Volunteer Information

Without our volunteers, Greenhill could not provide its current high level of service to the animals and people of our community!

Volunteer Member Team Values

What our volunteers are saying...

2023 Volunteer and Foster Appreciation Celebration!

We love our Volunteers!

Ready to Volunteer?

Please read this list of volunteer requirements before applying. 

Pay for your volunteer registration fee using the link below. Be sure to select the package that fits the type of volunteering you will be doing! Pay Volunteer Registration Fee

After payment is processed you will receive an email to initiate your background check or with next steps (for those under 18).

Volunteer Spotlight

January 2025

Maria

Meet Maria, our Volunteer of the Month for January! Maria started volunteering in July 2020 and has given more than 960 hours of her time to the shelter. She spent her first few months helping our staff with early morning kennel cleaning; after a brief hiatus during the pandemic, she switched to volunteering with our Dog Enrichment Program and has been working directly with our shelter dogs ever since.
 
Maria comes to us all the way from Rotterdam, The Netherlands! After moving to the United States, she lived in California for a while before coming to Eugene. It was in California that she had her first experiences with volunteering in animal welfare, working with dogs at both the Yolo County Animal Shelter in Woodland and the Siskiyou Humane Society in Mount Shasta. She moved to Eugene in 1999 to be closer to her stepdaughter, who was a UO graduate student at the time. Though she is now retired, she had a variety of work experiences throughout her career including as an office worker, vocational school teacher, and acupressure massage therapist.
 
When she isn’t helping the shelter dogs at Greenhill, Maria enjoys walking, being outdoors, working out at the Y, and practicing meditation and Qigong for mind/body flexibility. She’s also had some memorable travel experiences in the past: “I have enjoyed many wondrous adventures in my life, traveling all over Europe by train, hitch hiking or riding a motorcycle, which sometimes got a little dangerous. In later decades I have become more focused on mindful connections with all living beings, to be kinder and less judgmental.”
 
The connections Maria has made with the people and dogs of Greenhill have helped so many dogs find loving new homes while also teaching her about the importance of the training and enrichment she does alongside other volunteers and staff to provide the best care for the dogs. In her own words, “Working with the dogs teaches me patience and gives me joy. They make me a better human. I also love working with my co-volunteers, how we support each other and exchange our experiences with dogs.”