YUCH offers a wide range of volunteer opportunities to meet everyone’s interests, whether it is direct patient interaction or a more hands-off approach. As volunteers, we provide a service that is crucial to the Hospice organization and uplifting to the patients. Volunteers do not need any prior experience to become involved!
Types of Volunteering
Many people who first join YUCH have questions about what it means to be a hospice volunteer. YUCH members volunteer at the Connecticut Hospice and become part of an interdisciplinary team consisting of doctors, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and volunteers. There are several programs that volunteers can help out in:
Patient Care/Assist: Volunteers assist healthcare teams with tasks such as feeding, washing, and repositioning patients. For those who want a more hands-on clinical experience, this program is a wonderful opportunity.
Loving Whisperer: Looking to make connections with others? Loving whisperers sit with patients and offer companionship. They also provide emotional support for patients and their families at the inpatient facility or in their homes.
Administrative Support: Volunteers assist with office tasks such as being a receptionist, scanning in visiting families and answering phone calls.
Creative Arts:
- Music: Music at hospice plays an enormous role in providing comfort, peace, and tranquility to patients and their loved ones. If you play an instrument and would like to play music at hospice (environmental or in patient’s rooms), please contact the Yale Musicians Coordinator, Norah Fong, at norah.fong@yale.edu.
- Life Stories – “Hear Me, Heal Me”: Hospice is inherently a patient-centered art, and many patients have a story they want to tell and remember. This program’s purpose is to immortalize and hear their voices, empower their lifetime of stories, and create the human connections essential to hospice care. Volunteers will visit patients and listen to their stories, writing them up as narratives which can then be shared with the patient’s family and/or healthcare staff. If you’re interested in becoming a Life Story Writer, please contact the program’s Founder and Coordinator, Mia Gawith, at mia.gawith@yale.edu.
Spiritual Support: Volunteers provide spiritual care to patients while working with chaplains.
Volunteering FAQs
How often will I be expected to volunteer?
Volunteers are expected to attend one four-hour shift weekly or biweekly. Traveling time to and from the Hospice may add an additional 30 minutes to this commitment.
What times and days are shifts available?
Shifts are typically available every day of the week (including the weekends) in the mornings (8 AM-12 PM), afternoons (1-5 PM), and evenings (5-9 PM). A shift preferences survey is sent out at the beginning of each semester, and shifts are assigned based on your availability. If you have any questions or would like to be sent the shift preferences survey in the future, please contact the Director of Training & Shift Coordination, Levi Cruz, at levi.cruz@yale.edu
Note: “Hear Me, Heal Me” has different time requirements. Please check in with its Founder and Coordinator, Mia Gawith, at mia.gawith@yale.edu for specifics.
What is the dress code when volunteering at the Connecticut Hospice?
Volunteers should wear long pants, closed-toed shoes, and the Hospice-issued smock and volunteer ID card. Once you begin your volunteer initiation process, you will be given a smock and ID card without cost.
Where is the Connecticut Hospice, and how do I get there?
The Connecticut Hospice is located on 100 Double Beach Road in Branford, CT 06405. Shift leaders drive all volunteers to and from Connecticut Hospice.
Who is on a typical shift? How do I become a shift leader?
Each shift consists of a shift leader and three to four additional volunteers.
Shift leaders have typically volunteered with hospice for at least a semester, but there are exceptions! Anyone who wants to become a shift leader must be approved by Dwight Hall to drive a Dwight Hall car, which can be done by taking an online driving safety course.
To get DH certified:
The registration process typically requires at least 48 hours. Go to this website to find more information on steps to become a registered driver with Dwight Hall.
To request a car:
Go to the website above and look under the “Reservations” headline. Please be sure to read the entire page for specifics on how to get and return keys, locate the car, and fill up gas tanks.