Home Volunteer Services

Volunteer Opportunities

Instructions: Please complete both Step 1 and Step 2 below

Step 1

  • Review all the volunteer opportunities below.
  • When you complete your application, you will have the opportunity to pick your top 3 choices from the list below:
    • Gift Shop
    • Music Volunteer
    • Navigator
    • Pediatric Food Pantry
    • Visiting Adult Inpatients
    • Waiting Room Volunteer

Volunteers will assist with sales, cash register operation, stocking and restocking, answering phone inquiries, and assisting manager as needed.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Fridays
    • 9:00 am to 11:00 am
    • 11:00 to 1:00 pm
    • 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
    • 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
  • Saturdays and Sundays 
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
    • 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
    • 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
  • Sundays
    • 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
    • 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
    • 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
    • 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
       

Volunteers will be playing instrumental music for adults and child patient populations, their loved ones and staff in public spaces (waiting areas, concourse areas and lobbies) to ease the stress of a hospital visit or stay. No vocal music is featured for the public space performances. Volunteers will promote the recognition of the importance of the arts-specifically music-in lowering blood pressure and creating a positive distraction. Volunteers must have excellent Live Music Performing skills and be able to perform music for a 2 hour shift (you do not need 2 hours of solo music, the shifts are broken into two 50-minute sets that can be repeated)

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Friday
    • 2-hour shift between 8:00 am and 5:00 pm

Volunteers will serve as a very important point person for patients and visitors, personally guiding and directing patients to appointments, providing information, directions and way finding to patients and visitors, helping patients and visitors locate resources or directing them to the appropriate source if they have a problem or question.  Volunteers will also deliver flowers and gifts to the front desk of each unit, not to the patient’s rooms.  Volunteers are expected to offer a very high level of customer service, serving as an extension of the professional team.  

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Friday
    • 7:30 am to 9:30 am
    • 9:30 am to 11:30 am
    • 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
    • 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm
    • 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm
    • 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
  • Saturdays and Sundays 
    • 8:00 am to 10:00 am
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
    • 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
    • 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
    • 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm

The pediatric food pantry provides food baskets to our patients and families that experiencing any form of food insecurity. Volunteers will provide intake forms to patient families and return completed forms to social worker or provider where they will determine if the family qualifies for a food pantry distribution.  If they qualify, volunteer will provide the family with a bag of groceries at the end of their clinic visit.  Volunteers will also inventory, package, and transport 4-8 ten pound bags of groceries by rolling cart.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2-3 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Wednesday
    • 8:00 am to 10:00 am
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
    • 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm
       

Visiting Adult Inpatients

The opportunities listed in this category involve visiting our adult inpatients. If you choose this assignment as one of your top 3 choices, you may be placed in one of the volunteers programs listed. You will not have the ability to choose a specific program. Volunteer Services will make the decision based on our needs and your availability.

Volunteers will round on patients to offer books and magazines.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Friday
    • 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
    • 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
    • 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm

Volunteers assemble and deliver activity kits to hospital inpatients on request. Volunteers will also round on patients to offer activity kit.

]Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Friday
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Waiting Room Volunteers (Outpatient)

The opportunities listed in this category involve volunteering in various waiting rooms. If you choose this assignment as one of your top 3 choices, you may be placed in one of the volunteers programs listed. You will not have the ability to choose a specific program. Volunteer Services will make the decision based on our needs and your availability.

Volunteers in this program play with children to provide distraction in Lenox Baker Children’s Hospital and Valvano Day Hospital. Volunteers may also assist children with crafts, reading, and playing games in the waiting areas. Volunteers may take patients back for appointments and assist with patient flow in the busy waiting areas by informing patients and families of wait times.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm
  • Wednesday
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
  • Thursday
    • 10:00 am to 12:00 pm
    • 12:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Volunteers interact with patients and staff by assisting with greeting patients upon arrival to the clinic, providing support to patients/visitors while in the waiting area, provide directions to patient when looking for other appointments and assisting patients with appointment itineraries. Volunteers are a liaison to elevate concerns of patients/visitors to clinical staff. Volunteers may also assist with Duke My Chart registration.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 3 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday
    • 2-hour shift between 8:00 am to 4:00 pm
  • Saturday and Sunday
    • 10:00 am to 1:00 pm

Volunteers will spend their time in the waiting room speaking with patients/visitors and checking in to see if they have questions or need anything. They will work very closely with the staff at the patient registration desk, taking directions from them and assisting them in any way possible. Volunteers will also escort visitors into the unit where patients are either waiting for surgery or recovering from surgery. Way finding is also important in this role; being able to follow a map and escort visitors to their destination.

Commitment & Available Shifts:

  • Must commit to 2-3 hours per week for approximately 30 hours during spring 2025.
  • Monday to Friday (Adult Patients)
    • 5:30 am to 8:30 am
    • 8:30 am to 11:30 am
    • 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
    • 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm
    • 5:30 pm to 8:30 pm
  • Monday to Friday (Pediatrics Patients)
    • 6:00 am to 8:00 am
    • 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
    • 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
  • Ambulatory Surgery Center (2400 Pratt St., Durham; offsite location)
    • 7:00 am to 9:00 am
    • 9:00 am to 11:00 am
    • 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
    • 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm

Step 2

  • Complete a Volunteer Application by 9:00 am on Monday, October 7, 2024.
  • Note: Volunteer opportunities will be limited and not all students will have the opportunity to volunteer for the spring 2024 semester.
  • Obtaining your health clearance does not guarantee that you will be accepted into the volunteer program. The number of openings, your interview, your availability, and your choice of volunteer assignment will impact our decision.