What do volunteers do?
1. Visit with new families one day per month at Candler Hospital and initiate a nurturing relationship. Each visit with a mom/family takes 15 to 30 minutes.
2. Call moms at home on the telephone at least two times per month for a minimum of three months.
3. Provide emotional support, parenting education, and community referrals to the new moms and their families.
4. Complete paperwork after each contact.
5. Attend monthly in service volunteer meetings. You are required to have three more hours of in service training during the year.
6. Tell people you are a First Steps volunteer and encourage them to volunteer, too.
What kind of qualities do I need as a volunteer?
1. Warm, natural, comfortable in a hospital setting
2. Ability to accept differences in a non-judgmental way
3. Ability to listen and share
4. Understand the necessity of maintaining confidentiality
5. Willingness to make a 1 year commitment to the program
6. Agreement to have a background check and TB test. TB test is required annually.
Do I need to have special training?
All training and materials are provided for you. The First Steps program requires 12 hours of training obtained through:
3 hours Volunteer Training
1 hour Hospital Orientation – usually combined with Volunteer Training
5 hours TB test/Name badge/Shadow visits and follow-up calls
How often do you have volunteer training?
Volunteer training is held as needed throughout the year, usually on a monthly basis. Check our schedule of events page for the next volunteer training opportunity.
Do I have to be a parent in order to volunteer?
You do not have to be a parent in order to volunteer. You probably know people who are parents. You may have experiences with nieces, nephews, and friends’ children. Regardless of whether you have children or not, you can still play an important role in preventing child abuse and neglect.
