World Parrot Refuge

We need a lot more volunteers, but the ones we have are great!

Al and Ria are the best! For the last three years they’ve been coming in FIVE nights a week to do the night feeds and meds, and they are both in their late sixties. They give money and all kinds of things that we need.

It’s the same with Val and her husband, Doug. For three years they’ve done night feeds and laundry, have donated a hot water tank, and continue to give many other donations.

Larry and Anne have also been coming in for three years. Larry does ALL the bird housing on his own. Anne comes and cleans the hospital for us.

Maxine and Mike come in and do seeds and nuts, two days every week.

Grant is great. He comes and makes movies, and helps out with the website. Branda and JP come in once a week and give goodies to the birds, and give help with anything else we might need.

We really need to let them know how much they mean to us, and the birds. They mean a lot to me and the other staff and their feathered friends because it’s hard to love so much and make all kinds of friends, and when one passes away it’s hard to let go and move on to help the next bird that needs you to be their friend.

If it wasn’t for Al, Ria, Val, Doug, Anne and Larry, and all of our volunteers, I don’t know how things would get done – they care so much!

- from Lacey Kapusta

Refuge volunteer, Alex, presents two more of his hand-crafted bird toys to WPR founder, Wendy Huntbatch.

It’s September and some of our bird-keepers are returning to the school books. One such employee recently dropped in to say “bye for now” to her feathered friends.

Carley saying 'see ya later' to her new friends

If you’d like to work for the World Parrot Refuge, please check out the job information on this website. We need energetic, reliable, hard-working people who would enjoy this unique job experience.

The World Parrot Refuge, like all charitable organizations, is always in need of volunteer help. We have a core group of dedicated people that give many hours of their lives to help the parrots of the Refuge enjoy a better life. Some of our volunteers can only help out on occasion, some donate their time every week, and others amazingly give of themselves almost every day of the year! Without the commitment of all of these people we could not provide the amount of loving care that our residents need. Our volunteers are the soul of our organization!

In that spirit, we would like to recognize their efforts and extend special thanks to:

Al and Ria Humphrey
Val and Doug Jones
Viv and Jackie Bochek
Bob Helfrick and Marj Wicks
Anne and Larry Neil
Jim and Jill Karn
Brenda and JP
Liz Petersen
Arlene Pitt
Emily Busby
Jennifer and Micaela Cameron
Julian, Alex and Leanne Grant
Dorothy, who washes our dishes
Georgina, who makes lots of toys

We look forward to seeing you all this year and hope to make some new volunteer friends too! If you have some time and a place in your heart for the amazing parrots of the World Parrot Refuge, please visit our volunteer page to find out how you can become a part of caring for the magnificent birds of our Refuge family.

Janet and Andy Breslin are very special volunteers and donors.

For the three years prior to the move to Coombs, Janet and Andy volunteered every Sunday at the Refuge for 12 hours each. They literally worked until they dropped, doing everything from cleaning the special needs cages to making and hanging toys. Janet made intricate castles out of banana boxes for the week’s entertainment for the birds.

When the parrot refuge moved from the Lower Mainland to Vancouver Island, we had a very difficult time managing without them. Needless to say, these dedicated people found ways to ensure that they are always a part of the parrots’ lives. They have visited on many long weekends, and worked hard from landing to take-off!

Andy, in his everyday capacity, designs and installs communication systems and video surveillance systems. In an overwhelming gesture, Andy and Janet kindly donated a video surveillance system and a public address system to the Refuge. This incredible gift makes communication across the Refuge possible. What Janet and Andy did for the refuge is no small miracle. It was always one of our biggest wishes to have a system just like this.

Again, thank you very much, Janet and Andy!