Volunteer Opportunities

There are many different volunteer opportunities available at Evergreen Hospice Services:

Patient Care Volunteers
Provide companionship, light housekeeping, errands, transportation and respite for caregivers as required. Care is provided in patient’s private homes, retirement homes, adult family homes and skilled nursing facilities.

Inpatient Care
At our hospice center, volunteers provide a listening, caring presence for residents and their families; assist health care professional in patient care and many other special services.

Bereavement
A variety of volunteer roles and opportunities exist to meet the grief and bereavement needs of individuals and their families as a result of the death of a loved one. Phone Volunteers are responsible for telephone support to bereaved assessed by hospice social workers as having low-to-moderate grief risks. Volunteers work a two to four hours shift at the hospice center making phone calls. Support Group Facilitators are responsible for facilitating the grief and bereavement series and/or follow-up support sessions.

Massage Volunteers
Massage is the most requested form of Compassionate Touch at Evergreen Hospice. One of the many ways dying patients feel isolated from the world going on around them is the loss of touch they experience because of their disease. Depending on their disease they may be contracted and stiff and all they want is for someone to rub their shoulders, neck and back. For patients who often spend most of their days immobile and in a recliner or bed, massage volunteers can provide compassionate hands on touch, relaxation, a sense of well being, emotional health and a state of balance.

Support Services
These volunteers offer a variety of assistance in support of the hospice program. The front desk receptionist/host greets guests to the Hospice Center, assists guests who are visiting patients, staff or attending a group/in-service and conducts tours of the facility. 

Office/Clerical Support
Utilize your computer and office skills by helping with the behind the scenes work that keeps the hospice program running smoothly. The office staff need help with many different tasks such as data entry, filing, patient charts, copying, putting packets together and much more.  This is a shorter training track because there is no patient contact. It is 4-to-6 hours with the volunteer coordinator and can be started right away once the application packet is complete.  

Animal Assisted Therapy
This program uses teams of registered therapy animals trained by the Delta Society’s Pet Partner Program, trained volunteers and staff to offer gentle touch and compassionate care to Evergreen hospice patients and their families at the Hospice Center. For more information on how to become a registered Pet Partner team, please visit the Delta Society webpage www.deltasociety.org.

Compassionate Touch
Provides approved conventional and complementary compassionate touch therapies to hospice patients. All therapies are based on quality at end of life and work towards reducing pain and anxiety as well as increasing comfort. These modalities include hands-on techniques, energy based therapies and massage. Volunteers must have appropriate education, certification or licensure upon starting volunteer service.

Special Needs "Needlework"
People who do not have the time or mobility to volunteer at the center or in homes may still contribute by using their needlework skills. We have a continuous need for quilts, lap blankets and catheter bag covers. We have found these handmade gifts to be very comforting and touching to the patients and their families. The blankets in particular often become treasured keepsakes for the families after their loved one dies. No specific requirements (specifications for the desired items will be discussed upon interest.)