PawCasso 2018 will be held on Saturday, November 3rd, 6-10pm, at Historic Terminal A at Reagan National Airport. Details can be found at pawcassoart.org.
Volunteers are needed to help with set-up and during this fabulous event. The following is a list of duties and times needed.
The event is cocktail attire so we ask all volunteers who will help DURING the event to dress appropriately.
To volunteer, please email specialevents@homewardtrails.org or fill out the form below this list of duties. If you do not get a personal confirmation from Laura, please email specialevents@homewardtrails.org to make sure your information went through!
NEW! Team Leaders
Can you help by being the team leader for your group of volunteers?
This would entail receiving (or helping to develop) training materials ahead of time, meeting briefly with Laura or another HT rep the day of the event before it starts, training the rest of the volunteers in your group, and being in charge of them all night. Please consider this especially if you have been to PawCasso before!
Set Up
9am-5pm (or any part of that time)
Volunteers are needed to set up all aspects of event. This will require carrying items from cars (rolling carts available), unpacking & setting up tablecloths, wine glasses, art, various event supplies, wine & beer, catering supplies, guest goodie bags, silent auction items, etc.
Event Supply Transporters
9am
Volunteers with spacious vehicles needed to transport some of the event supplies. Pick up Thursday 11/2 or Friday 11/3 from the Homeward Trails office or the Adoption Center and get to the event site Saturday morning (11/4) around 9am.
Registration Table
4:30-8pm (5-9pm shift also available)
Volunteers are needed to staff the registration table. This includes welcoming guests with a smile, checking names against ticket/nametag list , collecting money for those paying at the door, having guests complete the bidder registration sheet, handing out bidding paddles, programs and drink wristbands, directing guests, etc. Many registration volunteers opt to also be check-out volunteers (see description lower in list, timing can overlap).
Catering Support
2-6pm, 5:30-10pm
Volunteers are needed to help with some basic food prep, but mostly bus tables, walk around and clean up, throw away plates, etc.
Bartenders
5:00-10:30pm (or 5-8 & 7:30-10:30)
Must be 21 or older. Volunteers are needed to serve wine and beer. This will require standing behind bar, taking tickets or checking wristbands for drinks, pouring beer & wine, keeping drinks stocked and the bar area clean, etc. Help with breakdown and clean-up of bar area vastly appreciated. Help with set-up earlier in the day also welcome!
Art Runners
6:15-9pm
Volunteers are needed to bring art, in order, from display area to the live auction area and hold it during bidding. This will require carrying art and walking/standing for duration of duty.
Art Purchase Recorders
6:45-9:30pm
Volunteers are needed to sit at table adjacent to art auction stage to record purchaser info. This is a detailed-oriented, fast-paced position that requires volunteer to sit down the entire time.
Table Sales Reps
5:30-10:45 (or 5:30-8:15pm & 8:00-10:45pm)
Volunteers are needed to oversee various tables where items will be for sale. This will require a volunteer to sit/stand at table, provide basic info about items for sale and take money for items purchased. This could include drink tickets, raffle tickets, etc.
General Event Help
5:15-11pm
Volunteers are needed to mingle with guests, answer questions, pick up empty glasses/dishes, light clean-up as needed, refill dog water bowls, restroom cleanliness spot checks, walk around & notice things that are needed, be available for miscellaneous tasks, etc. This will require walking around for duration of duty.
Silent Auction Monitoring
5:30-10:15pm
Volunteers are needed to check that guests are filling out bid sheets correctly, make sure items & bid sheets all remain visible & nicely displayed, answer questions & encourage bidding. At the close of the silent auction (9:30pm), circle the winners’ names & assist them with retrieving their items.
Greeters
5:30-7:15pm
Friendly volunteers are needed to stand in the airport hallway to greet and direct guests toward the event space.
Coat Check
5:45-8:15pm, 7:45-10:15pm
Volunteers are needed to staff the coat closet.
Photography & Videography
5:30-9:30pm
Skilled photographer volunteer(s) with equipment needed to take photos of guests (& their dogs) at the entrance and to get some video of the event. Post-event editing also needed.
Photographer Assistants
5:30-7:30pm
Outgoing, dog-friendly volunteers needed to assist with guests’ photo opportunities at entrance.
Purchase Check Out
8-10:15pm
Volunteers are needed to check out guests who have purchased items. This will require adding up totals for art/silent auction items purchased (cash, check and credit card). This is a detail-oriented position, and training beforehand will be required. Volunteers should have a smart phone or tablet with a data plan and will be asked to download Square’s register app.
Event Break Down – PLEASE HELP!
10pm on
LOTS of volunteers are needed to break down all aspects of event. This will require carrying items to cars, cleaning up kitchen area, loading items out of venue and general clean up.
If you can help with any PREP WORK IN THE WEEKS LEADING UP TO THE EVENT, please contact Rebecca at rebeccag@homewardtrails.org with your availability.
PawCasso Volunteer Form
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Time to clean out the attic and sort through your closets, we need your donations for the the Homeward Trails booth at the Lyon Park Community Yard Sale on Saturday, September 29 from 8 am to 2 PM!
Don’t miss this opportunity to turn your unwanted items into much needed funds for the animals of Homeward Trails. Last year the sale raised over $1,200 to help our animals! The sale will take place on at the Lyon Park Community Center (414 N. Fillmore St., Arlington, VA).
It is very much recommended that if you can bring your sale items directly to the Homeward Trails tables on the morning of the sale that you do so. If you can’t do that, we will begin accepting donations at the Homeward Trails Adoption Center from September 10-28. We can use clothes, shoes, household items, appliances, dishes, kitchenware, collectibles, children’s clothes, toys, games, small furniture, rugs, towels, tableware, holiday decorations… you-name-it, we will take it!
In addition, we will need volunteers to help unload and set up (6:30 am – 8 am), help sell items (8 am – 2 pm), and help pack up what is left after the sale (2 pm – 3:30 pm). Many shoppers come very early so we can use lots of help in those first few hours!! If you can help anytime from 6:30 AM – 3:30 PM, please let us know when you can be there! We will also need a few volunteers the week prior to the event to help organize the donations dropped at the Adoption Center and load the transport van.
Please contact Rebecca at rebeccag@homewardtrails.org if you would like to help or donate!
As you have all seen and generously supported, HT has been working hard to assist the dogs of Puerto Rico by covering medical care for them as well as transport off the island to adoptive homes here for over three years. This has been a rewarding experience as we have taken more than 290 dogs over this time, We have participated in both small and larger transports. Each fuzzy face that has arrived represents an amazing story of survival.
Most of our partnering has been with the The Guanica Animal Rescue Project (GARP), an amazing group that was founded by Lynn Descoteau who moved to Puerto Rico from the US and was quickly overwhelmed by the number of animals needing help. She had to do something and contacted HT more than 3 years ago to partner. Her efforts have been instrumental in saving the lives of so many animals. She is a hero on the ground!
However, as we all know, transferring animals is only a small part of the solution to a much larger problem. Transporting off the island alone will never solve the growing problem. While we continue to bring dogs to the US, the population of homeless dogs is growing, made worse by so many pet owners abandoning the island after Hurricane Maria and leaving their pets behind. And thus, we have decided that the time to further invest in this area and these animals has come.
Starting on April 1st, Homeward Trails will be opening a branch in Guanica, Puerto Rico, the community in which we have been working for the last three years. What will this mean?
We will continue with working the GARP founder under the umbrella now of HT. We will also be working in partnership with with several veterinarians in the area including our long-time partner, LaSuissa Vet Cinic. We are also very excited to have the support of the Guanica Mayor, who has officially invited Homeward Trails to Guanica to partner with his office and our vet partners to provide TNR (trap, neuter, return) programs for cats, ongoing transport for adoptable dogs, low-cost vaccines and spay/neuter for owned animals and community outreach programs about humane care of animals.
We will have a full-time staff person on the ground in Guanica overseeing the animals we rescue and preparing them for shipment here. We will be increasing the number of transports we do in order to continue moving dogs off the island. We are SO grateful to the Animal Welfare Institute who has donated funding to purchase a transport van which will make larger transports possible!
We will be implementing a targeted TNR program for cats. No one is talking about the cats and it’s heartbreaking to see all the homeless kitties who continue to multiply. We are thrilled to announce that we have received a donation of 20 traps which will be used to trap cats for TNR and dogs who are n need of prompt medical treatment.
We will be working in conjunction with our partners to host community events where we will offer low-cost vaccines, education on TNR and humane animal care, and volunteer recruitment! We will be providing community outreach to residents including information on vaccines, spay/neuter, humane care of community animals and ways to get involved and assist our efforts.
We also hope to begin offering hands-on volunteer opportunities for HT volunteers to travel to Puerto Rico to participate in these activities! There is SO much work to be done and we can’t do it without you.
So much to do and we are SO excited to get started on this next phase. We are kicking off this program with a two-day fundraising event on February 26th and on 27th to celebrate WORLD SPAY DAY! For every $50 donated a cat will be spayed/neutered. Please consider a donation of any size to help us save kitties.
***We will post an announcement with the link to donate on Feb. 25th. Every dollar will make a difference and save lives.
Join us on this new and exciting mission to alleviate suffering and bring long-term solutions to the animals of Puerto Rico who desperately need us. LET’S DO THIS HOMEWARD TRAILS!!
