The Unicorn Foster Squad Implementation Bootcamp is an eight-week training course designed to teach animal welfare organizations how to implement their own Unicorn Foster Squad supporting the nation’s most at-risk and vulnerable homeless pet population–large breed behaviorally challenged dogs. This Bootcamp is hosted by Gateway Pet Guardians and offered for free to selected organizations thanks to a generous grant from Rachael Ray Foundation and Best Friends Animal Society.
I was able to serve as the Project Manager and Instructional Designer for the project, supporting staff and volunteers at Gateway Pet Guardians as they prepared the Bootcamp, recruited participants, facilitated synchronous meetings, and coached organizations through the program. I worked closely with a graphic designer to create a series of marketing and promotional materials and filmed and edited instructional videos to support the course. The Bootcamp was built in the Canvas learning management system, which provided a free space to share standard operating procedures and guide participants through activities to help them achieve the course objectives.
By the end of the Bootcamp, our goal was to empower participants to be able to:
- Create a Unicorn Foster Program proposal for your organization, including an analysis of the need, a program budget, and basic job descriptions for key volunteers and staff.
- Analyze your organization’s internal procedures and documentation for at-risk dogs and implement changes throughout the duration of the course.
- Build a custom adoption plan for an at-risk dog in your organization, utilizing best practices in marketing and training support.
- Conduct off leash introductions and playgroups as evaluation tools.
- Build internal support for both fosters and adopters of at-risk “Unicorns.”
The Bootcamp is offered in cohorts. The first cohort was offered over the summer and included 19 agencies from across the nation. A second cohort is scheduled for this fall and will cater to another 20 organizations.
More about the Bootcamp can be found at the links provided below.