Volunteer

Your help is welcomed year round!

The PRC Volunteer Program

The Primate Rescue Center relies on the hard work and dedication of volunteers to help ensure that our residents get the high quality care they deserve, and that our organization functions efficiently. As a volunteer, you will have the opportunity to observe primate behavior, interact with primates from a safe distance, and have the satisfaction of knowing you are improving the lives of monkeys and chimps! Our volunteers must appreciate that our residents are not pets, are not used for invasive research, are not for sale or adoption, and do not benefit from exposure to the general public.

The PRC operates 365 days a year and volunteer help is welcomed year round. Our website will help familiarize you with our history and mission, and give you some sense of the vital role that volunteers play in our day-to-day operations. We have many different types of volunteers, so take a look to see what category best fits you as a potential volunteer at the Primate Rescue Center!

On-site Volunteer Opportunities

Animal Care

Our animal care volunteers are a vital part of our daily routine at the sanctuary. Depending on your level of time commitment, as a volunteer you may have the opportunity to assist caregivers with many daily tasks such as food preparation, enrichment and cleaning.

Administrative
Administrative Volunteers will assist staff in the office with general filing duties, cleaning of the office area, organizing, and stuffing envelopes. Mac computer and Microsoft Office knowledge is helpful. Monday-Friday Only
Grounds Keeping
As a grounds keeping volunteer, you will have the opportunity to make the sanctuary a more beautiful place for our primate residents to live. Grounds keeping volunteers may assist our maintenance staff with planting flowers, mulching, weeding, cleaning vehicles, and general grounds clean-up.
Are you… At least 18 years old? Living in the local area? Able to commit to at least 3 hours a week? Available between 9:00am – 5:00pm? Seeking a long-term volunteer commitment? Able to lift 25 pounds and engage in strenuous physical activity? Ready to get your hands dirty? Ready to work together with other volunteers, interns and staff? You may qualify for our On-Site Volunteer program!
BECOME AN ON-SITE VOLUNTEER

Melanie Parker

Volunteer Coordinator

“Our dedicated volunteers make a positive impact on the lives of the sanctuary residents, and they are so important to our organization.”

We depend on caring individuals to dedicate their time to helping us provide lifetime sanctuary to nearly 50 rescued primates, including apes and monkeys. Our volunteer categories offer a variety of ways individuals can help the primates and the sanctuary, including meal preparation, enclosure maintenance and cleaning, and creating enrichment as well as other administrative and professional services. Volunteers feel rewarded and fulfilled by knowing they are making a difference in the lives of the primates who live at the PRC. Due to the nature of the species we work with and our commitment to the highest safety standards, volunteers never have any direct physical contact with any of the primates.

CONTACT MELANIE
More Volunteer Opportunities
Off-site Volunteers

Off-Site Volunteers are extremely important to the Primate Rescue Center. We have a great Off-Site Volunteers Packet with tasty recipes, fun enrichment ideas and exciting fund-raising challenges that you can work on from your own home! Off-site Volunteers must coordinate with the Volunteer Coordinator when working on any off-site project.

BECOME AN OFF-SITE VOLUNTEER

Event Volunteers

Each year the sanctuary holds an on-site event exclusively for PRC Members, at which volunteers are needed to assist in a variety of tasks to help this event run smoothly. New event volunteers must attend an orientation the week before the event, and are needed from 10:00am to 5:00pm for the event.

BECOME AN EVENT VOLUNTEER
Out-of-town Volunteers
Out-of-Town Volunteers will work a 40-hour week on-site at the sanctuary and may be asked to perform the same tasks as on-site volunteers (see On-Site Volunteer section). Out-of-Town Volunteers will be totally immersed in the daily routine at the sanctuary and will have the opportunity to learn volunteer tasks quickly.
BECOME AN OUT-OF-TOWN VOLUNTEER
Volunteering Professionals

The PRC welcomes the help of professionals in a number of fields to offer up their expertise. Landscapers, Artists, Carpenters, Housekeepers, etc. can all make a difference at the Primate Rescue Center by providing their skills to help us better the lives of our residents.

BECOME A VOLUNTEERING PROFESSIONAL

Enrichment Workshop for Volunteer Groups

The Primate Rescue Center is happy to host volunteer groups who are interested in giving their time to create enrichment items for the primate residents during an exclusive Enrichment Workshop.  Enjoy a unique experience learning more about primates who come from a variety of captive situations while also giving back to the primates and enriching their lives with your creativity and compassion.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ENRICHMENT WORKSHOPS

Join The Fun

Volunteers in Action
Our volunteers have been hard at work.

Fresh Volunteer Faces! – September 2016

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We’re happy to announce and welcome 2 new volunteers to the PRC’s On-Site Animal Care Volunteer Team! Kirsten Perkins, who works at Marriott in Lexington and also volunteers for the Louisville Zoo, began volunteering in August 2016 and joins us on...

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