Volunteer

Your Passion to Help Makes Our Community a Wonderful Place to Live

At Lory's Place there is never any charge for our services or programs. This is possible because so many people believe in and support what we do. Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Lory's Place.

These generous men and women serve in many capacities. Some help us as trained support group facilitators. Others help provide community awareness, assist with fundraising activities and in many other supportive rolls. A completed application is required for all of our volunteer opportunities.

Lory's Place Volunteers Tell Our Story to the Community

"Thank you so much for taking time to show Lory's Place. To see it first hand and hear such touching sties, makes it all the more impressive. Our community is very luck to have Lory's Place and the passion of all those involved." -Community Member

Lory's Place volunteers are dedicate to supporting the center's mission and services. As a volunteer you can help us in a few valuable ways.

Administrative

Assist Lory’s Place staff with administrative tasks to ensure that daily operations are running efficiently. Would include mailings, copies, greeting, etc. Includes a two-hour training.

Peer Support Group Facilitators

To become a group facilitators, an approximate 20 hour training is required. All training sessions are mandatory to attend in addition to a clear background check and fingerprints. The primary role of the Peer Group Facilitator is “to make easier” for the children and adults who on their grief journeys. As a facilitator, you will embrace the Lory's Place peer support group model.  It emphasizes that each individual who joins our groups has an innate capacity to seek and to find resolution to and reconciliation with life’s painful realities.  You will trust in the individual’s unique process of adjustment, growth and timing.  You will understand the peer support process and recognize you are not acting in a role as a counselor.  A facilitator you will companion which Dr. Alan Wolfelt explains, “Companioning is about being present to another person’s pain; it is not about taking away the pain.” At all times you will have at heart the best interests of our adult and children participants. To truly be a helping presence you will commit to the following guidelines and expectations.

Guidelines/Expectations of a Peer Support Group Facilitator:

1. Complete an interactive, extensive training.
2. Commit to facilitating peer support groups for one year and devote 6 hours a month to Lory’s Place.
3. Attend each assigned session. This is essential to the trust established at Lory’s Place.  If you cannot attend your session, you will agree to find your own replacement and inform the Lory's Place office of he substitution.  If a replacement is not found by the facilitator, this will be considered as an absence.  More than three absences is considered excessive and will be handled on an individual basis.
4. Demonstrate a working knowledge of the Lory’s Place Volunteer Facilitator Manual.
5. Respect confidentiality except in cases of suicide ideation, child abuse, chemical dependency on the part of a child or adolescent, or harm by one child to the next.  All concerns regarding safety issues are reported immediately to the bereavement coordinator/or Program Director.
6. Attend both pre and post meetings on time, as they know this is a critical piece in their ability to best help families, as well as their own self-care.
7. Not establish personal/intimate relationships with participants during or after program services.
8. Note and discuss individual children’s needs with the Program Director and/or Bereavement Coordinator.
9. Direct parental questions and concerns regarding their child to the Program Director or Bereavement Coordinator.
10. Log the time spent at Lory’s Place on the sign-in sheet at the front door.
11. Be with the participants they have been assigned to during the evening, so that no participant is ever without an adult.
12. Be responsible for children cleaning up prior to closing.  If the space has not been returned to its original state the facilitator will clean the space after post meeting.
13. Hold to time limits. You will have the Lory's Place staff preview all materials you bring to share with the group.
14. Implement the “Safety Guidelines.”
15. Implement the “Essential Skills of Facilitating” effectively.
16. Establish a climate of trust and safety.
17. Demonstrate caring, respect and understanding for all persons.
18. Deal with barriers to communication.
19. Be directly involved in the group process by sharing concisely their personal thoughts, feelings and impressions of what is happening in the group.
20. Be aware of your own biases and will not inflict your opinions and values upon participants and other facilitators.
21. Understand the importance of closing and will give two weeks notice of their departure.
22. Be the best models and ask for help when they need it.

2024 Peer Support Group Facilitator Training Dates

Tuesday, August 6 5:30-8:00PM
Wednesday, August 7 5:30-8:00PM
Thursday, August 8 5:30-8:00PM
Thursday, August 15 5:30-8:00PM

It is mandatory to attend all sessions listed above. For more information on this training please click here.

Our volunteer opportunities are open to anyone who is interested in supporting Lory's Place Regularly schedule meetings provide time to plan activities and discuss details of upcoming events. You are always welcome to come as our guest to these meetings to learn about new activities and programming.

If you would like to know about being a volunteer, please call (800)717-3812 or (269) 983-2707.