Volunteer
Volunteers—both adults and teens—are vital to our organization. They come to us from diverse backgrounds and fill a variety of needs. Some work directly with patients; others assist with office work, maintain our grounds, and perform a multitude of other tasks to support our organization. Each one is unique, but they all have one thing in common—a desire to make a difference. If you want to give back, to make a difference, you’ve come to the right place.
How to Become a Volunteer
- Complete application and provide references
- Undergo screening for dependability, emotional strength, character references, and good listening skills
- Complete 12 hours of volunteer training
- Complete a post-training interview with volunteer coordinator
AMOREM now offers virtual volunteer training! To learn more about virtual volunteer trainings, please reach out to a volunteer coordinator at 828.754.0101.
Find out more about becoming a volunteer, or register for an upcoming training, by calling us, or learn more.
Interested in knitting Veteran Lapghans?
Volunteer Services is searching for talented individuals who can make red, white and blue lapghans for veteran patients.
If you are interested in making veteran lapghans, please utilize the pattern below and contact Cyndi Akins at cakins@amoremsupport.org upon completion.
Types of volunteers include:
11th Hour Volunteers
These volunteers receive additional training and can be called upon to spend time with patients and families during what will be, most likely, a patient’s final 24 to 48 hours.
Grief Support Volunteers
Grief support volunteers may assist in providing emotional support and compassionate understanding through personal visits, telephone calls, and/or written contact. They may be asked to contact bereaved family members on the occasion of special anniversary dates through a personal visit, telephone call, or written correspondence.
Legacy Volunteers
Legacy Volunteers record hospice patients’ life stories. As patients decide what parts of their lives they want to share, we suggest topics—perhaps they want to talk about favorite childhood memories, military experiences, their first job, faraway places they have visited, or special thoughts about life, and so forth. Once they decide they’re ready to tell their stories, we set up a series of interview dates to videotape them. We then edit the tapes and present DVD copies to the patients and their family members.
Office Volunteers
Office volunteers may assist with typing, organization and preparation of mailings (letters to patients’ families, newsletters, etc.), filing, staff errands, and other such duties.
Thrift Store Volunteers
Thrift store volunteers assist in many ways...hanging clothes, greeting shoppers, and helping to display our donated treasures.
Patient/Family Volunteers
Patient/family volunteers assist in providing emotional support and compassionate understanding to the patient and family in a home care or in-patient setting, providing assistance when and where it is needed to improve the quality of the patient’s remaining life. They may be asked to help with transportation, reading, letter-writing, caregiver relief, etc. The volunteer coordinator carefully matches patients with volunteers.
Patient Care Unit Volunteers
Patient Care Unit volunteers assist patients staying at either the Forlines Patient Care Unit at the Robbins Center, the Stevens Patient Care Unit at Kirkwood or the Valdese Patient Care Unit in Valdese. They may:
- Assist in providing emotional support and compassionate understanding to the patient and family to improve the quality of the patient’s remaining life
- Assist in keeping the patient care unit a neat, attractive, and home-like atmosphere
- Assist nursing staff with certain aspects of physical care, as deemed appropriate and if comfortable with providing personal care
- Assist nursing staff with food service, supplies, housekeeping, etc.
- Provide comfort and support to patients
Veterans Honoring Veterans
Veterans Honoring Veterans allows military veteran volunteers to honor veteran patients. Our veteran volunteers visit veteran patients to present them with a small American flag, a certificate of appreciation, and a lapel pin as a way to honor their military service. Veteran patients may also choose to be videotaped sharing their military experiences or life stories.
Vigil Music
Vigil Music Volunteers are specially trained to sing or play recorded music very, very softly to patients in their final hours. The volunteers offer support to the patients and respect for the sanctity of this hallowed time. Music may be performed live by no more than three volunteers or the volunteers may play music recorded specially for a patient’s final hours.
VolunTEENS
VolunTEENS visit AMOREM patients and residents at area long-term care facilities and patients at our patient care units. They work on special projects, help with clerical assignments or in our annual children's grief camp. VolunTEENS must be in high school and can participate through their high school's Hospice VolunTEENS club.
VolunTEEN training is held each summer. To be selected for the VolunTEEN program, high school students must complete an application and interview process. Only 25 teens are accepted for the program annually.
Ambassador Volunteers
AMOREM, from the beginning, has received invaluable support from churches. Hoping to strengthen existing relationships with communities of faith throughout our service area, so that we might provide end-of-life care to our neighbors more effectively, we developed an Ambassador Volunteers program.
Ambassador Volunteers are chosen by their ministers to serve as liaisons between their congregations and AMOREM, providing education about hospice services and programs, enlisting volunteers for AMOREM, and helping to coordinate special needs that congregations may provide. They meet quarterly as a group for an educational program, lunch, and fellowship. AMOREM’s faith liaison chaplain coordinates the information and programs the volunteers will present to their congregations.
