Volunteering at Discovery Arts Cancer Programs

Thank you for visiting our volunteer page! Volunteer with Discovery Arts to encourage Children with cancerPeople that are willing to give of their time and energy are our biggest asset. We really depend on our volunteers to help move our organization and programs forward. Anyone can be a Discovery Arts Volunteer. Volunteers include students, senior citizens, business people, family members of patients, amateur and professional entertainers, teachers and many others. They fill a variety of roles for Discovery Arts.

The Volunteer Opportunities are numerous – guest artists, helping in the hospitals, working a booth at events. Volunteers are also needed in our office in Orange for administrative work and to stuff envelopes, design flyers, help with fundraising, etc. Volunteering for Discovery Arts can create lifetime friendships and rewards of immeasurable value. We bring positive, creative, fun experiences and provide these children with a much-needed creative outlet for expression of their feelings about themselves, their illness and the world around them. It provides a welcome diversion and escape from their illness and from the very scary world of hospitals and intensive treatments. Your help is greatly needed. You can volunteer in the following ways:

Programs Volunteer Goal:

Assist the program coordinator when visiting hospitals for Art Adventures. ·The volunteer assists the Discovery Arts staff in the implementation of the "Arts Adventures" presented to the hospitalized child. The primary function of the Discovery Arts program is to offer the arts to the children in such a way, as they are able to choose their own adventure and their degree of participation. We are there to support the health care team in offering a caring and supportive environment and to ease the stresses of hospitalization. At the same time, children discover their own creativity and imagination. We believe these tools to be important in the healing process. Time Commitment: 2 hours a week, the same time every week ( for hospital visits) otherwise times would vary Responsibilities: Work directly with patients in the hospitals. Assist with art projects, face painting, picking out costumes, tap dancing, etc. Interact with patients by bringing bedside adventure kits to the rooms of children that cannot come to the playroom. Stay with them and work on a project. Help organize supplies in the hospital and make a list of items that are needed. Take Polaroid photos of the patients in their costumes and make frames for them to keep. May help in the office developing ideas for Arts Adventures to bring to the hospitals. Help secure donations for our program. We need craft supplies, costumes, musical instruments, and Polaroid film. Get a group together and make Bedside Adventure Kits. Become a guest artist! Or maybe you know someone with a musical or artistic talent that would like to volunteer at the hospital. (must be 18 years old) Contact Mary Borkett at mborkett@discoveryarts.org