Become A Volunteer

Hospice Volunteer Services are a crucial element to the Longleaf team, bringing an extra layer of care and support to our patients and their loved ones.

Volunteering at Longleaf

There are many ways in which volunteers lend their time and effort to our organization.

Volunteers can choose which part of our geographical area they would like to concentrate on and are offered flexible choices in scheduling and the amount of time they wish to volunteer.

Note: Volunteers are not expected to assist with personal care (bathing, toileting, dressing, administering medications, etc.).

We are actively seeking compassionate, caring and dedicated volunteers to offer:

Our Volunteer Opportunities:

  • Provide companionship to patients & families.
  • Write letters, read or listen to patients’ favorite music.
  • Offer a great listening ear.
  • Extend respite support for caretakers.
  • Assist with shopping & running errands.
  • Help record life memories through scrapbooking, videos & journaling
  • Participate in light housekeeping, gardening & pet walking.
  • Offer pet therapy
  • Participate in Longleaf’s Petal of Love Program (flower arranging & donations).
  • Participate in Longleaf’s Heart for Hospice Program (meal preparation & delivery).
  • Participate in Longleaf’s Veteran-to-Veteran Program, pairing recruited Volunteers with hospice patients who have been identified as Veterans. We do this because Veteran Volunteers have a unique ability to relate and connect with patients, creating an environment where healing can occur.
    • Assist Veterans in reminiscing/telling life stories.
    • Educate & assist patients in receiving Veteran benefits.
    • Participate in pinning ceremonies and other recognition events. Longleaf pinning ceremonies are held to publicly acknowledge the service & sacrifice made by the Veteran & his/her family.

Visiting, talking, reading, playing music and games with patient

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Toggle Content
Toggle Content

Direct Patient and Family Support

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Direct Patient and Family Support provides respite for family members by sitting with the patient, running errands, assisting with shopping, helping with light housework and delivering meals from Longleaf Hearts for Hospice Meal Program.

Visiting, talking, reading, playing music and games with patient

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Toggle Content
Toggle Content

Direct Patient and Family Support

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Indirect Patient and Family Support provides services and assistance to our hospice facility and team members.

Visiting, talking, reading, playing music and games with patient

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.
Toggle Content
Toggle Content

Become A Volunteer

To be part of the Longleaf Volunteer Team, please fill out the following and submit the following form.

When you book a free consultation with us, we will answer any questions you might have about Hospice Care, our services, and our team. We want to understand your loved one’s health condition. If they are eligible for Hospice care, we will work together to figure out the best plan for their unique needs.

Hospice Volunteer Services

Hospice volunteers and caregivers give their time, energy, skills and talent to help hospice organizations, patients and families deal with some of the most challenging periods of their life. Hospice care volunteers perform various duties. From providing companionship and educational resources to hospice patients to assisting with fundraising events, they play a vital role that allows hospice to meet the needs and requests of the community.

At Longleaf Hospice & Palliative Care, volunteers make our team complete. Volunteer services bring an extra layer of support and care to all patients and their families.

Why Do Hospices Need Volunteers?

Volunteers represent regular community members, and hospice patients and families perceive them as such. They provide the patient and their family members with physical and emotional assistance on a personal level.

Since some hospice volunteers spend a significant amount of time with some patients, they give the hospice team valuable insight into the condition and progression of the patient.

How Can Hospice Volunteers Help Patients and Families

When patients experience specific difficulties, especially after their illness progresses, it becomes more challenging to do certain tasks. In these moments, volunteer services come in hand. Volunteers can provide support, love and comfort to patients and help them overcome some of the toughest times in their life.

Let’s review some services you can expect from our hospice volunteers and caregivers:

Some hospice patients are in the final stages of their life. Others might not have families to rely on. Each patient has a different story, and the goal of our hospice volunteer is to understand your condition and find the best way to support you.

Our hospice volunteers provide companionship to patients by taking walks, being present when they need someone to talk to, reading, playing music, watching tv, play cards or doing puzzles

Considering how difficult hospice care is for everyone, including patients and family members, volunteers are here to offer emotional support and lift your spirit.

Hospice volunteers can provide patients with holistic treatments, including:

  • Pet therapy teams
  • Massage therapy
  • Meditation
  • Music therapy

In our experience, massage therapists and pet therapy teams can significantly help patients and families overcome challenging moments and focus on the positive things in their lives.

Families take care of patients on a hospice program 24/7. Considering how tired they are (physically and mentally), hospice volunteers offer the family a break from their everyday duties. Volunteers can help serve families directly by preparing meals, shopping for groceries, watering plants or walking the pet.

These are just some of the many ways our palliative care team can help you and your loved one. Depending on what they need, we can offer you a variety of other services that improve quality of life, too.

Types of Hospice Volunteers

At Longleaf Hospice & Palliative Care, hospice volunteers do various tasks and fill different roles in the local community.

These volunteers visit the patient and family in their homes or medical care centers. They are caring, supportive and motivational, helping you become a better version of yourself.

Petals of Love Volunteer – creating arrangements and delivering flowers

Hearts for Hospice Volunteer – preparing meals for our freezer to be delivered to patients/families when needed.

These volunteers support patients during their final hours. They hold the patient’s hand, read, speak, or play their favorite music. TLC volunteers also provide grief support to families and help them overcome the toughest moments in their lives. Your Longleaf TLC team consists of hospice aides, nurses, social workers, chaplains and volunteers, hand picked to meet the unique needs of each patient and family. A Longleaf Case Manager will determine when it’s time to begin our TLC program for each of our patients and families. This program is a complementary service designed to provide companionship and comfort to our patients, their caregivers and their loved ones.
Longleaf’s Vet-To-Vet Volunteer Program pairs recruited Volunteers with hospice patients who have been identified as Veterans. We do this because Veteran Volunteers have a unique ability to relate and connect with patients, creating an environment where healing can occur. These volunteers:
  • Assist Veterans in reminiscing/telling life stories.
  • Educate and assist patients in receiving Veteran benefits.
  • Participate in pinning ceremonies and other recognition events. Longleaf pinning ceremonies are held to publicly acknowledge the service and sacrifice made by the Veteran and his/her family.
These volunteers help support and assist the Bereavement Coordinator with mailings, phone calls when needed and the Service of Remembrance. These volunteers might also visit or talk with people who’ve recently suffered a loss.
These volunteers help with administrative duties within the hospice organization. They assist with training materials, admission packets, marketing needs, and other administrative work tasks to ease the workload.
These are just some of the many ways our palliative care team can help you and your loved one. Depending on what they need, we can offer you a variety of other services that improve quality of life, too.

Hospice Volunteer Onboarding

Prospective volunteers who want to work with patients and families must complete the following onboarding process prior to volunteering with Longleaf Hospice: appropriate training sessions, background check, drug screen, TB test and fingerprinting.

Training

Completing the training is necessary because caring for seriously ill and dying patients can become an exhausting process and impact the mental health of the volunteer.

At Longleaf Hospice & Palliative Care, our sessions consist of:
  • Uncovering your desire to provide support, peace, and comfort to patients in your community
  • Understanding the change you will make in the patient’s life and the local community
  • Developing emotional communication with patients, children, and families
  • Maintaining professionalism at every stage of the volunteering process
  • Understanding end-of-life stages and learning to cope with grief
  • Maintaining the patient’s confidentiality

  • Once someone completes the session, we can discuss volunteer opportunities. At the beginning of the volunteering process, the volunteer might complete administrative services only, but with more experience and clerical skills, can upgrade the position.

    Characteristics That Make a Good Hospice Volunteer

    When providing support to a patient during his last stages of life, we stress the specific characteristics a volunteer should have.

    Do You Want To Offer Volunteer Support With Us?

    At Longleaf Hospice & Palliative Care, we offer numerous volunteer opportunities for anyone who wants to be on our team. If you want to provide emotional volunteer support and join other volunteers who make a positive change in our community, we can help.

    Visit our website or contact our volunteer coordinator at 770-933-9179 to talk about our services and how you can become an integral part of our team.

    Become A Volunteer

    To be part of the Longleaf Volunteer Team, please fill out the following and submit the following form.

    When you book a free consultation with us, we will answer any questions you might have about Hospice Care, our services, and our team. We want to understand your loved one’s health condition. If they are eligible for Hospice care, we will work together to figure out the best plan for their unique needs.