The volunteer programs at St. Mary’s Villa for Children and Families give committed individuals the opportunity to make a positive impact on the life of a child. Volunteers — whether on site or off site — can

• Provide friendship for children in St. Mary’s programs
• Broaden the children’s horizons by sharing skills, interests and experiences
• Provide one-on-one adult guidance by being role models and exemplifying healthy behaviors

In the volunteer programs both adults and children can express their unique gifts and talents.

All volunteers at St. Mary’s complete an application and interview. They present or obtain Act 33 and Act 34 clearances and provide a doctor’s report documenting a recent physical examination and negative tuberculin test. They participate in St. Mary’s training and orientation program.

To learn more about being a volunteer at St. Mary’s Villa or to request a volunteer application, call (215) 643-7676.

The focus of the on-site volunteer program is to provide constructive activities or interactions that occur on the St. Mary’s campus in Ambler, Pa. On-site volunteers work in many different capacities. Some help in the residential apartments. Others act as tutors or present recreational activities in the partial hospitalization program. All volunteers work with input from trained, experienced staff members.

St. Mary’s offers volunteer opportunities to those who can participate in crafts and art projects, woodworking, cooking, sewing, music and dance. Whatever your talent or interest, as a volunteer at St. Mary’s, your skill and enthusiasm could bring joy and direction to the life of a child.

The St. Mary’s off-site volunteer program exposes a child to healthy social interactions in which the child is invited to participate. In this program, children benefit by seeing the world beyond the St. Mary’s campus. The program seeks individuals who can help a child by being:

• Host families. In the host family program, a child spends time, off the St. Mary’s campus, with a whole family — parents; children; and, perhaps, other relatives. This gives the child a chance to see how a functional family works. During the child’s visits, he or she participates as a member of the family.
• Host parents. In the host parent program, a child relates with two caring adults. He or she can witness healthy adult decision making and limit setting. He or she can enjoy the experience of being a nurtured child outside an institution.
• Individual friends. An individual adult, matched with one St. Mary’s child, can provide friendship, be a role model and influence the child’s behavior positively by exemplifying healthy social interactions.