Volunteer FAQs

All prospective mentors must attend an orientation, where they will learn about health and safety requirements of the program and will be given tips for how to best work with their student. A background check is also required. Orientations are held monthly. Please RSVP attendance or contact CoachArt for an alternative date.

CoachArt runs a national criminal file search to verify that a prospective volunteer has no prior criminal convictions, is not a sex offender and does not have any outstanding warrants for arrest. Information related to a volunteer's employment or credit history does not appear on the report.

Volunteering with CoachArt is completely FREE for the mentors and participants. CoachArt provides stipends for lesson materials needed for lessons or workshops and we ask volunteers to keep within certain budgetary limits.

All CoachArt volunteers must be 18 years of age or older to participate in the program. There are Special Event Programs that allow a younger population to participate. However, these are limited and in conjunction with the Executive Director arranging.

Volunteers do not need to be experts in their area of lesson activity and no formal training is required. We do ask, however, that mentors possess enough knowledge to teach a 12 week session of beginner-level lessons and feel confident enough to provide a workshop activity without additional support.

CoachArt lessons take place throughout the community. Lessons can occur at a mentor's recommended facility or in student homes. CoachArt requires that a guardian be present at all times during the lesson.

Our participants request the activities they would like to learn, so the sky is the limit. We receive requests for art, cooking, dance, music, sports, yoga, photography and more! We expect all mentors to plan their own lessons. However CoachArt staff can assist with the development of curricula if needed.

Our program areas require different levels of time commitment; however it is extremely important that mentors only sign up for programs they can commit to. The Outpatient Mentoring is a 12 week commitment for one hour each week. Activity Clinics can range from a 90 minute one time session to multiple weekly sessions. Our In-hospital workshops average a 2 hour commitment per visit and our Program Special Events can range from 2 hours to a full day of activity. CoachArt makes the volunteer experience extremely flexible for our volunteers.

CoachArt patients have chronic, physical illnesses and conditions that require ongoing treatment. Certain students are living with arthritis, cancer, cerebral palsy, diabetes, heart disease, HIV, kidney failure, Spina Bifida, craniofacial anomalies and various orthopedic disabilities, among other conditions. Not all chronic illnesses are accompanied by physical symptoms. Many times, CoachArt patients look and act just like their healthy siblings. These children are in an outpatient phase of treatment, meaning they are well enough to return home between treatments or appointments. Additionally, all patients receive a medical consent from their doctor before participating in any CoachArt lesson so that we can be aware of any special needs or limitations.

Groups interested in supporting CoachArt can participate in several ways. Consider conducting an Activity Clinic or sponsoring a summer camp activity. Groups have also hosted supply drives, raised funds for the program or became volunteers on an individual basis. For more information about these and other opportunities, click here.