Volunteering for Adults

Caring, committed volunteers can be found at the heart of Horizon Hospice's Circle of Care. Since its inception, Horizon has built its sterling reputation on the compassion and skill of very special individuals who contribute their time, talents, and true generosity to those at the end of life. We train our volunteers very carefully, and provide them with plenty of support.

We have volunteers that work out of our south suburban location and our Chicago location. You can choose the location that is most convenient for you.

What do Horizon Volunteers Do?

If you are looking for a personally enriching and emotionally gratifying volunteer experience, you can choose involvement in different ways.

  1. Inpatient Unit Volunteers. Assist with patient visits, family hospitality and staff support at our new 13 bed Inpatient Unit, located on the fifth floor of the Bowman Building on the Rush hospital Campus,　710 S. Paulina Street (a very short walk from the CTA Pink Line Polk St. Station). Our next New Volunteer Orientation class is now forming for Inpatient Unit volunteers. Training will consist of two full weekday sessions, 9am to 5pm on Thursdays and Fridays in mid to late January. Details will be available on this website. Training will be at our downtown Chicago office, located at 833 W. Chicago Avenue

  2. Direct care volunteers assist the patient and family. Volunteers may simply visit with the patient, provide respite for the caregiver, or perform helpful tasks such as cooking, shopping, cleaning or even mowing the lawn. Bi-lingual Spanish speakers are strongly encouraged to apply.

  3. Bereavement Care volunteers provide emotional support to family members following the death of a loved one. By maintaining involvement with family members, Horizon can monitor the grieving process and can help guide a bereaved person toward resuming a healthy, productive life. Bi-lingual Spanish speakers are strongly encouraged to apply.

  4. Administrative volunteers may assist staff with the many administrative details in the office. Tasks may include copying and filing documents, answering phones, collating, or mailing. Bi-lingual Spanish speakers are strongly encouraged to apply.

Volunteer Training

Our next new volunteer orientation class will take place on the following dates from 6:00pm to 9:00pm:
 
Wednesday February 22nd
Wednesday February 29th
Wednesday March 7th
Wednesday March 21st
Wednesday March 28th
 
Each session will be held at our Chicago office at 833 W. Chicago. To become a volunteer with Horizon Hospice & Palliative Care, all new volunteers are required to attend all five evenings or their equivalent.

Volunteer Applications can be found here

Criminal Background Check Authorization can be found here

Horizon's Kids Who Care program runs out of the south suburban location, and is open to any school age child or teen who is interested in providing fun, friendship and practical help to south suburban seniors. Activities range from making greeting cards, to creating holiday baskets filled with goodies, to providing game nights and other fun intergenerational activities at senior centers and nursing homes. Some Kids Who Care also do grocery shopping for seniors or provide simple yardwork. If you are interested in Kids Who Care, please visit here.

Please Note that potential volunteers must meet with the appropriate Volunteer Coordinator before being accepted into the program.

For a schedule of upcoming volunteer events, click here. To learn more about the satisfaction of helping people through a most difficult time, call the Volunteer Coordinator at 312-492-3082.