Volunteer
Volunteers founded the new Hopewell House and volunteers are key to its ongoing work.
Hopewell volunteers are a vital community of specialized teams, serving throughout and beyond our home to sustain every area of operations and caregiving.
Our Volunteers
Hopewell volunteers are a life-affirming community of nearly 150 compassionate people who support our home with a variety of skills and talents. Volunteers assist staff in caring for residents and their families, greet visitors, help with housekeeping, kitchen, and maintenance. Volunteer therapists (e.g., massage, acupuncture, Reiki and more) apply their gifts to soothe the bodies and spirits of our entire community. Musicians, artists and pet therapy volunteers warm the home with creativity, beauty, and the joyful presence of animals. Volunteers plant and maintain garden spaces, secure food and flower donations, craft quilts and blankets, and volunteers assist with outreach and communications.
We seek diverse volunteers from different races, ethnicities, cultures, genders and sexual orientations. Do you speak a second language or bring a diverse background, set of experiences or abilities? We welcome a vibrant and inclusive community and hope you’ll apply.
Hopewell House Volunteer Teams
Interested in volunteering at Hopewell House?
- Hopewell House has a variety of volunteer opportunities. Additional information and descriptions are included on this page. Browse the descriptions of the teams that interest you.
- We are incredibly thankful for the robust support from the community. At this time we are only accepting applications for new volunteers in select teams. See Team Descriptions for more information. Thank you for your interest. Check back later for additional openings.
Resident Life Support Team
Our resident life volunteers bring calm presence and mindful attention to help create the most comfortable, compassionate end-of-life experience possible. They assist clinical staff in providing physical and emotional support to Hopewell House residents and their friends and families. These volunteers read aloud, offer companionship and personal care, assist with meals, bathing, turning, positioning, and more.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Completed Application and Successful Interview
Criminal Record and Reference Check
TB/Drug Attestation
Food Handlers Card
Completion of Specific Training Required for Team
COMMITMENT
Four-hour shift weekly or bi-weekly for a minimum of one year.
Not currently accepting applications. Please check back at a later date.
Concierge & Welcome Team
Guided by the values that thoughtful listening and gracious kindness are at the heart of everything we do, Concierge and Welcome Volunteers (CWVs) are the first point of contact for visitors, including family, friends, hospice providers, and other volunteers. These volunteers respond to the often subtle ways that people voice their needs, helping to provide the most comfortable, trauma informed, and compassionate end-of-life experience possible for our residents and their family and friends. CWVs answer phones, greet staff and guests, answer questions, maintain logs, and resolve tasks which arise in a day.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Completed Application and Successful Interview
Criminal Record and Reference Check
TB/Drug Attestation
Food Handlers Card
Completion of Specific Training Required for Team
COMMITMENT
Four-hour shift weekly or bi-weekly for a minimum of one year.
Not currently accepting applications.
Knitting, Crocheting and Quilting Team - Accepting Donations NOW!
A great way to share your time and talents (from home!) by creating colorful quilts, lap blankets and prayer shawls for the comfort of residents during their time at Hopewell House. Each resident will be offered a quilt of their choice, handmade by generous and creative community members who have donated their time, talents and materials. Each quilt will remain with the resident during their care and their family will be invited to take the quilt home with them upon the resident’s death. Knitted (or crocheted) lap blankets, prayer shawls, beanies and slippers will be offered as a gift to residents and family members as well.
Accepting Donations for handmade quilts and knitted items (to specifications)
For more information please contact yarnart@fhhpdx.org or quilts@fhhpdx.org
Gardening Team
The Garden Team is a like-minded community, believing that nature can be a place of peace, solace and healing for residents and their families. Garden volunteers create lovely outdoor spaces that bring beauty to every resident window and encourage nature’s majesty and serenity for all who come to Hopewell House. Our garden volunteers may be master gardeners, hobby gardeners or simply those who find pleasure in spending time outdoors. Come garden with us!
REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES
A love of nature – A love of gardening a plus.
The ability to work as part of a team.
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
No training necessary and tools onsite.
Team lead will provide direction.
SCHEDULE
Spring, Summer & Fall – Mondays and Thursdays from 9:30 – 12:00
Winter – Mondays from 9:30 – 12:00 (starting in November)
COMMITMENT
2 to 3 hours weekly or bi-weekly. Preferably for at least one year.
Not currently accepting applications. Please check back at a later date.
Complementary and Alternative Services Team
Hopewell House’s Complementary and Alternative Services Team includes volunteers from diverse backgrounds who bring an array of healing gifts. Alternative therapies can bring relief and release of physical discomfort and can even play a role in emotional breakthroughs for distressed residents. Hopewell is so fortunate that these amazing volunteers are bringing their healing gifts to help ease this sacred transition.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Therapeutic expertise in one or more:
Acupuncture
Craniosacral therapy
Energy work (Reiki and healing touch)
Massage
Music and sound
Myofascial release
Personal aesthetics (hair cutting/styling/make-up)
Pet therapy
Aromatherapy
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Completed Application and Successful Interview
Criminal Record and Reference Check
TB/Drug Attestation
Completion of Specific Training Required for Team
COMMITMENT
Two-hour shift weekly or bi-weekly for a minimum of one year.
Not currently accepting applications. Please check back at a later date.
Kitchen Support
The kitchen volunteer works alongside the cook of the day as a two-person team. Volunteers are needed every day of the week. Shifts are two hours. Volunteers are needed in the morning, afternoon and evening. Tasks include washing dishes, doing prep work for meals, and making baked goods and breads. The afternoon morning shifts can begin as early as 7 am up to 10 am and afternoon begins anytime after 2 pm and can be flexible up till evening. Hopewell House provides fresh baked goods and welcomes volunteers who have skills and a passion in that area. This is a role that makes enormous contributions behind the scenes. An orientation to the kitchen and role is provided.
REQUIRED SKILLS AND ABILITIES
Enjoyment of being in a kitchen and washing dishes
The ability to work as part of a team and alignment with Hopewell House Mission and Vision
Completed Application and Successful Interview
Criminal Record and Reference Check
TB/Drug Attestation
TRAINING REQUIREMENTS
Food Handlers Card
Team lead will provide orientation
SCHEDULE
Seven days a week two shifts 7:00 – 9:00 am and 4:00 – 6:00 pm.
Note: depending on volunteer availability there is some flexibility in start time.
COMMITMENT
One to four shifts per month, perferable for one year.
Currently accepting applications. Please apply at this link: Volunteer Application
Contemplative Care Team
Contemplative care volunteers attend to the emotional support of residents and their loved ones. This includes extended and focused presence, as well as spiritual support. Volunteers respond to the many, often subtle, ways that residents voice their needs, helping residents and their loved ones have the most comfortable and compassionate end-of-life experience possible.
GENERAL REQUIREMENTS
Completed Application and Successful Interview
Criminal Record and Reference Check
TB/Drug Attestation
Food Handlers Card
Completion of Specific Training Required for Team
COMMITMENT
Two-hour shift weekly or bi-weekly for a one year minimum
RESPONSIBILTIES MAY INCLUDE
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Ease the way for residents and their loved ones during the dying time – there is a lot to “figure out” and move through during residency at Hopewell House, and matters of the heart are a part of the process for residents and their loved ones.
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Identify personal and culturally respectful support that resonates with residents’ and families’ spiritual and heart-based beliefs and identities.
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Provide deep listening, authentic presence for matters of the heart and mind that residents and their loved ones want to talk about.
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Identify relevant music, prayers, readings, or other relevant supports for residents and their loved ones.
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Assist with sacred transitional ceremonies for individuals in the dying time.
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Tend to grief and sit vigil.
Not currently accepting applications. Please check back at a later date.
Community and Volunteer Events
Every Monday Morning
Meditation Monday Mornings
Mondays 8:30 – 8:50 am. HH Community 20 minute compassion and mindfulness meditation weekly practice. Led by experienced practitioners this guided meditation provides a valuable opportunity to deepen our practice of compassion and self-awareness. Whether you’re a seasoned mediator or a beginner, we can all benefit from taking a pause and setting intentions for the week ahead.
Every other Thursday
Sound Healing Meditation Concert
Every other Thursday beginning May 1. 2:00 – 3:00 pm. Sound Healing Meditation Concerts with Shantara Grace bring you into deep meditation where stillness and silence awaits. It’s a profound grounding and reset for your system. Please register if attending by contacting Shantara: http://www.shantaragrace.com/contact. All are welcome but please reserve your spot. Space is limited.
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM
Every Friday Afternoon
Yoga for Calmness
Every Friday 3:00-4:00 pm in the Living Room. Ananda Yoga is Hatha-based with its primary focus being on bringing our energy inward and offering it up to experience the inner freedom of an open heart, a clear mind, and a relaxed body. All skll levels are welcome and modifications are available for all poses, including using chairs. Just bring yourself, all props are provided. Open to all…
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM
10
May 2025
New Volunteer Hopewell House Culture Training
Saturday 8:30am – 3:30pm. This training is for all volunteers who have not attended the required culture training. Lunch and snacks provided. RSVP to Laura Steffen@fhhpdx.org
12
May 2025
May: Healing Power of Touch – Volunteer Inservice
Tuesday 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Hands-on training for non-massage therapist volunteers. Touch has an incredible amount of benefit for people who are dying- physically, emotionally and spiritually. Sometimes, we may be afraid to touch another or don’t feel confident in how to touch others to bring needed comfort at end of life.
- the benefits of comforting touch
- addressing any fears we may have in touching others
- techniques to provide comforting touch
- centering techniques to become more present in your own body when offering comforting touch
Please click to RSVP
13
May 2025
Impact of Trauma and Substance Use at End of Life: (Clinical Education Series open to Clinical staff and Volunteers)
Tuesday 10:00 – 11:00 am. This inservice is designed to enhance our understanding and skills in addressing the complex effects of trauma and substance use at the end of life. These challenges are common in the work we do at Hopewell and are deeply embedded in the broader societal context. By deepening our awareness, we aim to better support and care for residents navigating these difficult experiences. RSVP to HH Clinical Educator, Emma.avalosa@fhhpdx.org
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM
13
May 2025
Volunteer Book Club
Tuesday 2:00 – 3:30 pm. We will discuss “Who Dies?” by Stephen and Ondrea Levine. From Amazon: The first book that explains how to open to the immensity of living with death—and how participating fully in life is the perfect preparation for whatever may come next. In Who Dies?, the Levines provide calm compassion rather than the frightening melodrama of death.
RSVP: If you plan on attending please RSVP to Cheryl Nutting to csnutting@aol.com
HOPEWELL HOUSE DINING ROOM
19
May 2025
May Grief Ritual
Monday 6:30 – 8:00 pm. Offered every third Monday of the month. Grief Ritual is the practice of metabolizing individual and collective grief in the circle of community. Most of us learn to grieve alone or to distance ourselves because the pain is too great. This monthly gathering is an opportunity to give voice to grief in all forms and to hold space for one another to share and process our experiences. Whether you are grieving a tangible loss, feeling existential grief, or are going through a difficult transition, all grief is welcome. This is an ongoing, in-person, drop-in event and no RSVP is required. Come as you are; we would be honored for you to join.
Facilitated by Brooke Lesley and Ashlie Hempstead
https://www.arcandcoil.com/
HOPEWELL HOUSE HOPE ROOM
28
May 2025
Knit and Crochet Along
Wednesday 2:00 – 4:00 pm. Join our talented team of yarn artists for fellowship and advice on the fourth Wednesday of the month. We create colorful quilts, lap blankets and prayer shawls for the comfort of residents during their time at Hopewell House.
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM and or PATIO weather permitting
28
May 2025
Learn De-escalation strategies for Managing Challenging Situations in Hospice Care
(Clinical Education Series resident wing volunteers strongly encouraged to attend)
Wednesday 3:00 – 4:00 pm Zoom Only. In light of the complex and often emotionally charged situations we navigate at Hopewell House, we are offering this important in–service to provide our team with essential de-escalation skills. These tools will empower us to manage challenging interactions with greater confidence, fostering a more supportive and peaceful environment for both residents and their loved ones.
Taught by Resident Life Volunteer Deanna who has over 20 years’ experience working in community-based settings with vulnerable populations. Deanna has spent the last decade serving our neighbors who are experiencing homelessness and instability at Impact NW, a non-profit in Portland, Oregon.
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM
09
Jun 2025
Film Screening “The Last Ecstatic Day”
Monday 6:30-8:30 pm. Hopewell House Volunteer Program and Beaverton Main Public Library host a screening the film “The Last Ecstatic Days”. It will be followed by a panel discussion of palliative care physicians, death doulas, and other caregivers to explore what’s possible when we embrace death as a community and as individual. There will be a HH volunteer gathering at 5:30 in the library lobby. Please invite friends and family.
BEAVERTON MAIN LIBRARY (12375 SW 5th St Beaverton, OR 97005)
10
Jun 2025
Volunteer Book Club
Tuesday 2:00 – 3:30 pm. Book: TBD.
RSVP: If you plan on attending please RSVP to Cheryl Nutting to csnutting@aol.com
HOPEWELL HOUSE LIVING ROOM