Volunteer with us!
Our Volunteer Programme is now RE-OPEN!
Love animals and want to support the cause in a more hands-on way? We (and the animals) would love to have you! We accept applications for individuals, and small groups, from all over the world! After applying, be sure to check your spam folder periodically just in case our response gets sent there instead!
Scroll to learn more.
Ways to Volunteer
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Freedom Flight Volunteer
A vital part of the re-homing process is getting the dogs to their forever homes. We are always in need of flight volunteers who can help us transport the dogs from China (Beijing airport or Shanghai airport) to one of our partner rescues. We arrange for you to fly and all expenses for the animals are taken care of.
You can either do this after wrapping up helping at the Safehouse in Harbin or you can simply do a turnaround flight instead (in and out of Beijing or Shanghai). Make a trip out of it or make it a stop on an already planned trip! Be the reason an an animal makes it home.
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Safehouse Volunteer
We can always use help at the Safehouse and our clinics. Come support the cause by getting your hands dirty with us in Harbin and help give the animals the TLC they need!
The day-to-day work will vary based on our needs at the time, but volunteering here generally means long days, primarily helping socialize and care for the animals. You’ll be helping to teach them trust and patience while helping us learn their personalities. You may also do things like help take photos for adoption profiles and play in the yard with the packs. It makes all the difference for these animals and they just love the volunteers!
What to know before applying at the Safehouse…
Requirements
We accept applications for individuals and small groups from all over the world! Applicants must be 18+ to be accepted, due to the nature of volunteering.
Although it’s not a formal requirement, it’s best if our volunteers are confident around dogs and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty! Even if you are primarily working with the cats, you will still need to be able to navigate through the dog yards.
Duration
We welcome volunteers to visit for anywhere between 4 days to 2 months. We recommend minimum 4 days as it’s a lot of traveling for only a few days. But we are of course open to less days if you are already in the area and want to help! We can help navigate booking flights. You’ll need to get a travel visa to come here and that may affect the maximum length of your stay.
Due to the harsh winters here, we currently do not recommend volunteers November - February.
Accomodations
We will provide a list of tried and trusted accommodations (both hotels and hostels) located near our rescue base. Each day we provide a vegetarian lunch onsite for our team and volunteers. Volunteers are responsible for their own breakfast and dinners.
Harbin in general is considered a very affordable place to visit but we do recommend you do your research to calculate your trip budget.
For all additional questions and information, email us at volunteer@harbinshs.com
“I simply had the most amazing time volunteering at SHS.
To meet (and adopt one) of the many animals whose stories I’ve followed for years was a dream come true and to be even a tiny part of helping them grow in confidence was such a privilege.
I was welcomed like family from the moment I landed and looked after the entire stay. The only thing I regret is not having done it sooner but I will definitely be back!”