Humane Society Silicon Valley (HSSV) needs more voices for animals! At HSSV, kids and teens can develop responsibility and compassion for animals in need through our many education-focused volunteering programs.

Compassion In Action (CIA) – all sessions are currently suspended

If you’d like to be notified when CIA resumes, please fill out this Interest Form.

CIA is a three-month long program for students who have a passion for helping animals. Students will volunteer directly with dogs and cats, learn about trending animal welfare topics and work on critical community service projects to help the animals in our care.

Read testimonials from past students and read our FAQs section for more information.

For Ages: 14 – 17 years old

Cost: $100.00 for entire program

Testimonials

“My interest in animals has increased and I’m not nervous around cats anymore!” —Nallely N.

“I think that doing CIA made me realize how many homeless dogs there are, and I see the importance of doing something to change that.” —Jordan A.

“I have been in this program for about a year. I really enjoy socializing the animals, and I feel very trusted.” —Jessica H.

“After CIA I think I have better people skills than I originally thought.” —Natalie S.

“I have had such an amazing experience. There’s so much I can share now, with my friends and family and I hope all the animals I have come to love at HSSV will find a loving home.” —Katrina S.

“Overall, everything I learned gave me more of an understanding of why pets do the things they do.” —Gabriella Z

“I became a lot more interested in dogs. The program also allowed me to see what life is like for animals in shelters. I made a few good friends and the program was definitely a good experience.” —Emma R.

Summer Camp Counselors

In light of the shelter in place (SIP) order that was extended to just days before our first session would begin, coupled with the fact that social distancing and crowd limits will continue through the summer, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel all sessions of our summer camp for the season. We hope to provide programming for middle and high school students in the Fall and beyond, so stay tuned!

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Here Are Some Things You’ll Want To Consider Before Applying:

• Are you 14 – 18 years old?
• Are you mature, self-motivated, and dependable?
• Do you love working with animals and kids?
• Can you come to a 2-hour group interview at the shelter?
• Can you volunteer in at least one camp session and attend one camp counselor training?

How Do I Apply To Be A Camp Counselor?

• Fill out an application
  
• During the application process, you will sign up for a Group Interview!
• We’ll let you know if we have a spot for you this summer. We’ll also confirm your camp dates and ask that you pay the program registration fee prior to the first day of training

Animal Starz – All sessions are currently suspended

To be notified with the Animal Starz program will resume, please fill out this Interest Form.

Students are trained to work directly with the animals in our care and get community service hours while they’re at it! They’ll also learn about important and trending topics in animal welfare and do projects around the shelter.

For Ages: 10–13 years old

Cost: $75.00 per session (2 hours each week, for 4 weeks)