College Volunteers

Prospective college volunteers enrolled in a degree/certificate program can first check here to see if there is an active college chapter at their school and submit a college volunteer application.

Prospective college volunteers must be 18+ years old. If you’re under 18 please click here to view our Kids and Family volunteering Opportunities.

Check here to see if there is an active college chapter at your school.

We ask all college volunteers to commit to at least one academic year. Many College volunteers go beyond to volunteer their entire postsecondary career and transition to our Community Volunteer Program to serve as a community volunteer after graduation.

Your application submission is received by the respective chapter you chose to join. You can expect to hear from the chapter about New Volunteer training you must complete prior to partaking in volunteer programming. If you don’t hear from the chapter within 2 weeks from the date you submitted your college volunteer application contact us so we can connect you with the chapter via their Project Sunshine chapter email.

Project Sunshine trains all college chapter leaders either in our office or virtually. Who will than train their chapter executive board and volunteers.

Project Sunshine does not require college volunteers to undergo a background check unless they are a Chapter Leader or Co-Chapter Leader. If you are a college volunteer with a chapter that partners with a medical facility who requires volunteers to undergo a background check then you will need to abide by the policies & procedures of that specific medical facility.

For verification of service hours college volunteers can contact us.

Project Sunshine welcomes all students who are pursuing a medical or medical related degree &/or certificate to volunteer with us. In fact, we have a number of medical schools who participate in the college volunteer program across the country. It is a great opportunity to get to know pediatric patients outside of clinical rotations.

Check here to learn more about our volunteer programs

Check here to see if there is an active college chapter at your school. If not, contact us to request a college chapter leader application to start the process. Establishing or Reinstating a college chapter requires a chapter leader and Co-chapter leader to share the responsibilities of running a chapter.

The application process typically can take between 1-3 months due to the high volume of interest we receive from individuals who wish to start a chapter at their school.

Chapter Leaders are required to serve one academic year and may serve longer.

Project Sunshine provides ongoing Professional Development to all Chapter Leaders and Co-Chapter Leaders during the duration of their undergraduate or graduate studies. We require Chapter Leaders and Co-Chapter Leaders to complete trainings such as New Volunteer; TelePlay and In-Hospital safety, etc. Project Sunshine provides and will teach all college chapters how to use technology applications such as Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, and Zoom.

• Chapter Support and Trainings
• Technology Applications: Microsoft Office 365, Salesforce, Zoom
• College Chapter Resources
• T-Shirts, Promotional and Marketing Items
• Access to a Network of over 100 College Chapters across the country

College chapters are allowed to fundraise to cover expenses in accordance with their school policies and procedures. Chapters also have access to available resources from their school.

Project Sunshine will conduct outreach and develop partnerships with medical facilities across the country. College Chapters are partnered with a medical facility in their home state and introduced to a facility point of contact. If you have a contact at a medical facility you want to partner with please document their information in your application.

Don’t hesitate to contact us with any other questions.

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.

• Chapter Teleplay occurs with a medical facility the college chapter is partnered with. Sessions are open to children and families at the chapters specific partner medical facility.
• National Teleplays are scheduled by both college and community chapters who may or may not have a hospital partner. Sessions are open to any pediatric patient, across the nation whether they are in or out of a medical facility.

Project Sunshine provides college chapters with TelePlay resources to meet the needs of Pediatric patients. From Bingo, Jeopardy to Trivia, there are activities to accommodate and engage all children of all ages and their families.

College Chapters schedule and host their own Teleplay sessions any day and time of the week including weekends. You can view our TelePlay National Calendar. Please note the calendar can be changed and viewed in your preferred time zone. College Chapter E-Board members and Volunteers promote their TelePlay Sessions and the national calendar through social media and personal networks to attract participants to engage with Project Sunshine TelePlay program.

College Chapters schedule their Teleplay session for 1 hour. However, a session may end earlier or last longer than 45-60 minutes.

At this time TelePlay sessions are only allotted a maximum of 5 college volunteers including one-chapter E-Board member to lead TelePlay activities per session.

At this time TelePlay sessions are only allotted a maximum of 15 participants to join per session.

Parents &/or Guardians can view the TelePlay National Calendar  to register for a TelePlay session. Please note the calendar can be changed and viewed in your preferred time zone. All participants must sign a consent form before every session that assures and reinforces Project Sunshine commitment to privacy. Once participants have registered for a session an email will be sent from teleplay@projectsunshine.org with the Zoom link and passcode.

We are doing our best to match you to a partner medical facility for Chapter TelePlay. Currently, we do active outreach via calls, emails, and newsletters. However, we are experiencing some delays since the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, pediatric healthcare facilities have undergone many changes to maintain the safety of patients, their families, and the medical staff. These changes include restrictions for visitors, volunteers, and other non-medical interactions. All healthcare facilities we have spoken to LOVE our Project Sunshine volunteers and are eager to have you return once it is safe for all. In the meantime, we are working tirelessly to bring TelePlay to facilities. We hope to get back to you as soon as we know more.

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.

Yes, there are 3 ways to participate in a TelePlay session. First, check here to see if there is an active college chapter at your school and submit a college volunteer application. Second, check here to see if there is an active community chapter in your home state and submit a community volunteer application. Third, if there is not an active college chapter at your school and you want to collaborate with a chapter at a neighboring school contact us.