Volunteer at Hospice of the Fisher Home
Trained volunteers provide essential companionship and support to our hospice patients and their families, assisting with the operations of our 9-bed residence as well as providing support for our patients in the community. Some volunteers also offer healing arts such as massage, Reiki, music, and pet therapy. Every day, the presence of volunteers makes a profound difference in our patients' lives.
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The Fisher Home volunteer program is actively seeking veterans to provide companionship to our veteran patients, recognizing their unique needs and the special camaraderie that may offer enrichment and comfort at the end of life.
There are two ways to be a volunteer for Hospice of the Fisher Home.​
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Ancillary Volunteers
An ancillary volunteer can help the residents and staff of the Fisher Home by running errands for the house, preparing meals at the residence, doing clerical work, and helping with small tasks around the residence. Ancillary training courses are held as needed. This training includes a two-hour in-person orientation, an hour and half of online training, and two, two-hour shadowing shifts.
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Patient Support Volunteers
A patient support volunteer can help in all the same ways an ancillary volunteer can. Additionally, they visit with residents at The Fisher Home and with our patients living in the community. Patient support training courses are held 3 times a year beginning in February, May, and September. This training is more extensive per state and national guidelines, and includes three sessions of in-person training, five hours of on-line training, and two, two-hour shadowing shifts.
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The screening process for all volunteers includes an application, interview, reference checks, and background checks. A TB test (which can be done at the Fisher Home) and full Covid vaccination (initial series) are also required.
We ask that all volunteers commit to volunteering for at least 2 hours per week for a minimum of one year (or one academic year if you're a student at one of the surrounding colleges).
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The Next Volunteer Training will happen in February on Wednesday the 3rd, Wednesday 10th, and Thursday the 18th . Training sessions run from 4:30 -7pm at The Hospice Shop on University Drive in Amherst. Applications for this session will open on November 1st.
Applications will close and begin being reviewed on December 15th. Invitations to interview will go out following that.
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If these February dates don't work for your schedule, the next volunteer training will be held in June 2026, on June 2nd, 9th, and 23rd. Applications for this session will open on April 1st and will close and begin being reviewed on May 1st. Invitations to interview will go out following that.
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If you are interested, the first step is to fill out the application form below. If you would prefer you can download the application and mail it or email it to our volunteer coordinator, Tara Bernier. It can be mailed to Tara at Hospice of the Fisher Home at 1165 N. Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA 01002 or emailed to Tara at tbernier@fisherhome.org.
Thank you for your interest! We look forward to hearing from you!​
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Apply here!
Special Call For Kitchen Volunteers!
The Fisher Home is always on the lookout for cooks to help prepare meals in our 9-bed residence