Looking for ways for kids to lend a helping paw to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter? Kids can earn a Humane Hero Award by organizing supply or monetary collections for the shelter or by participating in other fun off-site activities.
Please note that you must be 18 years or older to volunteer at our shelters. For more information on volunteering, visit our webpage.
Crafting items from our suggested list is another great way to contribute while showcasing your creativity. Simply drop off your donations at the front desk and commemorate your efforts by picking up your award!
Here are a few ideas for projects (you can also download this list):
- Make Gift Bags for Cat Adopters
Send adopted cats home with a fun surprise! Gather fuzzy mice, plastic balls, and Temptations or Churu lickable treat tubes and put them in a bag of your choice. Feel free to put a message on the bag too! Here’s an example.
- Hold a Supply Drive
Collecting items from our wish-list is a GREAT way to support the Shelter! Whether it's a new cat toy or a dog leash, donations help the shelter immensely. You can choose items off our Shelter wish list, our Foster and Volunteer program wish list, and there’s even one for our Pet Pantry! Visit our donations page for more information.
- Make Fleece Blankets
Our dogs and cats love to have soft blankets for cuddling! You can make blankets without sewing by cutting two pieces of fleece, cutting fringe all the way around, and tying the fringe pieces together. We especially need ones that are 2’ x 3’ ft. (24” x 36” in.). Click here for instructions on how to make the blankets.
- Follow us on Social Media
We often post fun stories and photos of adoptable pets, happenings around the shelter, and events and announcements! Sharing or liking our posts, tagging a friend, or retweeting takes hardly any time, yet could play a part in helping make a match for a shelter pet waiting for a family and gives our pets a larger audience and greater reach! You can find us on Facebook, Instagram and X.
- Gift a Gift Card
There is a good chance you have a few unopened gift cards in drawers; they may be useful to the shelter! Gift cards to well-known retail stores will always be welcome because they help defray the cost of purchasing items we need.
- Help Advertise Adoptable Animals
Make a flyer for an adoptable shelter pet! It can be one that caught your attention or one that’s been at the shelter for a while. Bring the flyers to local businesses in your area and ask permission to post them.
- Have a Bake Sale or Lemonade Stand
Have fun with friends making delicious baked goods and donate the profits from your sale to the shelter. You might ask a local business if you can set up outside on a busy weekend day to sell your goods. Make a big sign letting everyone know your proceeds will be donated to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter.
While we appreciate homemade gestures, we regret to inform you that we cannot accept homemade animal treats for safety reasons. However, if you have other creative ideas or inquiries, feel free to reach out to us at DAScommunications@fairfaxcounty.gov.
Humane Hero Award
Be sure to pick up a Humane Hero Award to commemorate any achievement you or your community group has accomplished to support the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. Just ask the front desk staff at either campus!
Visiting the Shelter
If your child would like to visit the shelter when dropping off donations and picking up a Humane Hero Award, we welcome you to walk throughout the adoption areas at either campus and see all of our adoptable pets.
If you’re part of a classroom, club, camp, or other children’s group and plan to visit the shelter, consider downloading our FCAS Activity Book and review our helpful suggestions and Group Visit Guidelines below.
Group Visit Guidelines
We provide the following guidelines and suggestions to ensure your visit to the animal shelter is safe and enjoyable for both visitors and the animals:
- Consider Visiting the Lorton Campus: It is newer, bigger, brighter, and better equipped to handle larger groups. Plus, they have catios! Not sure what a catio is? Go there to find out!
- Plan Your Visit: Schedule visits during less busy times to reduce stress on the animals and staff. Saturday and Sunday afternoons are particularly busy, with many adopters visiting.
- Supervision: Ensure a sufficient number of adult supervisors to maintain a safe ratio of children to adults.
- Animal Safety: Supervise interactions closely; absolutely no fingers in small animals’ or dogs’ cages to prevent bites and scratches.
- Group Size: Due to the smaller size of some rooms, break down large groups into smaller ones. Rotate groups through different areas to ensure everyone gets a chance to see everything without overwhelming the animals.
- Respectful Interaction: Teach children to be gentle and calm around animals. Encourage quiet voices and slow movements to avoid startling the animals.