Volunteer, Intern or Work Study

Please call or e-mail to sign up for the next orientation
814-692-0004 

or centrewildlifecare@gmail.com.  Please plan to be there for 2-3 hours. 

Centre Wildlife Care is looking for energetic, dynamic personnel who may be interested in veterinary medicine,  zoology, wildlife education and management, animal science or just willing to volunteer a helping hand.  Spring and summer are the busiest seasons for CWC.  During these months we receive multiple animals a day requiring a team effort. Currently, several programs are provided to accommodate our busy, expanding center:

1. Volunteer positions
2. Summer Internships
3. Spring/Fall Internships
4. Externs during winter break and spring break
5. Work-Study positions

Animal care volunteers help feed the animals, prepare food, wash dishes, clean cages and/or transport.  Centre Wildlife Care, (CWC) takes in wild mammals, birds and reptiles.  Most volunteers help 2-4 hours per week at the center with animal care.  Some volunteer more hours.  The times that one would volunteer would vary depending on CWC's needs and the volunteer's schedule.  We ask that volunteers work the same shift on a weekly basis if they choose to do the animal care.  We can also use volunteers for other tasks such as fundraising, animal transport, errands, grant writing, painting, computer work and other misc. tasks. 

Volunteer Requirements

• Attend the volunteer orientation
• Volunteer Application
• Animal care volunteers have reliable transportation (i.e. your own vehicle)
  
• Background Check (FREE for volunteers)

Centre Wildlife Care which provides care to over 1500 wild birds, mammals and reptiles is looking for summer interns. Full-time and part-time internship positions are available for the summer semester at our facility located in Port Matilda, 10 miles from Penn State's main campus.  Since CWC is a small rehabilitation facility, interns would be involved with all aspects of the rehabilitation process, which includes physical exams, care, feeding, cleaning, medical treatments, releases, etc.  Interns' primary responsibility is to provide care to the wild animals undergoing rehabilitation which includes (but is not limited to) care of educational animals,  hand feeding the orphaned babies and cleaning their enclosures.  In the summer, CWC receives hundreds of orphaned wildlife including songbirds, waterfowl, raptors, rabbits, deer in addition to rabies vectors such as raccoons and skunks to name a few.  Interns must be willing to work with all species (except snakes) and make sure all the animals receive the care that is required.  Interns must be willing to work both inside and outside to provide care to the animals and follow established protocols.  The possibility exists for interns, depending on their interests, to concentrate on special projects.   It is not required to do the internship for credit.

Summer is the most interesting time to volunteer or intern because CWC gets 50% of the animals for the year in May and June in the form of orphaned baby wildlife.   Volunteers and interns will get experience feeding and handling a variety of orphaned baby birds and orphaned mammals.

Summer interns (full & part-time) Part-time Summer internships are 20 hr/wk for 13 weeks.  Full-time internships are 40 hr/wk for 13 wks.

Summer Internship Requirements 

• Internship Application due by March 1st
  • Volunteer Application
  • A letter explaining why you want to do an internship
  • 3 references which include name and contact information (that are not family)
• Be at least 18 years of age
• Attend the volunteer orientation
• Background Check (FREE for volunteers)
  
• RVS (rabies vector species) certification
  • Attend the RVS training (Offered every spring or summer)
  • Have proof of rabies vaccines or protective titer within the past 2 years
  • CWC provides discounted rabies vaccines...contact us for more information.
• Be available the entire 13 weeks including weekends and holidays
• Be available for additional training before the internship starts 
• Animal care personnel have reliable transportation (i.e. your own vehicle)
• It is NOT required for an intern to be a college student

Note:  Applications may be taken after March 1st if positions are available. 

If you are eligible, you can actually get credit for working at CWC while taking classes full time.  Talk to your advisor about how to set up an independent study or internship.  The amount of time required depends on how many credits and the department requirements per semester credits.   It is typically 40 - 60 hours/semester credit (depending on your department).  The hours are spread out over the semester.  Rabies vaccines are not required for this type of internship.  If you need an advisor, talk to Jana Peters at Penn State's main campus at 814-863-4198 for assistance.

Spring/Fall Internship Requirements 

• Internship Application due at the start of the semester
  • Volunteer Application
  • A letter explaining why you want to do an internship
  • 3 references which include name and contact information
  • Background Check (FREE for volunteers)
  • Animal care personnel have reliable transportation (i.e. your own vehicle)

Externships are 40 hours during winter break or spring break and are usually done as part of a class.  Please contact your advisor or CWC at centrewildlifecare@gmail.com for more information.

Work-Study Positions

If you are eligible for work-study, you can get paid to work at Centre Wildlife Care.  PSU students apply on e-lion or call the main campus financial aid office at 814-865-6301 for more information.

Housing

Housing is NOT provided. 

Transportation

Personnel must have transportation.  There is no bus service to the CWC location.

Age 

Volunteers and interns must be at least 18 years of age to work with the wildlife.

RVS (Rabies Vector Species) Certification

Any volunteers or interns who wish to work with rabies vectors (bats, raccoons, skunks, coyotes, foxes and groundhogs) must be RVS certified.  To be RVS certified, one must have a recent rabies vaccine (or protective titer) and attend the RVS training. 

•  Volunteers that are not RVS certified will not be working with rabies vectors. 
• Summer interns are required to be RVS certified.
• Other volunteers are not required to be RVS certified but encouraged to attend the training. 

RVS Training

They are offered once a year in April or May.  

Tetanus Vaccines

It is recommended that volunteers and interns are up-to-date on their tetanus vaccines. (within the last ten years). 

Covid-19 Vaccines

It is required that volunteers and interns are vaccinated against coronavirus.