Volunteer in Gainesville, Florida

Haven Hospice is a not-for-profit organization that cares for people with life-limiting illnesses.

What they do: The Haven Hospice team focuses on managing pain and other symptoms and caring for the emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social needs of patients and their loved ones. The Haven Hospice team works with the patient, family, and primary physician to create and maintain the care plan.

What YOU can do to help: The following volunteer opportunities are available at Haven Hospice:

Patient and Family Volunteers: provide assistance, companionship, and support to patients who live at home, in nursing homes, in hospitals, in assisted living facilities, and inpatient care centers

Administrative Volunteers: greet visitors, answer phones, enter data, file documents and records, make phone calls, prepare materials for mailings, assist with printing and copying

Alliance Volunteers: plan, produce, and participate in fundraisers; also, assist in developing partnerships in the community and raising awareness in the community

Arts Program Volunteers: help rotate artwork through the hospice offices and care centers; design art pieces to be show in the hospice offices and care centers; solicit new artists to display their artwork at the hospice offices and care centers

Hospice Attic Thrift Store Volunteers: create displays, accept and process items that are donated, help with customer service, play the piano, answer phones, repair furniture, alter clothes, be a sales floor assistant, or be a cashier (Must complete a 1-hr orientation for volunteers, a background check, a reference check, and an interview.) (Note: To be a cashier, there is a required credit check screen.)

Teen Volunteers (ages 14-17): volunteer at Hospice Attic Thrift Store or volunteer in an office doing administrative tasks (if you have a driver’s license, you will also need to go through a background check before volunteering)

Camp Safe Haven: volunteer to help children with bereavement and grief exercises through activities each day at camp (training is provided); Camp Safe Haven is held two times each year. One of the sessions is for younger children. The other session is for older children.

Facilities Volunteers: help with the maintenance of the offices and inpatient Care Centers; help with repairs, painting, carpentry, woodworking, deliveries, plant and garden care

Healing Hearts Volunteers: help with support groups for grieving adults and children who have lost loved ones; provide emotional support by phone; help plan and coordinate memorial services and remembrance holiday programs (Training is provided.)

Licensed Massage Therapy Volunteers: provide compassionate, gentle touch for patients so they can relax and feel less stress and pain (Training is provided.)

Pastoral Care Volunteers: work with Haven Hospice Chaplains to provide spiritual comfort and support for families and patients; help plan and coordinate memorial services; act as liaisons to the religious communities Haven Hospice serves (Training is provided.)

Pet Therapy Volunteers: If your pet is trained as a Pet Therapy animal, you can take your pet to visit patients in the inpatient care centers of Haven Hospice. (Training is provided.)

Speaker's Bureau and Community Outreach Volunteers: promote awareness and education in the community as a Haven Hospice ambassador; set up displays at health fairs; conduct presentation at churches and organizations (Training is provided.)

Transitions Volunteers: provide telephone support, community referrals, and education for people dealing with serious life-limiting illnesses who are not yet ready for hospice care

After the application process, all volunteers must attend the 1-1/2-hour Introduction to Haven Hospice orientation.

Non-patient Volunteers (volunteers who will not be working directly with patients and their families) will be able to start volunteering after the Introduction to Haven Hospice orientation and another more specific orientation for a specific department.

Patient and Family Volunteer Training (14 hours)
This training is for volunteers who will be working directly with patients and their families.)