Volunteer Hub

We strive to holistically serve every member of a family unit, which means there are many ways to contribute based on your preference and our needs. You may serve as a…

Compassionate Companion (CC): Just like at Hope Heals Camp, you'll be paired up with a person with a disability to act as a friend, encourager, and helper during the event. CCs may also be paired with a typically-abled child who is a sibling or child of a person with a disability. Typical family members often need as much love and attention as a person with a disability.

Flexers: Our programming and events require a lot of extra hands, so Flexers are extremely valuable in activity facilitation and crowd control.

Activity Crew: You'll help facilitate some of our kid, teen, and adult programming. This group is vital for assisting with age-appropriate program offerings.

Hospitality Crew and Logistics Crew: You’ll be behind the scenes making the Hope Heals Local magic happen by serving meals, acting as a traffic and crowd navigator, and by (literally and figuratively) setting the table for our Hope Heals Local attendees.

Medical Crew: If you're a registered nurse or physician, you can be a part of the team that puts our minds at ease in the case of medical emergencies or concerns during our gathering. If a medical emergency occurs and a participant requires urgent medical attention, the Medical Crew will contact emergency services.

Nursery Crew: This team of childcare workers will spend Hope Heals Local with disabled and typically-abled event participants ages 0 to 3 in a loosely structured time of play.

Hope Heals Local provides half-day quarterly events to provide connection and encouragement for families affected by disabilities in the Atlanta and Birmingham areas. Programming is tailored to our participants’ ages and abilities.

Volunteers come to work, facilitate, and serve, but their main job is to make friends. As a volunteer, you will receive much more than you give—guaranteed.

Please note that volunteers are never responsible for the medical needs of our participants.

Hope Heals Local is an opportunity to get to know children and adults experiencing disability and gain new perspective and understanding. No special certifications or experience are required—just a willingness to learn, adapt, and serve with the love, purity, and humility of Jesus. All volunteer applicants must complete a background check and complete the required pre-event training to ensure the safest environment for our participants.

Individuals over 18 can serve on their own. Teens between 15-17 can attend without a chaperone present at the event, but their guardian must sign a waiver. Volunteers age 12-14 must have a parent or guardian present at the event.

Volunteers 11 and younger, require a guardian present at the event and will jump into programming alongside our locals. Volunteer kids 8 and under will be paired with a buddy.

We love when families serve together! To ensure that adults and older kids can contribute most effectively, all volunteer kids age 11 and under will attend kid programming alongside our locals because we believe the first and most important responsibility in disability ministry is making friends with disabilities!

Applications are available here. You must complete the full application and pay the $10 application fee per person to be considered to serve at Hope Heals Local. A Hope Heals Local team member will contact you via email within 10 days with further instructions.

If you are offered a spot to participate, you must complete a background check if this is your first time joining us at Hope Heals Local or Hope Heals Camp as an adult (18 years or older) OR you have not completed a background check for Hope Heals Local or Hope Heals Camp in the last three years and you are an adult (18 years or older).

You’ll receive an email invitation from STERLING VOLUNTEERS with instructions to initiate your background check. If you don’t see the email, check your spam folder. If you are currently age 17 but will be age 18 at the time of the Hope Heals Local event, we will initiate your background check after your 18th birthday. (By the way, the background check won’t cost you a dime!)

If you have completed a background check within the past 3 years through Hope Heals Local or Hope Heals Camp no background check is required for now!

Our Hope Heals Local events may include a meal and will accommodate medically necessary dietary restrictions; such as gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets. You must indicate this need on the required volunteer application.

Volunteers should plan to arrive at the gathering one hour early for a brief training and stay an extra hour afterward for clean up.

Atlanta — Volunteers will arrive at starting at 8:00 AM ET. The event will wrap up by 1:00 PM ET, but we would love you to hang around for an extra hour to help us clean up!

Birmingham — Volunteers will arrive starting at 8:00 AM CT. The event will wrap up by 1:00 PM CT, but we would love you to hang around for an extra hour to help us clean up!