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  • Home
  • THE HOUSE
  • ABOUT US
  • JOIN US
  • DONATE
  • ENDORSEMENTS
  • NEWS & PRESS
  • CONTACT US

Volunteers – The Lifeblood of Hopewell House

Death and dying are universal experiences. At Hopewell House, caring for those facing end-of-life relies on exceptional volunteers who bring a diverse array of talents, skills, and life experiences. Volunteers offer emotional, spiritual, and practical support within and around our beautiful home and its grounds. They greet visitors, sit bedside, garden, craft, knit, and quilt, prepare food, welcome visitors, provide bereavement support, and more. As a nurturing sanctuary for the dying, Hopewell House commits to growing a vibrant, inclusive volunteer community that reflects the rich cultural, linguistic, racial, gender, and ethnic backgrounds of those who come to us. 


Hopewell House Timeline 

  • Site Renovations: Beginning June 2022 
  • Anticipated Reopening: Fall, 2022

ARE YOU INTERESTED IN JOINING OUR VOLUNTEER COMMUNITY?

There are many ways to serve at Hopewell House. Some opportunities, such as gardening and quilting, are available NOW. Others await REOPENING or as spots open. 


Help us learn more about you and how you would like to share your gifts and talents to this community. Complete the form below.

Inquiry Form

Volunteer Opportunities

Gardening Volunteers

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Garden volunteers create and tend our woods and gardens, encouraging nature’s beauty and serenity, for those in our care. Our garden volunteers may be master gardeners, hobby gardeners, or simply those who find pleasure in spending time outdoors. We’re actively engaged in these tasks NOW. 

(Actively Recruiting: Available NOW)

Upcoming Garden Volunteer Work Schedule

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Our handicrafters create  passage quilts, lap blankets, prayer shawls, beanies and slippers for hospice residents at Hopewell House. This is a great way to share your time and talents from home, by creating items from the comfort of  your home.  Meet and stitch meetings are held monthly for those who can attend. We are welcoming new quilters and donated items NOW.

(Actively Recruiting Quilters NOW)

Find out more

Complementary/Alternative Therapies

Handicraft Volunteers: Knitting, Crochet and Quilting

Complementary/Alternative Therapies

Hopewell House helps residents live well in the presence of death through services that engage, soothe, and support residents’ whole beings—body, mind, and spirit. We are actively recruiting licensed massage therapists, reiki providers, art, music, cosmetology, animal assisted activity volunteers, and other practitioners of alternative and complementary therapies. Do you have a therapy gift you’d like to share with our residents? Please indicate on our Inquiry Form. 

(Actively Recruiting for Fall Reopening)

Resident Care Volunteers

Bilingual/Bicultural Volunteers

Complementary/Alternative Therapies

At the bedside, volunteers bring calm presence and undivided, mindful attention. They read aloud, offer residents companionship, and welcome visitors. They provide support, levity, and joy. They assist nursing staff with care needs and sit vigil. Most important, they stay alert to the many, often subtle ways that residents voice their needs, helping volunteers create the most comfortable and compassionate end-of-life experience possible. Please complete an Inquiry Form to be placed on the waitlist.  

 (At Capacity Currently: Additional Spots Open Fall/Winter)  

Bilingual/Bicultural Volunteers

Bilingual/Bicultural Volunteers

Bilingual/Bicultural Volunteers

In all areas of service at Hopewell House, we seek volunteers who embody the dimensions of diversity, including culture, language, race, gender, and ethnicity, as well as ability. Do you speak a second language or bring a diverse background or set of experiences? Please complete an Inquiry Form to let us know.

(Actively Recruiting: NOW)

Volunteering at Hopewell House has been an honor. It opened my heart like no other experience except giving birth. After one shift, I received a note with this quote: "The only way to live is to accept each minute as an unrepeatable miracle." I keep this on my bookcase to remind me.


Nancy Henry, Friends of Hopewell House Volunteer

Becoming a Hopewell House Volunteer

Death and dying are universal experiences. Hopewell House seeks to engage all dimensions of diversity in our volunteers. Our goal is to create an inclusive community of volunteers who reflect the rich cultural, linguistic, racial, gender, and ethnic backgrounds of those who come to Hopewell House.

Benefits You’ll Receive from Volunteering

  • Careful matching of your interests, skills, and experiences with available volunteer opportunities  
  • Onsite mentoring from experienced volunteers and retired Hopewell House staff
  • Regular peer support circles, monthly in-services, facilitated by field and volunteer experts  
  • Flexibility in assignment scheduling, duration, and intensity Supportive relationships with an exceptional care team, experts in hospice and palliative care, and other volunteers

Required Volunteer Training

  • All Volunteers must complete the 10-hour culture training, except craft and gardening volunteers. 
  • Resident and Family support volunteers must complete an additional 8-hour training 

Additional Requirements

  • In person interview 
  • Passing a criminal background check 
  • Proof of COVID-19 vaccination 
  • Drug and TB attestation 
  • Food Handlers (Bedside and Kitchen Volunteers only) 

Submit a Volunteer Interest Form

Inquiry Form

Gardener's Corner

Come garden with us. We need your help! Stay for 20 minutes or 2 hours!  At this time we are on a “drop-by and drop-in” schedule.  Show-up any time between 10:30 – 3 p.m., stay as long as you like. Guidance and direction from the volunteer team lead on-site to guide work activities. We have a variety of (mostly) light garden tasks and guidance and lists of projects needed are provided.   


At this time in our garden we are in need of volunteers who can help us:        

  • Start and maintain a composting system for mulching our garden waste 
  • Solicit donations of plants, soil, tools, etc. from nurseries and garden shops
  • Create habitat for birds and pollinators 
  • Clear out and inventory the contents of the tool shed  
  • Repair and reinstall the soil erosion barriers in the pagoda garden.   
  • Pulling weeds and amending the soil in preparation for planting.   


Note: if we are experiencing a day of continuous rainfall, that day’s gardening will be CANCELLED.  Bring your favorite garden tool with you and take it home when you leave.

Email the Garden Team Lead

Image Right: Thanks to volunteers Andrea and Lisa who donated materials, floral designs, and planted these beautiful pots.

Upcoming Volunteer Events

Quilt, Knit, and Crochet Program

A great way to share your time and talents (from home!) by creating colorful quilts, lap blankets and prayer shawls for the comfort of hospice patients during their time at Hopewell House. Patients will be offered a quilt of their choice, handmade by generous and creative community members who have donated their time, talents and materials. Each quilt will remain with the patient during their care and their family will be invited to take the quilt home with them upon the patient’s death. Knitted (or crocheted) lap blankets, prayer shawls, beanies and slippers will be offered as a gift to patients and family members as well.  


Thank you for considering this opportunity to brighten the day of those we will never meet! And, for passing along this information to others that may have an interest in getting involved.


Follow these steps to join us: 

  • Complete the Volunteer Interest Form and return to Julie MacKenzie at: communications.craft@fhhpdx.org
  • Sign up for the monthly Kick Off Meeting (via Zoom)
  • Get started!

Volunteer Interest Form (pdf)

Download

Quilt Guidelines (pdf)

Download

Knit_Crochet Guidelines (pdf)

Download

Complete a Volunteer Reference Form

Reference Form

Copyright © 2021 Friends of Hopewell House - All Rights Reserved.

A 501(c)(3) organization, EIN: 84-3380179

 6171 SW Capitol Highway, Portland, OR 97239 

Phone: 503-894-7560


Website by WHCo.


Living Well in The Presence of Death