FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 10, 2020

CONTACT:
San Diego Zoo Global 
Public Relations
619-685-3291

WEBSITE:
SanDiegoZooGlobal.org  

NEWS RELEASE 

Volunteers Log Over 2 Million Hours at San Diego Zoo and Safari Park

San Diego Zoo Global began the new year with an immense amount of gratitude. Just before the end of 2019, a tally revealed that the conservation organization’s volunteers logged a total of 2 million hours of service since the launch of the volunteer engagement program in 2009. Currently, the program has about 1,500 regular volunteers who give their time to San Diego Zoo Global—the nonprofit conservation organization that operates the San Diego Zoo, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, and staffs conservation field stations around the world. 

Based on the California Independent Sector Volunteer Rate of $29.95 per hour released in April 2019, volunteers contributed approximately $7 million in service hours. “San Diego Zoo Global volunteers have had an enormous impact on our organization, in terms of value added through support, creativity and the ability to engage with the public,” said Tammy Rach, senior manager, volunteer services, San Diego Zoo. “We are incredibly grateful for our community members, who are so passionate about the mission and vision of San Diego Zoo Global that they give of their time so generously.”

While guests at the San Diego Zoo and San Diego Zoo Safari Park have long relied on trained volunteers to help them navigate the grounds, learn more about specific plant and animal species, and discover how they can be part of conservation efforts, many volunteers also work behind the scenes designing and building enrichment items for animals, while others assist in field stations, such as island bird conservation sites on Rota in the Northern Mariana Islands, California’s San Clemente Island, Maui (at the Maui Bird Conservation Center) and Hawaii (at the Keauhou Bird Conservation Center).

“Volunteering at the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park is a unique opportunity to create a lasting legacy, as well as have some great adventures,” said Andy Schucker, senior operations manager, volunteer services, San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “San Diego Zoo Global is a leader in important conservation studies around the world, designed to save plant and animal species from extinction.” Volunteer support helps the organization extend its conservation reach.

Schucker emphasized that while some volunteers enjoy interacting with Zoo and Safari Park guests and sharing San Diego Zoo Global’s conservation efforts, others prefer to work away from the public eye, when such opportunities become available. For example, last year, animal care specialists at the San Diego Zoo noticed that a tapir named Felix had a sore foot. In order to promote healing, volunteers spent weeks making several protective “shoe” prototypes, which were tested by wildlife care specialists and later documented on the television series The Zoo: San Diego on Animal Planet.

Scientist Karl Hanold, Ph.D., was one of the volunteers involved in creating the tapir shoe. Hanold also engineered a feeding area for the Zoo’s aye-aye habitat that enables VIP tour participants to watch this Madagascar primate use its uniquely adapted finger to scoop up and eat grubs, coconut, and other food from an acrylic tube that mimics a tree branch.

“San Diego Zoo Global is remarkable, in terms of the direction of the organization and its commitment to saving species,” said Hanold. “It’s a marvelously run organization, and it’s fun to be part of that.” 

David and Karen Sharpe have been volunteering at the San Diego Zoo for more than 35 years. They began volunteering with other young professionals in fundraising events for the Zoo, and today, they chair a committee for Rendezvous in the Zoo (R*I*T*Z), one of the Zoo’s largest annual fundraisers. 

“We began volunteering because we love animals—and the people we met,” said David Sharpe. “San Diego Zoo Global’s commitment to conservation has kept us here, whether we are helping with fundraising, creating enrichment items for the animals or working as interpretive volunteers and interacting directly with guests.”

While the volunteer training is comprehensive and requires an honest commitment, San Diego Zoo Global has one of the most flexible volunteer programs of any nonprofit organization. After a process that includes completing an application, submitting letters of recommendation, interviewing, attending a thorough orientation and successfully completing more than 20 hours of training, volunteers become information ambassadors. As an information ambassador, shifts and assignments are based on organizational need—however, additional assignments may meet and inspire the individual passion of the volunteer.

“While we rigorously maintain best practices and ensure that all of our volunteer procedures protect and promote volunteers and guests, we are committed that volunteering for San Diego Zoo Global brings a lot of joy to the lives of volunteers,” said Rach, who helped form the Volunteer Management Committee within the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). 

Bill Dawson is a volunteer who began as an information ambassador at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park—all volunteers start off in that role–and is now one of seven “day captains,” serving as a point person for the other volunteers on site. Dawson now coordinates volunteer schedules, makes assignments and mentors new volunteers. In the past 20 years, he has mentored over 300 people. 

“When it comes down to it, my favorite thing to do is interact with the guests and teach them about conservation,” said Dawson. “At the end of the day, I want them to have the best day possible, learn something new and have a great time. If anyone is looking for a rewarding opportunity in 2020, look no further than San Diego Zoo Global.”

For more information about volunteer opportunities, visit Zoo.SanDiegoZoo.org/Jobs/Volunteer.

About San Diego Zoo Global
As an international nonprofit organization, San Diego Zoo Global works to fight extinction through conservation efforts for plants and animals worldwide. With a history of leadership in species recovery and animal care, San Diego Zoo Global works with partners in science-based field programs on six continents, and maintains sanctuaries and public education facilities in many places. Inspiring passion for nature is critical to saving species, and San Diego Zoo Global’s outreach efforts share the wonder of wildlife with millions of people every year. Current major conservation initiatives include fighting wildlife trafficking and the impacts of climate change on wildlife species; broad-spectrum species and habitat protection efforts in Kenya, in Peru and on islands worldwide; preventing extinction in our own backyard; and expanding efforts to bank critical genetic resources and apply them to the conservation of critically endangered species. To learn more, visit SanDiegoZooGlobal.org or connect with us on Facebook.

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