I love animals - volunteering writing services to a cause

Has anyone ever donated his or her writing services to a shelter or animal rights group? There is a non-kill shelter near me, and I was thinking of offering my services to help with or write a newsletter or the descriptions of animals up for adoption. I don't have much experience as a grant writer, but I think I could give it a shot if they were looking for that. I am not looking for any compensation. I just want to help in some way. It's really a great shelter. I've gone in just to play with the cats or walk a dog. But not having a car makes it hard for me to get there. I thought I could help out by writing something/anything for them. Does this sound stupid? They might already have people doing this. I don't even know the best way to approach someone there about this. Should I call? Should I go in? Do I bring a resume and writing samples? I am a retired journalist and now wrapping up my MFA in creative writing. I am hoping these credentials will be enough for them to let me do something that could benefit them and all their animals.

I have also fed and cared for strays in other countries. Street animals are so smart. Another great thing about this shelter is that a lot of places that go to spay and neuter street animal and some come back with them and some end up at this shelter. The rescue groups only take back street animals they think will be adopted quickly or need medical attention. My dog was a little of both. I adopted her through the shelter I want to work with. I support animal rights groups with small donations, but don't have a lot of money. I have more time to give than money to give.

If anyone has volunteered writing services to help a cause or organization, I would love to hear about it and how you started. It would also be great to hear from anyone who has worked in a shelter or knows if what I am proposing would be wanted or needed.

Captcha said:

I've done some grant writing, newsletter writing, etc. for an organization where I was already volunteering. For me, it was good to start as a 'regular' volunteer and then work my way in to the writing part, because it gave me a chance to get to know the organization and made my writing more authentic when the time came..

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Because of my car situation I really can't do that. I have donated money to this shelter in the past, but I was hoping to give more than I can financially. I just think this place is pretty special to the animals. I just thought if they didn't have a real writer around, maybe I could help out. The little descriptions they write about the animals aren't well written. I know that might not matter too much, but I do think I could help with this. And I'm on the email for this place, but I've never seen a newsletter. If I took that on, it would just be adding to their communication with their contacts. This is a small shelter in the middle of nowhere. But are you saying these volunteer positions for writing are hard to get?

Pony. said:

I worked in shelters over about 12 years. As a former staff member I can honestly tell you every little bit helps. To the animals its not just playing for a little while, to them its much more. Without my crew of volunteers there were many nights I'd never have gotten out of there.

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Did your shelter ever take volunteer writers? And do you have any thoughts about the best way to approach someone there about helping them out with some writing? I was thinking of just calling up and talking to someone or I can get a ride to go in, but I'm not sure if showing up is the best thing. I also have a general email, but I have no idea how often it's checked. I kind of want to just have a conversation with someone there about what I might be able to do for them.