How To Volunteer
A warm smile and friendly hello as you enter the Residence, a colorful garnish with the delicious food on your plate, fluffy towels to warm you after a bath, crisp sheets and soft afghans to surround you, someone to talk to when you are feeling alone, a hand to hold when you are feeling anxious – in a word – comfort. Contributing to the comfort of patients and families is the collective gift of the 200 dedicated volunteers who annually donate over 20,000 hours of volunteer service to the Residence. If you would like to become part of this very special team, contact the Volunteer Coordinator, Gwen Connors at 514-693-1718 x225.

All of our volunteers receive orientation training. Additionally, the volunteers who provide direct patient and family care receive a specialized twenty-one hour training course that conforms to the Standards of the Canadian Palliative Care Association.


Positions

With over 200 volunteers on call, they are proud to have contributed over 150,000 hours of service to date. These volunteer services take the form of:

Bereavement Support Caller
Trained community volunteers call bereaved family members periodically to offer support.

Gardener
The Residence has beautiful grounds. Volunteer gardeners are always planting, trimming, watering, digging, cutting, transplanting, and keeping our grounds in tiptop shape.

Kitchen Assistant
Volunteers assist the chef in all aspects of making meals for the residents, their visitors, the staff and volunteers. Food preparation, service and cleanup are a team effort.

Laundry Service
Volunteers load and unload commercial washer and dryer, fold and store linens.

Maintenance Assistant
Volunteers assist staff with many different handyman/women tasks around the building. Great opportunity for ‘jack-of-all-trades’. Should be comfortable using tools and may sometimes do physically demanding work, e.g. lifting and moving of items, painting, etc.

Pastoral Visitor
Volunteers visit with patients who are terminally ill and their families to provide an atmosphere of caring and support. They are comfortable discussing matters of spirituality.

Patient Care Visitor
Volunteers visit with patients who are terminally ill and their families to provide an atmosphere of caring and support. They have supervised direct interaction with patients carrying out requests from nursing staff as deemed necessary and assist patients at mealtime. A background in nursing or related medical field is an asset but not required.

Receptionist – Office Assistant
Volunteer receptionists answer the telephone, respond and transfer calls as necessary, greet visitors, have all visitors sign in and out, give directions to rooms etc. Miscellaneous administrative tasks include recording meal tickets and parking passes.