Volunteer Opportunities for College Students and Adults

To help ensure the safety of our patients, their families, our employees, and our volunteers, we have made the decision to suspend the onboarding of new volunteers at Cincinnati Children’s indefinitely. We will provide updates when we are able to resume regular programming.

Volunteers over the age of 18 who are not enrolled in high school and who are able to make a long-term commitment may be a good fit for the adult volunteer program. 

Time Commitment

All volunteers must commit to a two- to three-hour weekly shift for at least six consecutive months. 

Volunteer at Cincinnati Children's.

Medical Requirements 

Working closely with patients at Cincinnati Children’s requires thorough medical screening for the safety of everyone. All necessary medical information will be discussed during the interview. These requirements, which will be offered by our Employee Health Department at no cost to you, include: 

  • Tdap vaccine, unless able to provide proof of previous Tdap vaccination
  • Two MMR vaccines OR proof of immunity to measles, mumps, and rubella
  • QantiFERON blood test (tuberculosis screening)
  • Two varicella vaccines (if you have not previously had chicken pox)
  • Flu shot (during flu season)

Frequently Asked Questions 

Need more information? Please scroll through to see if your question is addressed below: 

FAQs

We are not able to arrange group opportunities through Volunteer Services. Please visit our Corporate and Foundation giving to find out how your group can get involved at Cincinnati Children’s.
We do place volunteers in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit, but it is the most requested volunteer assignment. Because of this, volunteers who are interested in the NICU start out in other areas of the hospital and move to NICU when we have openings. This requires additional training, and because turnover is low, the wait might be significant.
The minimum age for volunteers is 15 years old. There are no exceptions made for children younger than 15 even if a parent is offering to accompany them. Due to patient safety and privacy concerns, we are not able to accommodate one-time visits, so all volunteers must be able to commit to a weekly shift for an extended period of time. All volunteers, including those in our teen program, are trained to a specific role and work closely with a supervisor.

While we are not able to accommodate one-time visits, the hospital welcomes donations at the holidays and year-round.  Please visit our Gifts in Kind page.

To Apply

  • Before you consider taking the necessary steps to become a Cincinnati Children’s volunteer, we suggest that you ask yourself these questions.

Contact Information