Volunteer With Wildlife Rescue Coalition
Your time and care help injured and orphaned wildlife heal and return home.
Wildlife Rescue Coalition is a volunteer-based organization dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of native Florida wildlife. Volunteers are essential to every part of our mission.
Volunteer Roles Include: Phone team, animal transport, wildlife center support, and fostering baby wildlife. Training and guidance are provided.
Every year, over 3,000 injured and orphaned wild animals find their way to us – baby squirrels that fell from their nest, fawns separated from their mothers, turtles hit by cars. Each one needs hands-on care, and every single one depends on volunteers like you. No wildlife experience required. We’ll teach you everything you need to know. What we can’t teach is the compassion you already have, and that’s what matters most.
Age requirement note
Volunteers must be 17 years of age or older.
Find Your Role
Volunteer Opportunities
With six ways to contribute, there's a role that fits your schedule, your skills, and the kind of impact you want to make.
Wildlife Center Support
Step into our facility and be part of the daily work that saves lives.
Center Support volunteers work alongside experienced rehabilitators, helping with feeding, habitat cleaning, food preparation, and enclosure maintenance. Spring and summer are our busiest seasons — and we rely heavily on Center volunteers to keep up with the pace. This is the role where you'll get up close with wildlife every single shift.
- No prior animal experience required — full on-the-job training provided
- 4-hour shifts, 7 days a week — morning and afternoon options
- Hands-on work: feeding, cleaning, food prep, and enclosure care
- Work directly alongside licensed wildlife rehabilitators
Wildlife Foster
Give baby wildlife the around-the-clock warmth they need to survive.
Foster volunteers care for tiny orphaned animals — primarily young squirrels and opossums — in their own homes during their most vulnerable stage. It's a significant commitment during the fostering period, but it's also one of the most rewarding experiences our volunteers describe. You'll watch an animal go from helpless and fragile to ready for the wild.
- Care takes place in your home with full guidance from our team
- Requires flexibility for frequent feedings — every 2–4 hours for newborns
- Seasonal commitment — mainly spring through fall
- Training, supplies, and ongoing support all provided
Animal Transport
Be the lifeline that gets an animal from crisis to care.
An animal in distress can't wait. Transport volunteers respond to calls and safely move contained animals from rescuers or drop-off points to our Wildlife Center. Without transport, we simply cannot help them. If you have a car, a flexible schedule, and a heart for wildlife, this role is for you.
- On-call and flexible — take trips when it works for you
- Training provided on safe handling during transport
- No special vehicle required — just a reliable car
- Most trips within the greater Jacksonville / St. Johns area
Phone Team
Be the calm voice that guides someone through a wildlife emergency.
When someone finds an injured animal, they're often scared and unsure what to do. Phone Team volunteers are the first point of contact — answering our hotline, gathering key details, and walking callers through the right steps to keep themselves and the animal safe until help arrives. This is one of our most impactful roles, and you can do it from home.
- No wildlife experience needed — we provide full training and call scripts
- Work from home on your own schedule
- 4-hour weekly shifts — daytime, evening, and weekend options
- Ideal for people who are calm under pressure and good listeners
Student Opportunities
Earn your service hours doing something that genuinely matters.
High school and college students who need volunteer or service hours are welcome at WRC. Whether you're fulfilling a school requirement, building your resume, or exploring a future career in veterinary medicine, biology, or environmental science — we offer hands-on experience you won't find in a classroom.
- Open to high school students (17+) and college students
- Service hours documentation provided
- Great fit for pre-vet, biology, and environmental science students
- Mention your hours requirement during your volunteer interview
Supply Collection & Transport
Keep our animals fed and our shelves stocked — no cage cleaning required.
Our animals eat a lot — and we rely entirely on donated produce, pet food, and supplies to keep them fed. Supply volunteers pick up donated goods from local vendors and transport them to the Wildlife Center. It's a flexible, practical role that makes an enormous difference behind the scenes.
- Flexible, non-recurring trips based on donation availability
- No animal handling involved
- Requires a reliable vehicle with adequate cargo space
- Pickups from local grocery stores, farms, and pet supply vendors
Before You Start
What to Expect
We set you up for success from day one.
Training Provided
Every volunteer starts with hands-on orientation and training from our experienced rehabilitators. You'll never be left guessing — we walk you through your role before you're ever on your own.
Flexible Scheduling
We operate 7 days a week with morning, afternoon, and some evening shifts available. Whether you can commit weekly or just seasonally, we'll find the right fit for your schedule.
Real Impact, Every Shift
This isn't filing paperwork. Every shift you show up, an animal gets fed, transported, or cared for that might not have made it otherwise. The work is demanding — and the reward is watching that animal go free.
Apply to Volunteer
We ask for consistency, not perfection.
Wildlife rehabilitation is life-or-death work, and the animals in our care depend on reliable volunteers showing up for their shifts. We ask for a genuine commitment to your scheduled role — not perfection, but consistency. If life gets in the way, we understand. Just communicate with us. The experience you'll gain and the lives you'll help save make it more than worth it.