Volunteer FAQ's
Q. Do you have to be Jewish to participate?
A. Nope! All faiths and religious affiliations are welcome.
Q. Why do you ask my age?
A. Certain volunteer assignments for younger ages are limited in availability. Knowing your age helps us to coordinate placements accordingly.
Q. Can I bring my child?
A. That depends on our host sites. Most require volunteers to be over the age of 12, however each site is different.
Q. Can I volunteer as a group?
A. Each facility is different in the amount of volunteers they can accommodate. If you would like to volunteer as a group, please note your request in the volunteer form and assign a Rosh Volunteer to manage your group.
Q. What is a Rosh Volunteer and what are the requirements?
A. Rosh in Hebrew means “head” or “captain.” The Rosh Volunteer is the Volunteer Captain, serving as the point of contact between Christmas Mitzvah staff and the individuals volunteering at the designated facility. Rosh Volunteers will need to meet the following requirements:
Q. Do each of my family members and friends need to fill out a form?
A. Why yes, they do.
Q. Can I volunteer outside of the timeslots listed on the website?
A. We primarily work with facilities that need assistance during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you would like to volunteer on other days during the week of Christmas, please make that note in the volunteer form and we will try to accommodate those requests, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to coordinate this for you.
Q. What if I cannot make my volunteer assignment?
A. If you cannot make your volunteer assignment, please contact your Rosh Volunteer or the Christmas Mitzvah staff as soon as possible.
Q. What if I am sick on the day of the event?
A. If you are feeling sick, please do NOT come! Many of the patients we are serving are in frail health or could pass an illness very quickly to others. Please let your Rosh Volunteer or Christmas Mitzvah team member know you will not be able to make your assignment.
Q. What if I need to change my volunteer assignment?
A. We understand that schedules change so please let your Rosh Volunteer know of your needs as soon as possible and note that there may not be availability during another volunteer time slot.
Q. What if I cannot attend an orientation?
A. If you cannot attend orientation, please be in contact with your Rosh Volunteer to receive guidelines and important information you will need to know before the day of volunteering.
Q. What kinds of work should I expect to be doing?
A. Volunteers will provide assistance through a variety of non-medical tasks. This assistance may be in the form of visiting patients, managing a reception desk, assisting in a gift shop, playing games, serving a meal, etc.
Q. What happens if I can only make a portion of the timeslot?
A. We understand that folks have busy schedules and outside time commitments, please note which portion of the timeslot you are available to volunteer and we will plan accordingly. Please also understand that we want to be a help to staff of the care facilities, so if you are not able to make it and know ahead of time, contact your Rosh Volunteer as soon as possible.
Q. Can I volunteer for more than one shift and/or timeslot?
A. As long as there’s still space available, you sure can!
Q. Do I really need my flu shot?
A. We do offer a variety of volunteer assignments that involve working with frail populations, and out of respect of the facilities we work with, we ask our volunteers to comply with certain medical requirements. We understand some people do not wish to receive flu shots for personal reasons and we will try to accommodate those requests.
Q. Can I choose where I want to volunteer?
A. You can request a certain facility you would like to volunteer with, however roles are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and requests are not guaranteed.
Q. When do I need to sign up by?
A. The earlier the better! Our deadline to sign up is December 10 (two weeks before Christmas Eve).
Host Site FAQ's
Q. Do you provide volunteer assistance outside of Christmas?
A. The Christmas Mitzvah Project coordinates volunteer projects that occur solely during the Christmas holiday. Our volunteers may be interested in additional opportunities to help outside of Christmas; therefore organizations can share additional volunteer opportunities available through the year.
Q. What type of facilities do you partner with and what type of jobs do volunteers do?
A. We coordinate volunteer projects with hospitals, hospices, assisted living facilities and shelters, and we are open to partnering with other types of facilities in the Denver-metro area! Volunteers can perform any non-medical task, such as: facilitating games, visiting with patients, serving meals, assisting in a gift shop, managing a reception desk and so on.
Q. Is the host site responsible for communicating with volunteers?
A. The Christmas Mitzvah team handles the majority of communication between the volunteers and the host sites. “Rosh Volunteers,” or Volunteer Captains, will communicate with host sites in the weeks leading up to the day of volunteering in order to coordinate orientation logistics and communicate any other information volunteers may need.
Q. What if we need help during the week of Christmas but not specifically on the 24th and the 25th?
A. We primarily direct our coordination efforts towards Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you need volunteer assistance outside of these 2 days, but during the week of Christmas, please make note of your needs in the host site form and we will try to accommodate those requests.
Q. Do you have to be Jewish to participate?
A. Nope! All faiths and religious affiliations are welcome.
Q. Why do you ask my age?
A. Certain volunteer assignments for younger ages are limited in availability. Knowing your age helps us to coordinate placements accordingly.
Q. Can I bring my child?
A. That depends on our host sites. Most require volunteers to be over the age of 12, however each site is different.
Q. Can I volunteer as a group?
A. Each facility is different in the amount of volunteers they can accommodate. If you would like to volunteer as a group, please note your request in the volunteer form and assign a Rosh Volunteer to manage your group.
Q. What is a Rosh Volunteer and what are the requirements?
A. Rosh in Hebrew means “head” or “captain.” The Rosh Volunteer is the Volunteer Captain, serving as the point of contact between Christmas Mitzvah staff and the individuals volunteering at the designated facility. Rosh Volunteers will need to meet the following requirements:
- Attend an additional orientation in November
- Communicate with the other individuals volunteering at the host site to ensure they have all the information they need
- Communicate with the host site contact
- Communicate with Mitzvah staff to address questions or concerns
Q. Do each of my family members and friends need to fill out a form?
A. Why yes, they do.
Q. Can I volunteer outside of the timeslots listed on the website?
A. We primarily work with facilities that need assistance during Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you would like to volunteer on other days during the week of Christmas, please make that note in the volunteer form and we will try to accommodate those requests, but cannot guarantee that we will be able to coordinate this for you.
Q. What if I cannot make my volunteer assignment?
A. If you cannot make your volunteer assignment, please contact your Rosh Volunteer or the Christmas Mitzvah staff as soon as possible.
Q. What if I am sick on the day of the event?
A. If you are feeling sick, please do NOT come! Many of the patients we are serving are in frail health or could pass an illness very quickly to others. Please let your Rosh Volunteer or Christmas Mitzvah team member know you will not be able to make your assignment.
Q. What if I need to change my volunteer assignment?
A. We understand that schedules change so please let your Rosh Volunteer know of your needs as soon as possible and note that there may not be availability during another volunteer time slot.
Q. What if I cannot attend an orientation?
A. If you cannot attend orientation, please be in contact with your Rosh Volunteer to receive guidelines and important information you will need to know before the day of volunteering.
Q. What kinds of work should I expect to be doing?
A. Volunteers will provide assistance through a variety of non-medical tasks. This assistance may be in the form of visiting patients, managing a reception desk, assisting in a gift shop, playing games, serving a meal, etc.
Q. What happens if I can only make a portion of the timeslot?
A. We understand that folks have busy schedules and outside time commitments, please note which portion of the timeslot you are available to volunteer and we will plan accordingly. Please also understand that we want to be a help to staff of the care facilities, so if you are not able to make it and know ahead of time, contact your Rosh Volunteer as soon as possible.
Q. Can I volunteer for more than one shift and/or timeslot?
A. As long as there’s still space available, you sure can!
Q. Do I really need my flu shot?
A. We do offer a variety of volunteer assignments that involve working with frail populations, and out of respect of the facilities we work with, we ask our volunteers to comply with certain medical requirements. We understand some people do not wish to receive flu shots for personal reasons and we will try to accommodate those requests.
Q. Can I choose where I want to volunteer?
A. You can request a certain facility you would like to volunteer with, however roles are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis and requests are not guaranteed.
Q. When do I need to sign up by?
A. The earlier the better! Our deadline to sign up is December 10 (two weeks before Christmas Eve).
Host Site FAQ's
Q. Do you provide volunteer assistance outside of Christmas?
A. The Christmas Mitzvah Project coordinates volunteer projects that occur solely during the Christmas holiday. Our volunteers may be interested in additional opportunities to help outside of Christmas; therefore organizations can share additional volunteer opportunities available through the year.
Q. What type of facilities do you partner with and what type of jobs do volunteers do?
A. We coordinate volunteer projects with hospitals, hospices, assisted living facilities and shelters, and we are open to partnering with other types of facilities in the Denver-metro area! Volunteers can perform any non-medical task, such as: facilitating games, visiting with patients, serving meals, assisting in a gift shop, managing a reception desk and so on.
Q. Is the host site responsible for communicating with volunteers?
A. The Christmas Mitzvah team handles the majority of communication between the volunteers and the host sites. “Rosh Volunteers,” or Volunteer Captains, will communicate with host sites in the weeks leading up to the day of volunteering in order to coordinate orientation logistics and communicate any other information volunteers may need.
Q. What if we need help during the week of Christmas but not specifically on the 24th and the 25th?
A. We primarily direct our coordination efforts towards Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. If you need volunteer assistance outside of these 2 days, but during the week of Christmas, please make note of your needs in the host site form and we will try to accommodate those requests.