Volunteers are truly at the heart of many of the programs we offer at Hospice Yukon. Our vigil program, Healing Touch program, grief groups, and many of our public education programs rely heavily on the involvement of volunteers to offer these supports to our community.

This fall and into the winter we are looking forward to training a new intake of Hospice Yukon volunteers. They have just completed their first training session and will have several more group sessions in addition to independent studying between now and the new year. This an exciting time for us an organization. The diverse skills and experiences of our volunteers bring so much to the programs we offer, and often bring the spark of inspiration needed in developing a new grief group. Our volunteers come from a wide range of ages and backgrounds, and it is always a privilege to get to know them and the valuable skills they bring to their volunteer roles.

Some of the books our new volunteers will be reading from during their training.

Training a new intake of volunteers is an investment of time and energy for the new volunteers, as well as for Hospice; we run a volunteer training only every year or two.*  While we teach some core skills and information at each volunteer intake, we also continually change and update the training based on emerging trends in grief support and palliative support. Carlie, our Program Manager, is working hard on the curriculum to engage our new group of volunteers on a wide range of topics. Each new intake of volunteers learns so much together.

After completing their training this fall/winter, each new volunteer will complete some ‘shadow sessions’ with an experienced Hospice volunteer or staff member to gain experience and comfort in the program they will be volunteering in. New volunteers who are interested in our Healing Touch program have already completed their Level 1 Healing Touch course this fall as part of their Hospice training.

Our volunteers are an integral part of our team. We look forward to getting to know each of our new volunteers throughout this fall and winter and welcoming them into our vibrant Hospice Yukon community. Starting later in the new year look for some new faces helping out with our programs, and please thank them for sharing of themselves. They are really at the heart of what we do.

*The intake for this round of Volunteer Training (Fall 2019/Winter 2020) is now closed.  If you are interested in finding out more about volunteering: the application process and screening process, please email Hospice Yukon.