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The Children's Inn has a dynamic volunteer program with nearly 250 volunteers currently on our staff. There are many ways to share your time and talents with The Inn and its families.
Inn volunteers are involved in almost every operational aspect of The Children's Inn. Our managers, professional staff and veteran volunteers provide your training. Volunteers must be at least 18 years old for the long-term positions listed below.
A sampling of volunteer opportunites include:
- Clerical/Administrative: These behind-the-scene activities make daily operations run smoothly. Volunteers support The Inn staff through data processing, filing, typing, mailings or runs to the post office and the bank.
- Gardeners: Our green thumb volunteers maintain our beautiful landscape, flowerbeds and indoor plants, which help create the relaxing atmosphere of The Inn.
- Grocery Run Drivers: Many of our visiting families do not have their own transportation. Each evening, using The Children's Inn van, volunteers drive families to and from the grocery store so they may shop for food and other essential items.
- Roamer: Volunteers maintain our well-stocked kitchens, and help to achieve an overall attractive and comfortable home-like atmosphere for resident families.
- Welcome Desk: Volunteers are our registration and concierge desk all in one. They answer phones, take reservations, check families in and out of their rooms, orient new families to The Inn and answer questions about everything from airport transportation to visits to the zoo.
If you are interested in volunteering on a regular basis, please contact our Director of Volunteers and Community Outreach, Laura King, at
lking@mail.nih.gov or 301-451-9454 or fill out our Volunteer Service Application.Volunteers may check the Volunteer Newsletter for more information.
The Children's Inn at NIH of Bethesda is the 2006 recipient of the Award of Excellence from the Associations Advance America (AAA), a national competition sponsored by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE), Washington, D.C.
The Children's Inn received the award for its volunteer program, which offers an army of volunteers the opportunity to help maintain the daily operations of the 59-room Inn.
In 2005, approximately 1,100 families worldwide stayed at The Inn, a place like home for families whose children are undergoing treatment for serious and life-threatening illnesses at NIH.
The program's 275 volunteers gave a total of more than 18,000 hours of service in 2005. Laura King, director of volunteers, was honored to accept the award on The Inn's behalf and stated that Inn volunteers make a difference every day through their words, actions and commitment.
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