Patient Support Volunteers

Provide a wide range of practical assistance--from companionship for patients, to respite time for caregivers, food shopping, light housekeeping, meal preparation, and much more. Specialized volunteers offer patients their professional skills. They provide therapeutic massage, home maintenance and repair, haircuts, life review videos, notary public services and more.

Some volunteers train to be Pet Pal visitors, bringing their ARF-certified pets to visit patients in their homes or at Bruns House inpatient facility. Others are on-call bedside companions who take one-time assignments to provide caregiver relief and companionship for a patient.

Training is required for all Patient Support volunteers. Please email or call our Patient Volunteer Program Manager at (925) 887-5678 for training dates or more information.

Specialized Program Volunteer Opportunities are available for those who have completed the basic Patient Support training. Additional training specific to the needs of those being served is required for the following three programs.

Bruns House Volunteers

Perform a variety of administrative duties to support our Bruns House acute care facility-- such as answering phones, greeting visitors, running errands and inputting data into the computer. Volunteers also serve as bedside companions for patients who are alone or restless. Other volunteers train to participate in the Petpals program, bringing their ARF certified, trained pets to visit patients at the House.

Vigil Program Volunteers

Vigil Program Volunteers are at the bedside of actively dying patients. These specifically trained patient support volunteers help Hospice of the East Bay support its patients every step of the way by bringing relief to family members who are unable to be present for the death of their loved one. And, most importantly, they help to ensure patients that they are not alone.

Bereavement Volunteers

Volunteers receive training about grief, loss and communication. This enables them to provide support and education for 13 months, by phone or with personal visits, to bereaved family members who have experienced the death of a loved one.

Administrative Volunteers

Work in the office. They answer the phone at the reception desk and are often the first “face” of hospice when people visit or ask for information or assistance. They may also perform some computer input and various clerical tasks, working with our onsite office staff.

Thrift Shoppe Volunteers

Help in one of our six thrift shops (in Dublin, Alamo, Concord, Martinez, Danville, and Walnut Creek) by sorting, pricing, preparing and selling merchandise. The thrift stores are a significant source of income for Hospice Foundation of the East Bay, largely because of the work and dedication of the volunteers. Some thrift shop volunteers in a group called Fancy Us! also enjoy putting on fashion shows, modeling lightly used, top quality clothing at community group events.