Volunteer Programs at a Glance

All programs listed below, except the Summer Teen Volunteer Program, require applicants to be at least 18 years of age and out of high school.

Child Life

interact in age appropriate play activities for patients and siblings in the playroom, at bedside and outpatient areas.
assist nursing staff by holding and rocking infants; feeding them if needed; and by interacting in age appropriate play activities for siblings in the playroom.
tutor patients and support the School Program Staff.

Learn more about Child Life at CHOP»

Family Service

provide information and assistance to patients and families.
greet, direct and communicate with patients and families.

Clerical Volunteers

assist staff with clerical duties including: filing, copying, sorting mail, making packets, scripted phone calls (scheduling), etc

Physical and Occupational Therapy

assist PT/OT Staff with various activities that help maintain a clean, orderly working environment for patients to receive PT/OT. Administrative and clerical duties included.

The Physical Therapy Department also has volunteer opportunities for professional students.Learn more about PT»

Musicians On Call (community outreach program through WXPN 88.5 FM)

Volunteers come through the National Musicians on Call program and provide music therapy to patients and their families. These people are adults and do have patient interaction.

Humor Cart

Volunteers are members of a Jewish Women’s organization and come in dressed up with funny hats, socks and pins and take the “Humor Cart” around the hospital units. They offer stickers, coloring books, crayons, etc to patients to help brighten their day.

Paw Partners; Pet Therapy Program

Volunteers are responsible for bringing their licensed therapy dogs onto specific assigned units and providing pet therapy to patients. For more information, please visit this page

Reach Out and Read Program (ROR)

Volunteers are responsible for promoting literacy by reading to patients/siblings in CHOP primary Care Center Waiting Rooms and other CHOP ambulatory sites. For additional info about the program please visit this page.

Wawa Hospitality Cart

Wawa Inc., located in Wawa, Pa. operates a chain of more than 570 convenience stores in a five state area, including New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. The Wawa Hospitality Cart, operated by Wawa employees and CHOP volunteers, serves beverages to families throughout the main hospital campus. The cart contains an assortment of hot and cold beverages. All products/supplies are donated to the Hospital from The Wawa Corporation.

Summer Teen Volunteer Program for High School Students

Volunteering as a high school student at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia not only supports the hospital but also gives students exposure to careers in healthcare while giving them the opportunity to have experiential learning’s to assist in their personal and professional development.

The Summer Teen Volunteer Program at CHOP is a six week program that is offered to local high school students who meet the requirements. The program runs for 6 weeks during the months of July and August. Exact dates vary each year. There are a limited number of summer volunteer openings available for this program.

Requirements:

All applicants must be at least 16 years of age by June 1 of the current year and have completed the 9th grade
All applicants must be able to commit to a minimum 4 hour per day shift, one day a week as well as attend bi-weekly youth development workshops
All applicants must be able to volunteer the same day and time every week throughout the 6 week program with no more than 2 absences.
All applicants must be able to meet medical requirements

Volunteer Opportunities