Volunteer and Donation Opportunities
Thank you for your interest in volunteering at Denver Health! There are many options for community members to contribute their time and talent through our Volunteer Services programs to provide support to our patients, staff and community.
The Denver Health volunteer program began in 1935 to help Denver Health to fulfill its threefold goal of patient care, education and research. The role of the volunteer is to supplement the professional staff, thereby freeing time to provide the best medical, nursing and support services to patients. Volunteers add the extra dimensions of empathy, sensitivity, warmth, and friendliness to ease and brighten a patient’s hospital stay or clinic visit. Denver Health has about 200-350 active volunteers throughout the year.
All volunteer applicants must:
- Be 16 years of age or older
- Commit to volunteering 4 hours consistently every week (Pet Therapy has different shifts, please inquire for details)
- Commit to 150 hours over a 12-month period
- Attend an interview, orientation and additional trainings as needed
- Complete a multi-step medical clearance including a two-step TB test, flu shot and providing a copy of your immunization records
- Be able to successfully pass a background screening
For more information on volunteering opportunities at Denver Health, click the button below.
All new volunteers, except for Pet Therapy, must start as Pathfinders for their first 32 hours unless recruited to volunteer with a specific department. Denver Health is a big campus and it is easy to get lost, our Pathfinders help patients and visitors to find their way to appointments, tests, visits, etc. with comfort and ease through the many buildings and departments. Pathfinders also help with hospital departments on projects as needed.
After completing your hours as a Pathfinder, here are some examples of other opportunities that will be available:
- Book Cart: Volunteers visit each patient room in our medical surgery floors and offer a variety of books, magazines and puzzles. They also help in acquiring basic needs such as toiletries, reading glasses and phone chargers.
- Medical Surgery Floors: Volunteers help to stock rooms, meet patient needs, answer call lights and help support staff.
- Clerical Volunteers: Volunteers welcome people, organize paperwork, put together educational materials for new patients and make follow up calls.
- MyChart Sign-Up: Help our patients in the outpatient clinics sign up for MyChart, a secure online service that allows our patients simple health care management from any smartphone or computer, including prescription refills, make an appointment, and online bill pay.
- Pediatric Volunteers: Help our Child Life specialists in the DECC, Pediatric Unit, and Neonatal with our littlest patients! You will be hosting activities, help with events and care for our pediatric patients.
- Spiritual Care: Volunteers help the Spiritual Care Department in completing specific tasks that assist in addressing the spiritual and emotional needs of patients and visitors at Denver Health.
- Gift Shop: Volunteers assist in stocking and greeting patients/visitors
- Emergency Department: This is a busy, fast paced environment. Volunteers support patients, run errands and stock rooms in our Level 1 Trauma Center.
- Pet Therapy: Volunteers and their certified (through Alliance of Therapy Dogs or Pet Partners) pet therapy dogs spread joy and comfort to patients, visitors and staff with visits throughout the hospital
- Additional possibilities:
- Outpatient Clinics
- Human resources
Newborns In Need
Denver Health Foundation's Newborns in Need program comes to the rescue for expecting families who are struggling to make ends meet. Thanks to generous donors and volunteers, we collect thousands of new baby items to fill our “Warm Welcome” bags that are given to new moms and dads who really need and appreciate this extra help.
In addition to the Warm Welcome Bags, Newborns in Need also provides car seats, strollers, cribs and many more items to families that are in serious need. We only accept blankets for babies that are 24” x 36” in accordance with our safety guidelines. Learn more about volunteering and donating to Newborns In Need here. For information please email Sharon Mushkin at sharon.mushkin@dhha.org or call (303) 602-2985.
Reach Out and Read
With our Reach Out and Read program, gently used books are placed in waiting areas at clinics to create literacy-rich environments, given to siblings during Well Child Visits, and offered to patients during sick visits. It is our goal that every time a child enters our clinics that they leave with a book in their hands. Help us make this goal a reality.
We are happy to accept new and gently used children’s books abiding by the following guidelines:
- Be new or gently used (covers and pages intact, clean and unmarked pages)
- Books may be for the following age groups: infants up to and including young adults
- No textbooks
- No used coloring or activity books
Donations can be dropped off in Volunteer Services, The Zone Pavilion C, 1st Floor weekdays from 8 am - 4 pm.