Agrace HospiceCare Volunteer Opportunities and Training

Volunteer Training Process

[A] Orientation
All volunteers start by attending an orientation session to learn more about Agrace HospiceCare and what volunteer roles might be the best fit for you. For Thrift Store, garden, and errand volunteers this is the only required training.
Orientation Training Dates (Janesville Office)
Orientation Training Dates (Madison Office)

[B] Organizational Training
This one-session training is for volunteers who plan to serve in roles that do not work directly with patients but take place at the Agrace HospiceCare Inpatient Unit in Madison such as Café, Gift Shop, office work, hospitality, etc. (Prerequisite: Orientation [A])
Organizational Training Dates (Janesville Office)
Organizational Training Dates (Madison Office)

[C] Home Care Volunteer Training Series
This training is for volunteers wishing to work with patients who are living in their own homes or patients who are living in long-term care facilities in the community. Volunteers complete a 20-hour training series to prepare them to be comfortable and successful in their roles. (Prerequisite: Orientation [A])
Home Care Volunteer Training Dates (Janesville Office)
Home Care Volunteer Training Dates (Madison Office)

[D] Inpatient Volunteer Training Series
This training is for volunteers wishing to work with patients at the Agrace HospiceCare Inpatient Unit and Residence in Madison. Volunteers complete a 24-hour training series to prepare them to be comfortable and successful in their roles. (Prerequisite: Orientation [A])
Inpatient Volunteer Training Dates

Still have questions? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions about Volunteering

Brighten a day by supporting patients in the Agrace HospiceCare inpatient facility, in patients' homes or in skilled nursing facilities.	Administrative volunteers have fun filing, entering data or assisting with paperwork.	Engage with customers, donors and other volunteers in a retail setting at the Agrace HospiceCare Thrift Store.
Bring joy to patients by spending time and talking about their life accomplishments.	Share the warmth of a great cup of coffee, a lemon scone and a smile as you volunteer in the Doc Rock Café.	Prepare Dori Bears that will provide comfort to children and Agrace HospiceCare patients.
Assist the Agrace HospiceCare Foundation with organizing fundraisers and processing incoming donations.	Thanks to volunteer gardeners, Agrace HospiceCare patients and visitors enjoy the peace of a lush, well-tended garden.	Volunteer coordinators assist in connecting you to patients with similar interests or positions that best utilize your skills.

Volunteer Opportunities Description 

In-Home patient and family volunteer: Volunteers visit with patients in their homes to help provide respite for caregivers.  These visits average 2-3 hours in length and can be anywhere in our service area you are willing to travel (you can specify locations in the area at the end of your patient training).

Vigil Volunteer: Specially trained volunteers (must volunteer with pateints for 6 months then attend additional training)who sit with patients who are actively dying for up to a 4 hours shift between the hours of 8pm-8am.  

Visiting Pet Volunteer: Volunteers who visit with their Certified Therapy dogs in the Agrace HospiceCare Inpatient Unit or Long Term Care facilities in the community.  Handlers of the dog must have Therapy Dog Certification and complete the volunteer patient training themselves.

Long Term Care Facility Patient & Family Volunteer: Volunteers visit with patients residing in Long Term Care Facilities.  These visits average 30 minutes-1 hour and can be at facilities in the community where we currently have patients.  You can specify where in the community you are willing to travel at the end of your patient training.

Grief Services Volunteer: Specially trained volunteers (must volunteer with pateints for 6 months then attend additional training) who support our Grief Services staff.  These volunteers help make follow up calls to families after a patient has died and help co-facilitate grief groups.

Life Review Volunteer: Specially trained volunteers (must volunteer with pateints for 6 months then attend additional training) who help create life honoring mementos for families to have after a patient dies.  Volunteers will interview a patient and can then transcribe the interview into a memento for a family to keep.

Gardening Volunteer: Volunteers work to maintain the beauty of our gardens for the enjoyment of our patients, families, staff and visitors between the months of March and November. 

Office Assistant Volunteer: Volunteers help in different departments within the Agrace HospiceCare building to support staff.  Projects can include filing, data entry, materials assembly, etc.

Fundraising Volunteer: Volunteers are part of a committee that help our Foundation plan and put on fundraising events to support Agrace HospiceCare. 

Complementary Therapies Volunteer: Volunteers must have certification or license in Massage Therapy, Reiki (Master level), Barber or cosmetologist license.  Volunteers can provide this service to our patients seeking these treatments and services.  

Inpatient Unit Patient & Family Volunteer: Volunteers visit with patients staying or residing at the Agrace HospiceCare Inpatient Unit in Fitchburg.  These volunteers can providing feeding assistance, companionship, CNA support or just be a calming presence for our patients.

IPU Stocking Volunteer: Volunteers help stock the Agrace HospiceCare Inpatient Unit with needed medical supplies and linens to ensure our staff always have the items they need to best support our patients.

Thrift Store Volunteer: Volunteers utilize the cash register, accept donations, stock the sales floors and provide customer service at either Agrace HospiceCare Thrift Store (East or West side of Madison).  Money raised at the Thrift Stores goes to support services for our patients and families.

Gift Shop Volunteer: Volunteers utilize the cash register, stock merchandise, set up displays and provide customer service at the Gift Shop located in the Agrace HospiceCare building in Fitchburg.

Flower Room Volunteer: Volunteers take flower donations and assemble them into arrangements that are placed around the building. 

Coffee Shop Volunteer: Volunteers make a variety of beverages, utilize the cash register for meal sales and provide customer service to those wishing to purchase items from our Cafe.  This role includes interation with many staff, visitors, families and patients. 

Kitchen Volunteer: Volunteers support our kitchen staff by help make soups, bake cookies, prep food for patient meals and upcoming events held at Agrace HospiceCare.  These volunteer work directly with kitchen staff to support our patients, families, visitors and staff.

Hospitality Volunteer: Volunteers greet and direct any visitors to the building.  During the day, volunteers support our receptionist staff and in the evenings volunteers help direct visitors in building as needed.

Musician Volunteer: Volunteers provide music to our patients and families.  This can be done in our common areas and also one on one with patients.  Depending on the desire of the volunteer, this will determine the training required.