Hospice care is built on presence. The presence of skilled nurses and social workers, of chaplains and bereavement counselors, but also of volunteers, who show up with something just as essential as a clinical role: time, attention, and a willingness to be there.
At Croí Health, volunteers are a meaningful part of how we care for patients and families across the South Shore. Whether you’re considering becoming a hospice volunteer yourself, or you’re a family member wanting to understand who will be part of your loved one’s care team, this is for you.
What Is a Hospice Volunteer?
A hospice volunteer’s role is simple and vital: to be present with patients and families during one of life’s most significant chapters.
Hospice home volunteers work directly alongside patients and their families in the home setting, offering companionship, practical help, and a steady, caring presence that complements the work of the clinical team. Other volunteers support Croí Health’s operations and community programs in ways that keep the whole organization running. Whatever form it takes, volunteering with Croí Health is an extension of our commitment to whole-person, community-rooted care. Learn more about Croí Health’s bereavement services.
What Hospice Volunteering Actually Looks Like
Volunteering with Croí Health can take a number of different forms depending on your interests, your availability, and where you feel most called to contribute.
Companionship and Presence
For many volunteers, the role centers on simply being there. That could be sitting with a patient, having a conversation, reading aloud, or listening to stories from a life well lived. Families often remember these services with fondness. When a caregiver needs a few hours of rest, or when a patient would benefit from a familiar, friendly face, a companionship volunteer fills that role.
Practical Support for Families
Caring for a loved one at the end of life is exhausting, and the practical weight of it can be just as heavy as the emotional. Hospice volunteers can help with errands, light tasks around the home, or sitting with a patient so a family caregiver can step away and rest. These contributions are quieter than clinical care, but for a family running on empty, they can make an enormous difference.
Administrative and Community Support
Not all hospice volunteering involves direct patient care. Croí Health’s administrative volunteers support operations and the hospice team by assisting with in-office tasks such as mailings, paperwork, phone calls, and organization, the kind of behind-the-scenes work that helps the whole team focus on patients and families.
Why Volunteers Call This Their Most Rewarding Role
For most people, volunteering in a hospice setting sounds daunting before they try it. Many who do try it find it to be one of the most meaningful experiences of their lives. The relationships that form, even over a short period of time, have a depth that’s hard to find elsewhere.
The Relationships That Stay With You
There’s something about showing up for someone during their most vulnerable chapter that creates a connection unlike any other. Volunteers often describe a profound sense of privilege in being trusted into that space and a sense of meaning in the work that stays with them long after a patient has passed.
What Volunteers Say
“Volunteering here gives me tremendous fulfillment, and I see how it helps our hospice families, too. I meet people where they are, and if I can find a connection between us, even better.”
– Margery Carr, companionship volunteer
“This is important work that the team and families are grateful for, and I get so much back from the experience. I always say that there is sadness, of course, but I also see happiness. I love everyone at the hospice home. It just makes my day coming here.”
– Linda Tierney, kitchen volunteer at the Barbara and Pat Roche Hospice Home
Hospice Volunteer Opportunities in Plymouth, Hingham, and Norwell
Croí Health serves 27 communities across the South Shore, and our volunteers are part of what makes that care possible at the local level. Whether you live in Plymouth, Hingham, Norwell, or any of the surrounding towns, there is likely a volunteer opportunity near you.
Hospice volunteering is open to a wide range of people. Retirees, working adults, those with caregiving backgrounds and those without. What matters most is not experience but the willingness to show up with compassion and consistency. If you’ve been looking for a way to give back to your community in a way that truly matters, this may be it. Reach out to our team to learn more.
What to Expect When You Become a Croí Health Hospice Volunteer
Our onboarding process is designed to make sure volunteers feel prepared, supported, and confident before your first visit.
Training and Preparation
Becoming a Croí Health volunteer involves a comprehensive application and orientation process that includes a CORI check, hospice education, HIPAA training, and more. The goal is to make sure every volunteer understands the environment they’re entering and feels equipped to be present in a meaningful way.
Ongoing Support for Volunteers
Croí Health’s commitment to its volunteers doesn’t end at orientation. Each volunteer sub-team, whether companionship, hospice home kitchen, pet therapy, reiki, or another team, holds regular meetings to stay connected and supported. Bereavement support is also available to volunteers who need it, because we know this work can be emotionally weighty, and the people who do it deserve the same care they help provide.
For Families: What It Means to Have a Volunteer on Your Care Team
If your loved one is receiving hospice care through Croí Health, you may have a volunteer as part of your care team. Every volunteer has gone through a thorough orientation process and is there because they want to be. They are vetted, prepared, and motivated by something beyond obligation.
Having a volunteer present is an expression of Croí Health’s whole-person approach to care: the belief that what patients and families need at the end of life goes beyond clinical services, and that presence itself is a form of care.
Take the First Step
If you’re considering hospice volunteering on the South Shore, you don’t need to have it all figured out before you reach out. You just need to be willing to take one step, and we’ll meet you there.
And if you’re a family navigating hospice care with Croí Health, know that the volunteers who show up for your loved one are there because this work matters to them. We’re proud to offer that kind of presence.
Reach out to our team to learn more about hospice volunteer opportunities on the South Shore, or to find out how Croí Health supports patients and families in their 27 service areas.
