Volunteer
At The Retreat committed and competent volunteers are needed for a number of posts, from feeding, cleaning out, home checking and rescue work to fundraising (collections and raffles etc) - are you that person?
Then come visit us and talk to a member of staff about it.
We'll be super happy to help out!
Volunteering is fun but hard work (sometimes in difficult weather conditions)
but you get the opportunity to work with very different animals - horses, domestic animals, farmed animals and wildlife.
It is rare to have the opportunity to spend time with cows, sheep, pigs, ferrets, horses and many different types of poultry. If that's not your cup of tea you can still help out at our Café-Restaurant, Lodges or Thrift Shop.
For hands-on volunteering you will be interviewed by two members of The Retreat’s team; this is purely to show you how seriously we take volunteering and to ensure we pick the right people with the right outlook.
Not everybody is suitable to become a Retreat volunteer.
The Retreat is very busy and almost every day there is a new intake or two.
If a volunteer receives a placement they are expected to commit to four hours per week
(failing to come for three consecutive weeks means the immediate termination of your placement).
At The Retreat we expect you to treat your placement like paid employment,
with commitment and respect, not only to the animals but to your team.
Prospective volunteers should be aware that we are looking at what you can offer The Retreat, not what you may get from it.
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The website outlines our work and, after a probationary period of three months,
if your placement is confirmed you may pick and choose and move from post to post.
Volunteer work does not include dog work of any kind and The Retreat does not have dog walkers.
One-time volunteering is available on open days only (check our Events page to see when they are taking place) where you can be a field marshal or help out at the stalls.
Unfortunately we have no overnight accommodation available, or facilities for camping.
Therefore, any volunteers, or visitors, wishing to stay over will have to make their own accommodation arrangements.
Please note that no one under 18 years old can volunteer at The Retreat.​
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Remember, giving a little of your time can help a whole lot of animals.
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If you are interested on being a volunteer, please talk to us during your visit.
We'd be so happy to see you <3
Bring animal feed for our residents :)
You can bring animal feed for our residents. It can be anything from pet foods to fruit and veg to bird seed, sugar cubes, ginger nut biscuits and monkey nuts.
Wish List
Check out our Wish List to see if you would like to help out this way. There's loads of items on our Wish List which would be really helpful to have.
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If all this was not enough for you, that's awesome! Check out our Donate page to find more ways to help us.
It has been a real delight! I wish I knew about this place earlier. I'll be visiting every week now!!
The team at the Retreat are truly inspirational! The love they've shown animals is beyond words..
We had the sheer luck to discover The Retreat when we were only 10-days vegan. It's been a blast and we haven't stopped visiting since!
Mark from Brighton
Charlotte from London
Eve from Athens
Let's double in size
With 1,250+ animal residents and 20,000+ animals saved over our 30 years of operation, there's land on sale next to The Retreat and we have to double in size so we can help many more animals! For them.
All they need is your help <3
HELP us help them AT:
Gofundme.com/