Agency Orientation & Training
Volunteers provide invaluable service, and we want to ensure you are well-prepared.
Many of our volunteers tell us that volunteering with By the Bay Health is one of the most rewarding activities in their busy lives. Whether you volunteer directly with patients and families or provide service to our organization through the retail stores or special projects, you receive customized training and knowledge to assure your success and satisfaction.
“I have been a volunteer with By the Bay Health for more than a year and a half. I think the organization is doing incredible work and I’m so happy to be a part of the team.“
Patient & Family Support Training
Our patient and family support volunteers attend a comprehensive 30-hour training, which includes 20 hours of classroom time and 10 hours of self-paced online training. Classroom trainings typically occur 2-4 times each year and in each of our service areas. All patient and family trainings follow the same agenda. Applicants are encouraged to train at the county site where they hope to volunteer.
“I’ve been a volunteer for BTBH for the past four years. I wanted to start giving back to my community in a personal way, and to develop a better relationship to my own end-of-life circumstances, whenever they arise. The training with BTBH was inspiring in itself with such a parade of bright, heartful people sharing their knowledge.”
Attention: Update on Our Current
Patient & Family Support Trainings
Due to COVID related events over the past two years, our trainings were cancelled. We hope to schedule some trainings during 2022. Please refer to this page for new training updates, as they become available. You are free to apply now, and we will hold your application until trainings are able to be scheduled in 2022. When training dates are scheduled, we will move forward with a personal phone screening and interview (to quality for training).
Commitment to Service
To provide consistent service to our hospice care teams, we ask that volunteers commit to the following:
- A minimum of one year of regular service
- Approximately two to four hours per week
- Attend two to three support meetings or education in-service programs
- Participate in an annual education review
Organization Support Training
“My main job as a volunteer is testing, repairing, and making sure electronic donations are in good working order before being put on sale at the Novato thrift store. I am surrounded by friendly, caring, humorous fellow volunteers and store management. I always feel supported and, of the many volunteer jobs I do, it is by far my favorite.“
We are currently accepting applications for retail volunteers at our Hodgepodge thrift stores in San Rafael and Novato, as well as our special project opportunities. All Organization Support volunteers receive:
- A 2 ½ hour agency orientation within the first two months of volunteer service
- Additional on-site training specific to the volunteer responsibilities and duties
As commitment to service, we ask that Organization Support volunteers commit to a minimum of one year of regular volunteer service.