Volunteer Programs Coordinator

Studies  show that volunteering can be good for you, boosting your health, mind and spirit. Whether you’re looking to help others, stay active, make new friends or learn new skills, Empath Health has a place for you. There are boundless opportunities to provide support.

Melissa Moré is the Volunteer Programs Coordinator for Empath Health. She oversees some special volunteer programs including: Office Volunteer Program, Corporate Volunteer Program, Teen Volunteer Program, and Veterans Serving Veterans. As the organization grows and new needs arise, new volunteer programs are developed — that’s where Melissa comes in! She also has the opportunity to talk to prospective volunteers to get them excited about volunteering. Our goal is to find the talents/skills you bring to the table and find exciting ways for you to share them within the organization.

Since many people do not realize the variety of opportunities we have available, Melissa recently held a Facebook Q&A session to introduce the community to some of those opportunities.

1. I understand you have an active teen volunteer program for high school students. Would you share a bit about that program as well as the process to get started?

A question I love to answer because teen volunteers are awesome! The teen program is open to high school students who live in or attend school in Pinellas County and are between the ages of 14-18. The process for getting started is to call one of our teen volunteer coordinators. Their names and phone numbers are posted on our website. We have three locations – Palm Harbor, Clearwater and St. Petersburg. Teens volunteer in a variety of ways both behind the scenes and directly with patients and families. They volunteer behind the scenes with administrative tasks, crafts, baking, special events, resale shoppes, special events, etc. They also do amazing work in supporting patients and families by throwing birthday or special occasion parties with “Party Pals”, recording the life stories of patients as a living legacy for their family with “Lifetime Legacies”, bringing their smiling faces to patients in nursing homes and assisted living facilities with “Cheer Teams” and many other special ways. We can’t say enough about this program and the teen volunteers!

2. I noticed almost all your opportunities are available during the day. I work from home full time but I am interested in volunteering. Are there volunteer opportunities that could be done from home? And are there opportunities to volunteer outside of Monday-Friday, 9-5 schedule?

We do have some volunteer opportunities that can be done from home. You would have to come to a location for your initial training class(es), but once you get started you can do it from home and on your own schedule. A great example of this is Bereavement Volunteering – being a supportive presence for those who have lost a loved one by making bereavement support phone calls. This is done under the direction of a Bereavement staff member so you have a great support system. Lots of working volunteers love this opportunity because they can work it into their busy lives and know that they are making a difference helping others!

To answer the second part of your question, yes there are opportunities outside of 9-5: resale shoppes (open Saturdays); patient and family support (visiting patients in their homes, nursing homes/assisted living facilities; or in-patient Suncoast Hospice Care Centers with a variety of hours available both evenings and weekends) and special events assistance (many of which are on weekends).

3. I’m a working mom, do you have volunteer opportunities on the weekend?

There are a variety of weekend volunteer opportunities! I always like to start by asking what type of volunteer work you are interested in doing. Here are a couple of examples: resale shoppe (open Saturdays), patient and family support (visiting patients in their homes, nursing homes/assisted living facilities, or in-patient Suncoast Hospice Care Centers with a variety of hours available both evenings and weekends), special events assistance (many of which are on weekends).

4. I am now semi-retired and have a fair amount of time on my hands. My friend is involved with Suncoast Hospice and we’ve talked briefly about volunteering. Wondering what my first step should be.

Wonderful of you to think about volunteering with the extra time you have available! The first step to getting started as a volunteer is to sign-up for volunteer orientation. This four-hour course is designed to give you a great overview of our programs and all the different volunteer opportunities available to you. In this course you also complete your new volunteer paperwork. This course sets you down the path of getting started in whatever volunteer role interests you. If you decide you want to work with patients and families in some capacity there is an additional twelve-hour class that prepares you for those opportunities. You can sign-up online or you can call 727-523-3440 to register.

5. I am a stay at home mom. What are the kind of things could I do while my kids are at school?

So many things! The beautiful thing about our volunteer opportunities is that almost all of them are available during the daytime hours while your children are in school. You absolutely get to set the times you are available and depending on the type of volunteer role, chose a ‘shift’ that works for your schedule.

Are you ready to make a difference in your life and to others? Join an upcoming volunteer training to find out how you can help support Empath Health.