What Do Almost Home Volunteers Do?
Almost Home is a residence for families of children receiving
treatment in Kingston hospitals. The house accommodates up to
ten families. Almost Home is also open to families and caregivers
who need a respite during the day or the evening, but who are
not staying overnight. Almost Home is entirely community supported
and receives no government funding nor agency funding. We solely
rely on donations and voluntary services.
The following areas require active volunteer support, some more
often than others:
Relief Managers
Almost Home is staffed twenty-four hours a day. Generally, during
the day, the Executive Director is responsible for the house
with the live-in Night Manager covering the overnight hours.
Volunteer relief managers are needed for evening and weekend
shifts. Day shifts generally only occur when the staff are required
out of the house.
Volunteer Relief Managers:
Most shifts are four and a half hours
2:00 pm or 3:00 pm - 5:30 pm Mon.- Fri.
5:30 pm -10:00 pm daily
9:00 am -1:00 pm Sat., Sun. and Holidays
1:00 pm -5:30 pm Sat., Sun and Holidays
10:00pm -9:00 am overnight shifts Fri & Sat nights and holidays
Relief Managers are primarily responsible
for welcoming guests to the house, answering their questions,
and familiarizing them with the general guidelines of Almost
Home. They are also responsible for all telephone communications,
e.g. enquiries and messages, and for some small household duties
such as re-stocking rooms and keeping the coffee perking. Perhaps
the most important and enjoyable aspect of the relief managers'
work is the opportunity to talk to the guests.Relief managers
are asked to commit to at least one shift every two weeks and
make an ongoing commitment to Almost Home.
Relief managers and House Volunteers
work under the general direction of the House Manager who has
full responsibility for the management of the House.
House and/or Grounds Volunteers
Volunteers are needed to assist with regular housekeeping tasks
(e.g. cleaning common areas in the House, re-stocking rooms
that have been vacated so that they are ready for the next family),
and general interior and exterior maintenance and groundskeeping.
Almost Home relies on families and volunteers to help keep the
house clean and the grounds in good order.
Administrative Volunteers
Administrative volunteers assist with data entry, research of
grant opportunities, writing grants, letters and general correspondence,
phoning donors, stuffing envelopes, assist with the newsletter.
Board Volunteers
Board volunteers meet monthly. A term is for 3 years with active
participation of a Board member on a committee.
Fund Raising Volunteers
Fund raising volunteers may choose from a variety of interesting
tasks: helping organize a fun event, helping with media output,
entering data into a database, assisting with BINGO, picking
up Coin Houses, stuffing envelopes, making phone calls, and
asking for donations.Fund raising volunteers report to the Development
Office.
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