For Individual Volunteers, NOT Groups

Join the BACKUP LIST to organize event equipment (folding chairs, tables, tents+) & storage areas for the Franklin Park Zoo and meet the Masai giraffe family, weather permitting

Picture of a Masai giraffe's head and upper neck at Franklin Park Zoo in Dorchester

WHEN

  • Sunday 10/05/2025, 9:30am-1:30pm
  • Rain or shine.
  • Sign up by 9/28/2025

    Join the Backup List if you can reserve this day/time.

WHAT

We are organizing event equipment (i.e., folding chairs, tables, tents+) in six areas so that they can be carefully stored during the off-season, instead of potentially becoming lost or damaged due to improper storage, thus conserving zoo resources for the animals and their habitats.

Weather permitting, PMD volunteers will be treated to an animal encounter, meeting the Masai giraffe family, in addition to receiving free general admission (usually $21.95/adult/afternoon), to explore the zoo independently 1:30-4pm.

Participation is required for the entire project time span, 9:30-1:30, rain or shine, with breaks.

WHERE

Franklin Park Zoo, Boston

Note: PMD only shares specific directions, maps, and other details with registered volunteers since we cannot accommodate any walk-ins, i.e., unregistered volunteers simply showing up.

WHY

The Franklin Park Zoo is a community resource and recreation center managed by the nonprofit Zoo New England. The Zoo is seriously under-staffed and under-funded, so needs help. PMD volunteers have assisted the Zoo annually since 1993.

 

HOW

To participate, register yourself by 9/28 at https://pmd.org/s/100525.htm
Individuals may only sign up themselves (and may not reserve spaces for others), except for parents, who are allowed to register their 14- and 15-yo offspring.


PMD canNOT accept any UNregistered, walk-in volunteers.

When this popular project reaches maximum capacity, then interested volunteers can join the backup list, since we anticipate (and promote) cancellations in case of illness and covid-19 exposures.

All volunteers must print and sign a zoo waiver-photo release form that one can review when registering.

For volunteers ages 14-17, a parent/guardian must also co-sign printouts of PMD's waiver/release,
and for volunteers ages 14-15, a parent/guardian must also register individually by 9/28 and participate fully with the minor.


Call PMD if you cannot register online using qualtrics.
CALL THE PMD OFFICE at (*82) 1-781-963-0373 so that we can help you AND troubleshoot the problem so that other potential volunteers will not face the same problem. Thanks!

After you register successfully, you will see a confirmation screen and receive a confirmation email message, so be sure to save the date and times on your calendars AND add [email protected] to your address/white/allow list.
Then a few days before this project PMD will email specific details in a PDF, including directions to the project site by public transit and by car, what to wear/expect, checklist, map, and form(s) to print, sign, and submit at check-in on 10/5 -- Volunteers age 18+ provide their PMD consent when registering online, to minimize paper/printing/contact, but the zoo still requires signed, printed paper forms, and parents/guardians must print and sign both forms for minors who volunteer.

 

WHO

Volunteers must be age 14* or older, healthy, be able to lift 25 lbs unassisted, and work while standing during this whole project.

Volunteers must wear sturdy, closed-toe shoes as well as bring their own water bottles.

This is a fragrance-free PMD project, meaning that participants must not wear perfume or cologne, or scented skin, hair, facial, body, or clothing/laundry products.

*Volunteers age 14-15 must be accompanied by an individually registered, fully participating adult age 18+.
A parent/guardian must co-sign all of the forms of any volunteer under 18, which must be submitted when checking in upon arrival for this project.

For 32+ years, public charity People Making a Difference (PMD) has promoted informed and responsible volunteerism by involving people in tangible work that meets local needs and by assisting companies in building successful community involvement programs that:
  • Produce appreciable results while conserving recipients' limited resources.
  • Educate volunteers about broader issues.
  • Bring people together to make a difference.

 

 

"The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive."
-E.O. Wilson

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