Volunter at Calvert Hospice

Would You Like to Be a Calvert Hospice Volunteer?

Have you ever wondered just what a Calvert Hospice volunteer does for the organization? Are they involved in the nitty-gritty of patient care, or do they help with fundraisers and filing? Hospice volunteers serve a variety of roles for the organization. Without our volunteers, we couldn’t provide some of the services we offer our patients, our events wouldn’t succeed like they do, and our office would miss a whole contingent of hard workers who fill the gaps when we need help.

Family service volunteers allow us to provide families and patients with a full spectrum of service. Volunteers can sit with patients and provide companionship, they can run errands for a caregiver or patient, they can help patients document family history or other stories, and they have a unique opportunity to create relationships with the families and patients we serve in the community. Some of our family service volunteers are veterans and sit with our veteran patients, often reminiscing on shared service. Our family service volunteers cherish the time they get to spend with patients and their families and feel like they make a difference.

Some of our veterans prefer to participate in our Salute Ceremonies, a final salute that we offer our veteran patients. The volunteers attend the ceremonies and participate in many ways, reading a poem, presenting a blanket or pin, or saluting our veteran patients one last time. Veteran to Veteran volunteers attend a 2 hour training that allows them to participate in the ceremonies. It is an experience that our veteran volunteers find rewarding and moving.

Administrative volunteers work at the Calvert Hospice office and help in a variety of ways. They answer the phone and offer a friendly greeting to visitors. Administrative volunteers also file medical records, assist with fundraisers, and help staff members with tasks like re-organizing files, sorting documents, data entry, and more. They keep the hospice office running smoothly and have the opportunity to work closely with our team.

Bereavement volunteers help with our grief programs in the community. We have two children’s programs that are primarily staffed with volunteers: Bridges and Camp Phoenix. Bridges is a support group that runs for 7 weeks. Volunteers facilitate groups for children ages 6 – 17 who are grieving the loss of a loved one. Camp Phoenix is a three-day day camp for grieving children ages 7 – 15. Volunteers sign up as buddies to the children, spending time participating in traditional camp activities and therapeutic exercises that help the children learn coping skills. Camp and Bridges volunteers appreciate the opportunity they have to serve the children and their families.

We have a whole group of volunteers who staff our Shoppe for Hospice, an upscale boutique that sells gently used ladies’ clothing and accessories. We are excited that our Shoppe is moving in February, and we will be looking for energetic volunteers who would like to volunteer in a retail environment. Shoppe for Hospice volunteers work a shift at the Shoppe, which includes helping customers, running a cash register and credit card machine, preparing deposits, sorting donations, and maintaining stock. It is a wonderful way to help support Calvert Hospice’s mission in the community.

If you think you would like to become a Calvert Hospice volunteer, now is the time to act! You can download the volunteer application directly from our website’s volunteer page, or you can email volunteer@calverthospice.org. We are always happy to speak with potential volunteers and answer questions about the program!