Call for Volunteers
East Mountain House will need dedicated and well-trained volunteers to succeed and flourish. We need you. Our role is not to “fix,” but rather to be present, to serve, and to listen deeply—very deeply. Through this process of service, we aspire to cultivate genuine and intimate relationships with our guests, their families, and their loved ones. You might find this opportunity compelling, we believe there is no more meaningful or rewarding experience.
We strive to be courageously present with the love, despair, and grief that will inevitably arise, embracing the entire breadth of our collective experience. Contemplative caregiving is more about “being with” than “caring for.” Our aim is to blur the boundaries between those in need of care and those offering it. When true intimacy arises, there is no longer a distinction between you and me—there is only “we.”
It takes a special person to step into this environment with ease. You may already be drawn to this work simply because you’re reading this. However, most of us require some training. The essence of our approach lies in some form of meditation practice. When the mind is still and open, new pathways often reveal themselves. While much of our training is inspired by Zen—you do not need to be a Buddhist to participate. All spiritual traditions hold contemplative teachings, and we wish to meet all guests and caregivers where they are.
Volunteer Training
We are developing a training curriculum which will primarily consist of in-person sessions which will start in January. Our Advisory Board members will lead many of the sessions covering topics as diverse as;
- Doula bedside Training
- End of life medical ethics
- Medical insights on what to expect at the end of life
- Specific modules on mindful caregiving, in collaboration with the Zen Caregiving Project in San Francisco
The training program will span approximately 30 hours in total and will be offered to our volunteers without cost. We would encourage all of us to engage in this training together and further details will be provided soon. Every human interaction can be seen as an act of caregiving, and caregiving training can be endless and boundless.