If someone is thinking about volunteering, what would you tell them?

Alyssa said, “If you want to volunteer, you can expect hard work. It's cleaning and fixing and scrubbing and lots of poop and lots of noise. That being said, there are many ways to work on a shift, depending on your personality and comfort zone. We have birds of all sizes and temperaments, so you can decide what works for you. Also, give it a few weeks to get used to it. Once you're in the groove and have a routine down, it becomes a lot more fun and really rewarding! Don't be intimidated! A bonus too volunteering beyond the birds are the fantastic people. I love my shift! They are like family.”

What do you wish more people understood about parrots? Sonia replied:

“That they’re wild animals, no matter how we try to frame it. We try to fit them into our homes and lives the way we do with domesticated animals, and it just doesn’t translate.
We can do our best for them, and we should, but even the best care isn’t the same as a fully wild life.”

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Olivia and Fu are mother and daughter, and they have been volunteering together. This is what they have to say:

Olivia said, “I’ve been volunteering for about a month. I started volunteering because I wanted to work with animals! What surprised me most is that it’s a lot more cleaning than I originally thought. If someone was thinking about volunteering, I would say to definitely go for it’s really rewarding despite all the cleaning!”

“My name is Fu. I’ve been volunteering with my daughter for about a month. I’ve never had a bird before. To learn about how to care for the birds and also get to know the birds here and their stories is eye-opening. It brings strength and comfort to me to see how the birds are striving to live despite what happened to them in the past and to know that they are being taken care of now. It is also inspiring to be around the volunteers who are so loving and caring. One other benefit of volunteering with my daughter is that every week we get to work together toward the same goal. It is great bonding time. I’d recommend families who love and care about birds volunteer at MAARS together.”

“How has volunteering here changed your perspective on animal welfare or conservation?” Rena’s response:

“I didn’t know that parrot rescues are all at or over capacity, the horrible living conditions so many captive parrots endure, or the impacts of the wild pet trade on both the environment and the number of parrot species at risk of extinction.”

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