www.caringhouse.org
christina_gerstel@caringhouse.org
919.490.5449 x123
Caring House is a home-away-from-home to adults receiving outpatient treatment at the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center (DCCC). The average stay is 18 days, with our shortest stay being 1 day and our longest 25 weeks. Most guests are from North Carolina, but almost 1/3 are out-of- state visitors and a percentage of those individuals are from other countries. Caring House is able to open its doors by keeping our overhead costs low through our team of dedicated volunteers. We have a volunteer helping in our house from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
Most Caring House volunteers work one three-hour shift weekly between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. on a weekday. During that time, they may:
- Answer phones and receive visitors.
- Give tours of the house.
- Check guests in and out of the house.
- On occasion, transport guests without a car to the grocery store, or other destination.
- Clean out kitchen refrigerators to make room for the food of new guests.
- Write thank you notes for small donations.
- Fill bird feeders, water and prune houseplants, cut and deadhead roses, etc.
- Sort and re-shelve books in library.
- Help with mailings by addressing and stuffing envelopes.
Some people or groups may choose a single focus. Possibilities include:
- Organizing games, such as bingo, for guests
- Preparing and serving dinner for guests on a Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday night.
- Helping with preparation of newsletter.
- Working with committee chairmen on annual fundraisers.
- Providing a musical evening for guests: singing or playing a musical instrument.
- Participating in the Great Human Race for Caring House.
- Reorganizing the kitchen area or doing special cleaning of other common areas (screened porch, terrace).
Or you may choose to help by becoming a weekend manager. It is our policy to have either a member of the Caring House staff or a representative of Caring House on site 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Weekend managers receive a small stipend and stay at Caring House from 6:30 p.m. on a given Friday till 6:30 p.m. on Sunday of the same weekend.