Working with us - ways to help Border Collie Rescue

Helping as a volunteer

The most common way to help any charity is to become a volunteer and this type of involvement can take many forms.

It can be a formal arrangement or a more casual arrangement where the volunteers are registered with the charity and take part in particular tasks on a regular basis, making themselves available to be on call for a wide range of duties.

It can also be a more spontaneous arrangement where someone finds out about a particular project the charity is running or a particular job that needs doing and volunteers to help with that aspect of the charities work, but no other duties.

The formal and casual aspects of volunteering for Border Collie Rescue are outlined in more detail on a page that can be accessed by using the 'About Volunteering' button in the left hand menu.
Some volunteering options are outlined below. This is not a definitive list!

General help

Border Collie Rescue needs a lot of volunteers.
We cover a lot of the country - all of England, Scotland and Wales.

Home visiting, assessing dogs before they come in or following up and checking dogs we have rehomed.

These jobs require people spread out nationally. In most cases two people would be needed for security reasons.
To do any of these tasks with the minimum of cost and inconvenience to the volunteers means we have to set a sensible distance to travel from a volunteers home. This is currently set at 25 miles. That's a round trip of up to 50 miles.

It may be that we only home one dog within the catchment area of a volunteer in a year.
Maybe more, maybe none. but we still need people ready and willing to help.

Transportation.

We need people prepared to transport goods and dogs around the country. Dogs coming in and going out. Goods to foster homes or clients. With goods only one person need be involved. With dogs two. One driving, one handling.

Promotion and outreach

We need people who can spread the word in their local communities. There are a number of forms this can take.
To find out more see the 'Outreach' page accessed from the left hand menu.

Fundraising

This can take many forms. Can you run stalls selling merchandise and donated items? Can you collect bric a brac and go to car boot sales? Can you gather a group of friends and run a bag pack at a local supermarket? Can you arrange a street collection. There is a whole section on funding our work accessed by a button in the left hand menu.

Fostering dogs

This is by far the most serious job a volunteer can do. We have a system. It has to be the same in Inverness as it is in Dover. Dogs moving around need to be fed, handled and treated in the same way. It requires training.
Use the 'Fostering' button in the menu on the left to find out more.

Acquisition and Procurement

We need people to help find things we need. In particular looking out for materials for our Heritage and Library project but also to acquire things we need for the dogs, prizes for raffles and tombola's, a whole range of items and materials any charity or organisation can use. If it can be donated - grand. If we have to purchase - best price please!

Research

Information is always helpful. Our websites need a constant trickle of news and articles. We need up to date and new advice and information about a wide range of subjects that will help people and their dogs.

If you can give a little time to help us generally we will be able to use your services somewhere, sometime. But be prepared to be surprised at what you can do and be prepared to enjoy doing it.

If you need some training for a job we will give it to you and support your efforts.
If we ask you to do something you are unhappy with or haven’t got time for you can always politely say. NO, sorry, not at the moment ! That's one part of what volunteering is about.

We have always tried to do much more than simply taking in and rehoming dogs.
If we rescue a dog we have done well but if we have prevented a dog needing to be rescued we have done better.

We have striven to address some of the problems that cause the situations where dogs need to be rehomed.
Some we can't deal with but some are within our reach to alleviate.

We face the widespread cruelty, ignorance, neglect, poverty, complacency, injustice and pride that dogs suffer from.
On behalf of dogs we fight these foes constantly and we can make a mark on all of them with the right amount of information, resources and determination.

Join in and help make a difference.