2020 Volunteer Report

National Service Dogs was founded on volunteerism and to this day, volunteers are an integral piece of our organization. In 2020, volunteer hours were lower than in past years as we were limited by provincial COVID-19 restrictions. Yet, our volunteers came together like never before to stay united and support one another through the difficulties of the pandemic.

We connected through video check-ins and online games. Together we played over 20 games of Bingo and Trivia while we were not able to meet in person. Then we got creative as the pandemic went on with a volunteer appreciation drive-thru and small socially distant meet-ups.

Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic NSD was forced to evolve our volunteer programming and we had to say farewell to our long-standing Evening Enrichment Program and Weekend Sitter Program. This was around 100 volunteers who gave so much time and dedication to our organization and were out of a volunteer opportunity.

We then created our Adult Raiser program and Doggy Carpool Driver program to support the needs of our dogs in their final stage of training while minimizing the group programs and high contact risk. We were excited to welcome over 15% of our EEP and Weekend Sitters into these new roles and still keep in touch with the rest. 

National Service Dogs has some amazing volunteers and our offerings would not be possible without the dedication and support of each and every individual and family who generously give their time and support to our mission! Thank You, Volunteers!