Parrot rescues are always in need of a helping hand. Sometimes, a gesture as small as cleaning a few cages or spending time with a new bird can make a huge difference to a rescue in need of support. If you’ve got a talent you’re willing to share, such as IT skills or fundraising experience, your time is likely very valuable and would likely be quite helpful. Lets take a look at some ways you can help support your local parrot rescue!

Volunteer Your Time

Have you been wanting to help, but don’t know what to do? If you are OK getting a little messy or putting up with a few nice, loud parrot screams, you might consider volunteering your time to help with general duties around the rescue. Many places will have specific days in which volunteers come in to help. For example, my local parrot rescue has volunteer days on a specific day of the week. People will come in and volunteer their time to clean cages, bowls, and provide some socialization for the birds that need/want it. 

When rescues get donations of toys or food, you might help install those toys or whip up a batch of chop from some fresh veggies and grains. You can also ask if there are any general cleaning or maintenance needs that you can assist with. The rescue will likely be happy to tell you if there’s something they need help with that you can do. It can be hard to meet people and make meaningful connections in person in our internet-obsessed world, so volunteering could also help you do just that. It’s a great way to join a community of like-minded people that care about birds and their wellbeing. 

If you’ve been thinking about adopting or buying a parrot, volunteering is a fantastic way to get some experience with the birds and maybe even find your new family member. There’s nothing like hands-on experience to help a person understand a little of what it takes to provide a parrot with a good home, and to understand how you will react to some of the challenges that might come up!

Donate

Of course, donating to a rescue is probably the biggest way you can help if you have the means. Running a rescue isn’t just about giving the birds a home and helping them to find a new one. As I’m sure you already know, they have a lot of needs. Of course there are initial needs like cages and accessories, but they have ongoing requirements as well for things like food, toys, and veterinary care. Veterinary care is a huge one. Rescues will typically have each bird get checked out by a vet when they come in. Many times, they come from homes of neglect or have issues that require ongoing treatment. 

Those are just some of the things the birds themselves require. There are so many costs associated with running a rescue that have to get paid - and many times, that burden falls on the person that runs it. It can be extremely difficult when this happens, and puts the rescue at risk if there is no financial support. So, donating is a very big deal and something that every rescue will be extremely thankful for. Those of us that are short on time but have the means can help by giving a little. Those that make donations to a rescue that holds a certified 501(c)(3) status might also be able to claim their donations on their taxes. It’s a pretty simple process for most people and a nice little return on their kindness and support. 

You might also consider donating supplies and food. Fresh produce, new toys, an order of parrot food, (ahem, Bird Street Bistro is a local favorite here and always appreciated by the birds!) or cage accessories can be a huge help. If you’ve got a cage that you don’t need anymore, cleaning it up and offering it can help a lot if the rescue is running out of cages for new surrenders. It's worth calling the rescue and asking if they are running low on something. You should ask before you take over something like a cage first, in case they don't have the space for it at the moment. 

Fundraising

Rescues often hold fundraising events or create campaigns in order to encourage donations, create an immediate source of income, and encourage community involvement in their cause. Most times, it takes a team with varying skills to make a fundraiser successful. Fundraising is an important part of a rescue’s financial plans and they are often in need of some assistance. If you’ve got experience working with fundraising, or you have a skill that might benefit the rescue such as money handling, event organizing, or dealing with the public, you can offer your services as a way to volunteer your time and help the birds in their care. 

There are different ways that a rescue might participate in fundraising. What they choose to do might depend on things like their expenses, the time of year, or what offers they receive from businesses or local community members. They might hold a special dinner and raffle, a local restaurant might donate a certain percentage of sales for a night to the rescue if they hold the event there, or they may hold an auction with items donated by individuals, etc. If you’ve got an idea about how the rescue can raise money through fundraising, bright it up to them! Many people will offer their time and ideas as a way to help out. As long as it's all about the rescue and the birds, it’s usually a welcome gesture. 

Fostering

I've gone into more detail about what fostering is and how it can help a rescue in a previous blog post, but I'll do a quick summary here as well. When someone agrees to foster a bird for a rescue, they are taking them bird into their home, temporarily, in order to help the rescue deal with overcrowding and help prepare that bird for adoption. They do this by socializing them if necessary, keeping track of any problems or strengths the bird has, and helping the rescue do things like get them veterinary care and be trained to do things like step up and go in and out of their cage easier. This makes it much more likely that a bird will go to a home that suits them.  

Foster homes help rescues in a huge way. Many of them are dealing with overcrowding issues, which not only means they don't have the space for more birds, but it also means they will get less individual attention. Those running the rescue can only stretch themselves so thin, and they are likely already struggling to find the time to run the rescue and care for the birds if they are getting a lot of birds in. A person that is willing to foster and provide the bird with a safe, loving environment in order to prepare them to be adopted is a major help to a rescue. Most recues require that a person applies to become a foster home and will have requirements about how that bird is cared for. 

A challenge that many aren't usually aware of is the "foster fail". This is typically when someone offers to foster an animal but ends up adopting it instead. While this is a beautiful outcome for the human and the animal, it often means one less home is available for fostering birds that need it. If you can commit your time and attention to become a safe, compassionate foster home for a bird, I encourage you to apply. 

So, how will you help?

As I finish this post, I plan on making a donation to my local parrot rescue. I invite you to do the same! Even an amount as small as $5.00 is enough to do something like provide a parrot that needs healthy food with fresh fruit and veggies to help nourish them and prepare them for a new, healthy life. If you don't have the time to volunteer or the means to provide monetary support, some kind words and encouraging family and friends to donate can really help. Truly, every little bit of money, time, and encouragement makes a difference. If every one of us, or even 1 in 10 of us did something to help in our communities, imagine how much of an impact we could make on the parrots that need our help. 

Do you plan on helping? If so, what do you plan to do? We would love it if you let us know on our Facebook group page! In the meantime, order yourself a batch of our delicious parrot food, and maybe grab a bag for your local rescue as well :)

We're compiling a list of parrot recues and sanctuaries for the USA. Want to contribute? Send us the information on the rescue you know at customer.service@birdstreetbistro.com and we will add it to the list we're compiling.