Birthline manages the office with one paid staff and the rest all volunteers. This enables us to use the financial donations towards what will best help the moms, and to keep the office open.
We ask that volunteers be able to come in for a four-hour shift one day a week or at least every other week. You can pretty much pick your day and hours, and there we are flexible for you, making changes to coincide with your personal commitments.
We start all volunteers doing the same thing; working in the donation room. After a few weeks, and if they are interested, we teach them the clerical work that goes with helping out the client with donations.
Those that are interested, we then teach the reception and answering the phone calls. This involves a lot of diplomacy and knowing what our procedures are.
Then, for those that might be interested in giving pregnancy tests and becoming a counselor, we give a three-day training, which is held one day a week for three consecutive weeks.
Not everyone is suited for or wishes to be a counselor. For this reason, we allow the volunteer to choose any of the jobs she has been trained in.
- We ask that the volunteer be a believer/Christian. We have volunteers of different faiths and denominations, and so she/he must be respectful of others not of her/his own faith.
- Volunteers must have compassion for the teens and women who come for help, without displaying any of their own personal beliefs or prejudices. We do not accept or tolerate prejudices of any kind.
- Volunteers must be willing to follow the procedures and rules of the center as given in the training.
- It is important for our volunteers to get along with each other. This is not something we have ever had a problem with, but still worth mentioning.
- Volunteers need to be willing to just jump in and do whatever jobs need doing. Even our counselors can be found in the donation room, pushing a vacuum around, or cleaning the restrooms.
- All volunteers are asked to complete a brief application which provides the executive director with information on their preferences of work, and who to contact should they get hurt or become sick when in for their shift.
Just call the office and let us know that you wish to come in. We will schedule you for your preferred shift and begin your on-the-job training. Call (303) 832-2858
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