Volunteer Opportunities

A Volunteer Ambassador is an essential role within The Children’s Home of Pittsburgh & Lemieux Family Center’s Marketing and Development department. This adult only program assists with awareness efforts and outreach programs by tabling events in the Pittsburgh community and sharing resources pertaining to The Children’s Home. This is vital to our ability to accomplish effective grassroots marketing. He/She/They will participate in a training program to accurately represent and advocate for The Children’s Home.

Some of the expectations for Ambassadors include:

• • Table at community events
  • Table at internal events held at The Children’s Home
  • Share The Children’s Home social media 
  • Business to business inquiries – asking businesses to post flyers/share our resources 
  • Delivering information or gifts to referral sources

From 6 p.m. – 8 p.m., these nights are full of fun, clerical and creative activities which help The Children’s Home staff keep up with day to day tasks. These nights are typically three times per year but is currently on hold due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Sample volunteer projects include (but are not limited to):

• Crafting & decorating patient door tags
• Assembling press release packets for Marketing Department
• Creating holiday-related items (if applicable) such as cards, signs, decorations, etc.
• Beautifying the Lemieux Family Center
• Assembling information packets together for a department
• Assembling mailings for Development Department
• Reorganizing & restocking Austin’s Playroom with new toys

We’re happy to work with groups and individuals to create meaningful projects which fit within your scope of talent! Examples of projects include purchasing a meal for our families in the Lemieux Family Centers, helping with beautification projects inside or outside the facility, or leading a special activity with our kids in Child’s Way. We’d love to hear from you if you have a special project in mind.

Previous Special Projects:

• Caroling in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital and Child’s Way daycare during the holidays
• Reading stories or making art projects with children in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital and Child’s Way daycare
• Knitting hats for preemie and newborn babies in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital
• Hosting a third-party fundraiser (bake sale, car wash, mock baby shower, or other fundraiser

We are looking for certified musical therapists and/or volunteer musicians as well as art therapists who possess clearances (Act 33, Act 34, FBI fingerprinting, and TB test) to play with and perform for the patients and families in the Pediatric Specialty Hospital and Child’s Way daycare.

Internships are offered on an as-needed basis. When available, they are posted on our website under the Job Opportunities page and/or our Blog. Volunteers must be at least 18 years of age to participate. If you’re interested in pursuing an internship/externship or have questions, please contact Dan Clements, Benefits & Compliance Manager, at dclements@chomepgh.org or (412) 441-4884 x2020.

**Due to high interest in our Clinical Care Volunteer program, we have extremely limited capacity to on-board new volunteers at this point in time. Because of this, we can only accommodate a certain number of people at our orientation sessions that we offer and are on wait list. We truly appreciate your interest to volunteer and invite you to participate in other opportunities through our organization.

Pediatric Specialty Hospital: a 30-bed acute care hospital, utilizes trained volunteers to assist staff in caring for children age birth to 21. Volunteer duties may include “baby holding,” rocking an infant when their family is unable to be present, reading to a young child, assisting in arts and craft projects, therapeutic play or assisting in the completion of homework. Volunteer applicants must be willing to provide attention to children with disabilities and other special needs. Experience with children or in the education or medical fields is beneficial. Must be willing to volunteer between the hours of 8:00 am – 10:00 pm, Monday through Sunday.

Child’s Way: a day care for medically-fragile children, serves children age birth to 21. Volunteer duties may include helping staff with monitoring children, “baby holding”, supervision on playground, assisting with arts and crafts, storytime and circle time. Volunteer applicants must be willing to provide attention to children with disabilities and other special needs. Experience with children or in the education or medical fields is beneficial. Must be willing to volunteer between the hours of 8:00 am – 12:00 pm and 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday.

Eligibility Requirements for Patient Care Volunteers:

• Attend a Volunteer Orientation session at The Children’s Home
• Must be able to comprehend concepts of confidentiality, infection control, and the materials taught at Orientation
• Must complete ALL application materials, attend orientation and demonstrate understanding of the training materials
• Volunteers who will be interacting with children must be at least 18 years of age
• Must be able to make at least a one-year commitment to volunteering a minimum of 4 hours per month
• Must obtain Act 33, 34, and FBI Clearances
• Must have a current TB test with negative results
• Must have two written references provided directly to the Volunteer Coordinator
• Must be capable of physically interacting with an infant or child for a minimum of 1 hour
• Must make appropriate judgments of the patient’s appearance and behavior based on visual and auditory “cues” learned in volunteer orientation and training
• Possess good health and be free of infection or recent exposure to a communicable disease
• Ultimate approval to become a volunteer is left to the discretion of the Volunteer Coordinator and/or the Program Director