a great job for you if you are organized, compassionate and believe everyone deserves a second chance and you are just the person who can help find those opportunities.
Fostering
We need foster parents to love and care for any dog that is unable to complete the program for any reason and until they are adopted. The duration of foster care can range from a couple of days to several weeks, or more. Canine CellMates will provide you with a crate and crate liner, dog food, and heartworm medications. All veterinary costs are also covered by Canine CellMates.
Community Outreach
Community outreach is a new team that is just starting. The goal of this team is to identify opportunities for public speaking for our team, and ultimately others as well, so that we can create more awareness for our program. It also involves gaining access to decision makers in large companies, civic organizations, large churches, etc., that may be able to support us with volunteers and funding. Also included are identifying and making contact with service providers, like dentists, etc who may be willing to donate their services to the guys coming out of our program.
Program Coordinators
Program Coordinators are a strong component of helping Canine CellMate participants to re-enter society with better tools to be successful. Program Coordinators spend several hours at the jail each week working with inmates on skills such as resume writing, interviewing, team building and financial literacy. They help prepare inmates for life after jail and work with them on their confidence levels, communication skills and other issues to help them be successful after incarceration. These men are reentering into society and our communities, so we want them to be prepared for success and feel that they are supported in their efforts. Program Coordinators also report on issues with dogs so those issues can be handled quickly. Encouraging a high school drop out to study for his GED, spending quiet time with an inmate to discuss a personal matter and bringing a small part of the outside world into the inmates are all done by Program Coordinators. If you want to make a difference in the lives of the men (and get to see the dogs too), then the Program Coordinator role is right for you.
Canine Transport
Canine transport helps transport our dogs to and from our Jail Break Tour events, so that people can meet our dogs. They also
stay at the events, if possible, to handle the dogs. We like for these team members to complete security paperwork and get a
jail id, to assist in removing the dogs from the jail.
Fund Raising
The fundraising team is responsible for creating and executing initiatives to raise money for our program. This can include online appeals via Facebook, our website, peer-to-peer and special events. Fundraising works closely with Events to maximize efforts. We are continually seeking diversified opportunities, both virtually and in the Atlanta area. This team is also responsible for maintaining database of current donors, acknowledging and thanking donors, and seeking out opportunities for additional donor programs.
PR/Media
PR/Media responsibilities include creation and maintenance of a medial library, both print and video, creating and maintaining PR/Media contacts, seeking out opportunities for press opportunities, and writing/issuing press releases regarding Canine CellMates.
Please consider becoming a loyal part of the Canine CellMates family. You can sign up to volunteer, donate to our wish list, become a corporate sponsor, become a virtual sponsor for a dog in our program, or make a financial contribution.
Our Amazing Sponsors. Please patronize these great businesses!
Physical Location:
981 Howell Mill Road, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30318
Mailing Address:
7742 Spalding Drive
Suite 393
Sandy Springs, GA 30092
678.528.2200
a 501(c)3 GA charitable organization
Tax ID: 46-0765041
VOLUNTEER
YOU are Canine CellMates. Canine CellMates wouldn’t be able to save dogs and educate inmate handlers before, during and after our program, without the generosity and dedication of friends like you.
There are so many opportunities for individuals or groups to help. No matter what your skills, we can find a way for you to share love and hope.