Volunteers:

Our volunteers work with the staff to:

Candidates must go through a screening process before they are admitted to the program. Because a criminal background check is completed by all applicants age 17 and older as part of the screening process, the volunteer candidate should anticipate a waiting period of 45-60 days before all required paperwork has been received back to St. Charles and volunteering can begin. Consistency is one of the most important requirements of the program. All adult volunteers are asked to commit a minimum of two hours to the program either weekly or every other week so that a trusting relationship can be developed between themselves and the children.

Individual Child Volunteer Program:

The individual child volunteer program allows individual children to build a close, nurturing relationship with an adult volunteer, which lasts either for the duration of the child's stay at St. Charles or until a pre-adoptive family has been identified for that child. Candidates for this program also pass through our screening process before they are admitted to the program and have the same requirements as the volunteers described above. Mentors are asked to commit themselves to at least 2-3 hours per week with a child. Ordinary, home-based activities are encouraged, such as baking a cake, cooking supper, washing the car, etc. so that the children might experience stable, normal interactions in a family setting. Because of the issues of abandonment, which these children carry, we look for people who are able to make a commitment to consistency and openness to working with the staff as issues arise.