BECOME A VOLUNTEER

Volunteer with Children in Hospital Ireland (CIH)

We welcome volunteers from all walks of life, no experience is necessary, however you must be 18 years or older!

We open volunteer applications twice a year in the Spring and Autumn. See more below on our volunteering roles and current vacancies.

Play volunteers facilitate play, arts & crafts and more with children and young people throughout the hospital while giving their family a break. We have play volunteers across 15 hospitals nationwide. 

JustAsk Volunteers greet families arriving into the CHI at Crumlin, walk them to clinics and ease their experience through chat and a friendly face. They also hand out colouring and activity packs in the waiting rooms. To read more about our JustAsk service, click here. 

The JustAsk Sevice is currently in CHI at Crumlin only.

Child and Family Support Volunteers provide play to a child and support a family when they cannot be present or need a break. Unlike our play volunteer shifts, these play visits are scheduled to suit a particular family’s needs so volunteer shifts will be flexible. Previous experience working with children or as a CIH play volunteer required for this role.

The Child & Family Support service is currently in CHI at Crumlin and CHI at Temple Street only.

Volunteers with Children in Hospital Ireland

Frequently Asked Questions

We ask that all volunteers commit to a regular volunteer slot (2 hours) once a week, for at least one year. This ensures consistency for you, your volunteer partner and hospital staff. Of course illness and holidays will happen for all people, so ensuring that you are in touch with your partner and team leader is important.

You will complete a full day of training and receive an induction in the hospital before your first volunteer shift.

You will be paired with a volunteer partner or team, and will support one another during every shift in the hospital. If your volunteer partner(s) is not available for a shift, you may not volunteer by yourself. This is to ensure safeguarding and protection.

Our Volunteer Manager and Volunteer Coordinators are available for support by phone, email or via the volunteering app, Volunteero. Our Volunteer Team will also visit the hospital for volunteer meetings and providing occasional further training opportunities throughout the year. You will also have the support of a volunteer team leader, who is a volunteer in your hospital themselves.

You will be part of a nationwide team of 400+ CIH volunteers, who we hope you will meet at trainings, meetings, and engage with on Volunteero. As a volunteer with CIH, you are also becoming a member of CIH. This entitles you to a voice in the organisation, a vote at the AGM and ongoing training and educational opportunities. You will also be provided with a t-shirt or tabard, name badge and volunteer manual.

Volunteers need to be at least 18 years old, but after that we welcome people of all ages, backgrounds & experiences.

You can find out more about the Garda Vetting process below.

If you have lived outside of Ireland for more than 6 months after age 16, you will need to provide a police clearance from that country (countries). These are especially important for child protection and safeguarding. You can find help in how to go about this Vetting and Police Clearance here.

To reduce the risk of infection, we ask that all volunteers adhere to a ‘bare below the elbows’ policy. This means no nail varnish, gel nails, acrylics or biab is permitted. No jewelry on the wrists or hands, including bracelets, or rings, as they may harbor germs. Wedding rings are permitted once they are a solid metal band.

Additionally we welcome anyone interested in supporting Children in Hospital Ireland as a fundraising volunteer. Or, if you have specialised skills in technology, communication, social media, administration or any other skills we are always happy to talk to you about volunteering opportunities in our Dublin office.

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