Photos courtesy of Ragamuffin Pet Photography
Lort Smith is Australia’s busiest not-for-profit animal hospital in Australia. It provides veterinary services and offers a range of volunteering opportunities including foster caring, onsite volunteering and pet therapy.
In the early stages of COVID-19, the organisation developed a plan to keeping volunteers safe, engaged and connected with Lort Smith. To manage volunteers in high-risk categories, Lort Smith required these volunteers to take a break, before suspending all on-site volunteering shortly after.
During the suspension of on-site volunteering, weekly Zoom catch ups have been provided for different volunteer roles. Phone calls, Facebook groups, and fortnightly e-newsletters help staff maintain a connection with their volunteers. Some on-site volunteer roles including Kennels and Cattery volunteers, are provided updates on which animals have been adopted.
Foster carer volunteers have been able to continue their roles, and many other volunteers have been encouraged to become foster carers. Pet therapy program volunteers have been encouraged to create videos to share online.
For National Volunteer Week, Lort Smith asked what volunteering meant to their volunteers, and held numerous online Zoom sessions to thank them for their ongoing support. A video was later distributed amongst the volunteers, which included personal thanks from all levels of the organisation from the CEO through to junior staff.
As restrictions continue to fluctuate, Lort Smith is finding innovative ways for volunteers to contribute virtually, as well as finding ways for volunteers to safely return to onsite where appropriate. Importantly, their message to all volunteers is that they will be supported if they choose to take a break.
Retaining volunteers has depended upon communication with volunteers about new opportunities throughout this pandemic. Adapting to new online platforms has provided a virtual volunteer support for the communications team via research, data entry and social media support.
Lort Smith acknowledges the push towards virtual volunteering is part of its future. Maintaining some of the changes they have incorporated, such as the Zoom catch ups, will ensure Lort Smith is prepared for long-term changes. They anticipate an extended delay in the return to some programs, yet remain hopeful they can accommodate volunteers into the future.
By Ruby Jacobs, volunteer writer for Volunteering Victoria
