We urgently need reliable volunteers on a daily basis to help care for all the hedgehogs currently at the Rescue Centre.  Typical roles done by our volunteers include:-

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Cleaning out boxes and hutches

Every hedgehog enclosure needs to be cleaned out and replenished with fresh food and water.  A clean and warm environment is so important to ensuring our hedgehogs get well as soon as possible.  Cleaning hedgehogs can be a messy job so we provide latex gloves for your protection.  If you’re really not a fan of the stuff that comes out the back end then hedgehog cleaning is not for you. They produce vast amounts of liquid and solids and spread it around liberally over the floor, up the walls, in their bedding and some seem to spend the night shoving it through the bars and onto the floor!!  Cleanliness is paramount to avoid spreading illness. We have A LOT of hedgehogs to clean.

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You will be fully trained by one of our experienced volunteers on how to handle hedgehogs and the process of cleaning. 

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Weighing hedgehogs

It's important that we keep a close eye on some of our poorly hoggies to ensure they are gaining weight.  Many have been brought to the rescue in a poor state, so we need to feed them up so that they are a healthy weight ready for release when their treatment is complete.  Hedgehogs are weighed using heavy duty digital kitchen scales and their weight (in grams) written on the medical sheet attached to their box.  Weighing can often be done at the same time as cleaning to reduce the amount of handling the hedgehogs incur.  Handling hedgehogs is essential for this task, so you need to be confident in doing this.  Full training will be provided.

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Tip runs

Cleaning out all our hedgehogs on a daily basis produces A LOT OF WASTE.  This equates to 10-20 black plastic sacks per day. The sacks need to be taken to the local refuse site (which is less than a mile away from the rescue) at least once, sometimes twice, a day.  The sacks are piled up just inside the gates so if it rains they get wet and dirty from the floor.  A protective sheet/tarp would be beneficial if you don't want to get your vehicle dirty.  This task is one of the most important as a build up of waste is to be avoided.

 

Vet runs

Often we need a Vet to look over some of hedgehogs, so transport is required to drop them off and pick them up again during the day.  You won’t be responsible for making any payments and any hedgehogs that you are transporting will be in a secure carrier. If you have a vehicle that can fit 1 - 6 pet carriers in, then this is a very rewarding role, helping our 'hogs get the veterinary care they need.  Essential medical supplies can be collected from the veterinary practice at the same time and brought back to the rescue.  Our Vets are located in Adlington and Chorley (less than 3 miles from the rescue).

Follow our Facebook page for shout outs of vet runs needed.

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Organising and preparing supplies

Donations of food, newspapers, towels and other supplies are being brought to the centre every day from our supporters and members of the public.  It's important that everything is organised and safely stored so it's available when we need it. Storage is limited so keeping things tidy is important and so is having an accurate record of stock levels.  Bedding materials such as towels and clothing need to be cut up into smaller manageable pieces, so they are prepared ready for the cleaning team.

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Administration/paperwork

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General maintenance

This is such as busy rescue centre that wear and tear is inevitable.  We need volunteers who are experienced in all aspects of maintenance, from fixing a leaking tap to installing new flooring, there are so many jobs that need doing. If you have the skills and time to help us, we'd love to hear from you.

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Fundraising

It costs approximately £5,000 a month to keep the rescue centre open.  We need enthusiastic volunteers who are bursting with ideas and have the determination to help us raise funds throughout the year.

 

... and finally
We will never ask you to administer medication to our hedgehogs, this will only be done by Janette and our experienced medical volunteers.

 

We respectfully ask that if you are only coming to see a hedgehog and have no intention of coming back the following week PLEASE DO NOT APPLY to be a volunteer, it’s a huge waste of our time in training you, time which we really can’t afford and is much better used elsewhere.

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We try our absolute best to accommodate people with various disabilities who want to help out as volunteers.  As long as you are physically capable of doing the tasks then we are more than happy to have you on board.  We take health & safety very seriously and provide the safest working environment we possibly can, however space is very limited and wheelchair access is not available everywhere.  Lifting is often necessary so we are unable to accept wheelchair users for some of the roles, but we will always try to find a suitable role you can be involved with.