Volunteer

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with us. There are many opportunities to support those who are grieving an illness or death of a family member. Explore the information below to learn more about volunteer opportunities at Bridges, our selection process and much more.

Volunteer opportunities

Group facilitator. Volunteers in this role co-facilitate grief support groups twice each month from September through May. The total time commitment for group facilitators is about 3.5 hours each session. Each support group has between two and four facilitators. (Those interested in facilitating the parent and sibling loss support groups must be available on Monday nights.)

Host. Our hosts welcome families as they arrive and assist the Bridges coordinator once groups have started.

Crafter. Volunteer crafters assist with various sewing projects, such as creating Feelie Hearts and crafting fleece blankets.

Camp Erin volunteer. These volunteers assist with running a three-day grief camp for children between the ages of 6 and 17. Camp Erin is held each June at YMCA Camp Seymour, located 22 miles west of Tacoma. Volunteer applications are accepted from January to March each year. Volunteers must attend two Saturday training sessions in April, an orientation in late May and the weekend camp. Apply to be a Camp Erin Volunteer.

Volunteer applicants must complete the Mary Bridge Children’s online application as well as the Bridges supplemental application. Camp Erin volunteers must complete the Camp Erin volunteer application. Volunteer Services will notify us once you submit your applications electronically, but you may also want to inform us by email.

If you would like to fill out a paper application, please call the volunteer office at 253-403-1005 and we will mail one to you.

Important training dates

We offer winter and summer training sessions:

• Winter training takes place over two weekends in January and February.
• Summer training takes place on a weekend toward the end of August.

Volunteer selection and expectations

We will conduct two phone interviews with you, the first after we have reviewed your application and the second after you have competed training. These interviews help us ensure that you are a good fit for the volunteer position. When selecting volunteers, we consider your experience with loss and your comfort working with various age ranges, among other factors.

Creating a close-knit team atmosphere for our support group participants is important. We ask our volunteers to commit to the following:

• Work two nights a month (Mondays or Wednesdays, depending on the group) between 5:30pm and 9pm, from September to May
• Attend our quarterly facilitator meetings, held on Monday nights