Community Volunteers

Bring compassion with your community

Local volunteer opportunities

By volunteering, you can make a crucial difference in the lives of children with medical needs and their families. Give back to your local community, expand your personal network, and connect with other kindhearted volunteers through remote and on-site volunteer opportunities.

Apply Now
ND7_4262-lowres
 
As a community volunteer, you will be able to:
number-one-circle-magenta

Gain experience in a hospital setting

number-two-circle-magenta

Engage in service opportunities

number-three-circle-magenta

Develop leadership experience

number-four-circle-magenta

Utilize our stream-lined volunteer application process

number-five-circle-magenta

Gain access to our network of medical partners

Community Map Labeled

Project Sunshine has active community chapters in 26 cities nationwide. Chapters participate in volunteer program activities to support Project Sunshine's mission.

Volunteer opportunities

 

In-person

Here To Play

Equipped with arts and crafts activities, volunteers facilitate play sessions with pediatric patients in medical facilities.These activities contain developmentally appropriate materials and instructions, while encouraging self-expression and imagination for the children. In addition to our comprehensive training, volunteers complete hospital-specific clearance processes.

TelePlay Ruby-1

Teleplay

Volunteers deliver a live, interactive play experience over video conference using HIPAA-compliant technology. Teleplay connects isolated children to one another, and is available to any child facing medical challenges, whether at home or at the hospital. Volunteer play developmentally appropriate games and activities, increasing joy and emotional relief.

kitsforplay-step2

Sending Sunshine

Volunteers assemble our activity kits to be sent directly to pediatric patients. Project Sunshine activity kits are designed by child life specialists, and developed in partnership with pediatric healthcare experts. These kits contain materials that provide therapeutic value to the emotional and physical healing process.

fundraiser-photo

Fundraising

Fundraising for Project Sunshine is a great way to support our causes and initiatives domestically and internationally. Contact us  for further details.

In-person

Here To Play

  • Volunteers play and interact with children, families, and medical facility staff at a local hospital.
  • Project Sunshine provides volunteers and medical staff with themed arts and crafts materials that are shipped directly to the medical facility.
  • Here To Play sessions can be held in a hospital play room for larger group activities or at bedside for one-to-one patient-volunteer interaction.
  • Each session lasts about 2 hours.
kitsforplay-step2

Kits for Play

  • Volunteers gather as a group to assemble our activity kits that will be sent directly to pediatric patients.
  • Project Sunshine activity kits contain arts and crafts materials for children to use and play with during their hospital stay.
  • Project Sunshine sends all the materials you need to pack activity kits to your chapter.
  • In one hour, you can pack 100 kits for 100 children!
TelePlay Ruby-1

TelePlay

  • Volunteers facilitate a 1-2 hour virtual play session on a secure and HIPPAA-compliant Zoom call with a small group of children. Teleplay sessions are held remotely.
  • Project Sunshine provides a Game Library for you to pick activities from, a PowerPoint template, and script to help facilitate the session.

Here To Play

Here to Play brings a group of local volunteers to your facility dressed in yellow Project Sunshine t-shirts, equipped with creative arts and crafts materials to the unit of your choice. In addition to our comprehensive training, our volunteers will go through any additional hospital required clearance process and can provide proof of COVID and Flu vaccinations. You select the frequency, date/time, and our volunteers will handle the rest!  

 
Teleplay

Project Sunshine’s TelePlay program is a live play experience, using a HIPAA compliant technology platform. TelePlay provides developmentally appropriate, engaging activities and games led by volunteers, including skilled volunteers like artists and musicians, and is open to any child facing medical challenges in or out of the hospital.

Sending Sunshine

Project Sunshine activity kits deliver safe, creative play directly to children. The materials spark joy and provide therapeutic value to the physical and emotional healing process. Each year, we send out close to 100,000 activity kits to medical facilities all around the US and Canada. Our partners distribute the activity kits to patients in areas like pediatric wards, emergency rooms, clinic waiting rooms. Activity kits are assembled by tens of thousands of volunteers who understand the importance of play for pediatric patients.

 
Fundraising
Fundraising for Project Sunshine is a great way to support our causes and initiatives domestically and internationally. In addition, to assembling sending sunshine activity kits for our hospital partners. contact us  for further details.

Interested in one of our volunteer program opportunities?

Find a Volunteer Opportunity

AR23-quote

It changes your heart. A lot."

Hear from Jiana, a community volunteer, about why she volunteers with Project Sunshine.

How to become a volunteer

We are committed to making the training accessible and time manageable to you, our volunteers, while also ensuring that you are well-prepared to engage with an important and vulnerable population. Here is what to expect from the college volunteer application process:

 

VolunteerApplicationInfographic-v6

Find a Volunteer Opportunity

Thank you for your interest in becoming a Project Sunshine community volunteer! View our open opportunities to see availabilities for all of our programs.

If there is an open opportunity in your city that fits your schedule, fill out the volunteer application to start volunteering! If there are no opportunities in your area or that fit your schedule, you can opt to be added to the waitlist. Due to medical facility need and resources used to onboard, we require volunteers to make a consistent one year commitment. After you have completed the application below, you will receive an email with a link to register for an upcoming volunteer training. If you do not receive that email or have any questions, please email volunteer@projectsunshine.org.
Apply Now

Open Opportunities

 

Here To Play opportunities

Don't see something for you? If there are no opportunities in your area or that fit your schedule, check back soon or email us at community@projectsunshie.org about being put on the waitlist.

 

Teleplay and Kits for Play opportunities

Please reach out to your chapter leader for available opportunities near you.

Ready to Volunteer?

Apply Now

FAQ

Check here to see if we have any open opportunities in your area and select the volunteer opportunity that works best for you. Once you sign up, you will receive an email to create a Sunshine Central account and complete the volunteer onboarding steps.

Please reach out to volunteer@projectsunshine.org and provide your location.

You may also apply to be a virtual volunteer found under the chapter listing on the applications.

We appreciate your interest and patience! 

We ask all Chapter Leaders and volunteers for a one year commitment. Frequency of volunteering will vary per chapter and you can sign up for the sessions that fit your schedule.

You got it! All of Project Sunshine’s volunteers are trained by our staff. Following the submission of your application you will be able to sign up for a New Volunteer Training or watch a recording which can last 45-60 minutes. Following the training, you will watch a 30-minute Engagement Video and complete a 12-question quiz. After you’ve passed the quiz, you will sign up to complete a practice session that corresponds to the type of program you'll be participating in. Here to Play is a 1 hour virtual training and TelePlay requires two 1-hour practice sessions. If you have not received communication from Project Sunshine, please reach out to us at volunteer@projectsunshine.org.

For you to volunteer with us, you must be 18 years or older. If you are under the age of 18, please click here for more information on family volunteering.

Yes, you can be affiliated with both your College Chapter and your local Community Chapter. 

Email us at volunteer@projectsunshine.org to organize a Zoom Conference “interview” with our Volunteer Engagement Team.

Chapter Leaders serve a minimum of a one-year term. The training process can take up to a month to learn applications like Microsoft Office Suite, Salesforce, and more. 

Email us at volunteer@projectsunshine.org to organize a Zoom Conference “interview” with our Volunteer Engagement Team.

All active Chapter Leaders volunteers will be able to view their total volunteer hours on their Sunshine Central account. For former volunteers and Chapter Leaders, email us at: volunteer@projectsunshine.org to receive a volunteer hours verification.

Please reach out to volunteer@projectsunshine.org to inquire about next steps if you volunteered with us prior to Fall 2022.