Are You Currently Unemployed? Boost Your Resume While Helping A Good Cause!

In these hard economic times millions of people are out of work. Long periods of unemployment can look horrible on a resume. Volunteering your skills is an excellent way to boost your resume, fill in that empty time gap, help others and gain on the job training!

CHERUBS has a need for many professional volunteers to help with our dozens of services and projects. We are a 501(c)III non-profit operating in Raleigh, North Carolina. We are completely run by volunteers who wish to help families of babies born with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia, a devastating birth defect.

We need long-term and short-term volunteers; both local and telecommuting.

We are looking for the following:
(*local to Raleigh area)

• Professional Grant Writer
• Professional Fundraiser*
• Professional Event Planner*
• Professional Marketing Coordinator
• Professional Media Coordinator
  
• Photographers
• Graphic Artists
• Writers
• Videographers
• Web Designers
• PHP Coders*
• Database Engineers*
• Decorators*
  
• Flash Animators
• Phone Sales / Fundraising
  
• Knitters & Crochets (for baby blankets)
• Office Work (stuffing envelopes, totebags, folding newsletters, etc)*
  

All volunteers must fill out the forms located at http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers before you can begin. This is also a great opportunity for college students and retirees.

Volunteering at CHERUBS

"Have you had a kindness shown? Pass it on; 'twas not given for thee alone. Pass it on. Let it travel down the years. Let it wipe another's tears, til in Heaven the deed appears. Pass it on." - Henry Burton



A letter from Dawn to our volunteers & those who wish to volunteer:

Dear Volunteers & Potential Volunteers,

I would like to say a few things….

First, thank you to Barbara Wagner. She’s been a HUGE help the past few months and honestly, CHERUBS wouldn’t have accomplished half that we have without her. She’s stepped up every single time I’ve asked for help. Every single time. She’s taken over all of Stephanie’s duties and tried to sort through all the unanswered e-mails, etc. This has doubled her volunteer work. Whenever a committee or a volunteer doesn’t get things done that they are supposed to, she steps up and helps me to get the project/service done. We are hoping – praying – that with all the new active volunteers that we can get more things done and off our personal plates… it’s very, very hard to have 3000 people depend on us. We need and appreciate your help!

Barb was a tremendous help at the conference. She helped organize, clean up daily, made the name badges, helped with the reservations, etc. So much that so many didn’t see – she did. Without even asking her, she was already doing things that needed to be done. Without complaining. She lost a lot of time just being able to visit with friends or see San Antonio because she was helping me and making sure that everyone else had what they need so they could enjoy their vacations and the conference. Without her and Karen Myers, there would have been no conference.

When I’m begging for help…. Barb volunteers (even when she’s already swamped herself!), she listens to me vent and she understands the frustrations of begging for help and not getting enough help or when a volunteer disappears for 6 months or a year and then yells at us for not doing whatever they wanted us to do. I’m saying that because it does happen… and she gets yelled at too. A lot of people would quit… I mean, she’s a volunteer too and no one deserves to be yelled at for giving so much of themselves freely to help CDH babies and parents. But she listens to it, apologizes for whatever their complaint is…. when of course it’s not her fault. And it’s not easy to do that or be yelled at… but she does it. For CHERUBS. I get it all the time too so I know how hard it is and I know how strong and dedicated she is. And when she’s not on-line volunteering, she’s running errands trying to find donations for the totebags or holding a bowl-a-thon or on the phone with a parent who needs support, or traveling to meet with parents or attend conferences or she’s making blankets. She does so much for CHERUBS and gets so little appreciation for all her sweat and tears and I just want to say…. thank you, Barb. We all appreciate and love you so much!!!!!!!

Second, I want to say thank to a few volunteers who really stood up and took initiative in the past few months. They didn’t wait to be asked to do something or ask and wait for us to find the time to write out explicit instructions on what they need to do or ask us to send them info instead of finding it on the web site or volunteer software…. they just said “Hey, would it help if I ________” and they did it. And we LOVE when that happens!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :) So thank you to (in no particular order) Shana Kelly, Karla Holt, Karen Myers, Tracy Meats, Sarah Deskins, Darlene Silverman and Kara Hess for really digging in and being team players and making our jobs a bit easier!!!!!!!!!!!

That’s not to discount what ALL of our active volunteers are doing….. we appreciate each of you so much!!!!! Those of you who go out of your way to make sure to post on the forums and respond to blogs and FB posts. Those of you who were so dedicated in voting during the contest. Those of you who stood by us during drama and distanced yourselves from those involved in it to keep yourselves out of the mud and focus on CDH. Those of you who logged in to the software frequently and responded when I or Barb posted and who actively participated in discussions and providing services. You each really want to do all you can to help families affected by CDH….. despite the time or work that it takes. You give your time, hearts and even time away from your families to help others and truly personify the verse "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." You are each such amazing people full of goodness, integrity, kindess, compassion and bring such honor to your cherubs. I am deeply honored to know and work with each of you. On behalf of myself, the rest of the members of CHERUBS and the whole CDH community.... thank you for all that you do!!!!!

Now looking foward to such a bright, promising future for the whole CDH community…. we have a TON to do… so many projects!!!!!!! :) We need HELP!!!!!

We have just recently lost half our volunteers during our revamp of the volunteer system… a few stepped down for various reasons (family issues, still dealing with CDH, no time to volunteer right now, etc) but most just didn’t respond (and those haven’t been active anyway so we expected that). That’s good and bad. Bad that we’ve lost so many volunteers. But good in that those positions are now clear to find active volunteers so that we can provide the services to CDH families. But this means we have a lot of work to do to fill these positions, get everyone trained and the committees and reps rolling so that we can be more productive and help more families!!!!! We can really use your help doing this!!!!

Honestly, I am so excited with this revamp of our volunteer system and so excited about having so many ACTIVE volunteers who want to help!!!!!! And with the new paperwork and new system we know that everyone involved truly wants to help, truly has selfless intentions, has the highest integrity and wants to be part of the world's largest CDH volunteer network. There is so much that we can do together!!!!!

Thank you all so much for all that you do to help us to help families affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia.

Dawn


CHERUBS needs many volunteers.

You can volunteer from home. Some positions take a few hours a month. It does not cost anything to volunteer - just your time, love and dedication to helping CDH families!!!! :)

We need help with the following:

- State & International Representatives (help on a local level)... Read More
- Fundraising Committee
- Research Committee
- Awareness Committee
- Grant Committee
- Conference Committee
- On-Call Committee
- Cards / PMs Committee
- Totebag Committee
- Translation Committee
- Books Committee
- Video Committee
- Angel Ball Committee (NC)
- Golf Tournament Committee (NC)
- Graphics Committee

And much more! You can read more about what each committee does and how to sign up at http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/


5 Easy Steps To Volunteer!

1. Read over the Volunteer Roles to see what each position does.

2. Read over the Volunteer Checklist to see if you're ready to work directly with other CDH parents or in another capacity.

3. E-mail us at volunteer@cdhsupport.org and give us the following information:

• Your Name
• Your Address
• Your Phone Number
• Your E-mail Address
• Your Cherub's Name and Date(s)
• Which volunteer positions would you like to volunteer for?

4. Read, print, sign and mail the following 3 documents back to our home office at CHERUBS, 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA.

• Volunteer Rules
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Conflict of Interest Agreement
  

5. We'll contact you shortly! Thank you for volunteering to help CHERUBS help families affected by CDH!

Volunteering at CHERUBS

CHERUBS has is the world's largest, oldest and most active CDH organization. Being such, we have a lot of work to do and a lot of families to help! We depend on our volunteers to do this. CHERUBS is completely run by volunteers - other CDH parents who chose to give back and help make a different and to help other CDH families. They dedicate their time and hearts freely and we appreciate them so much!

If CHERUBS has ever helped you - allowed you a place to talk or ask questions when you needed it. Helped you to make friends with other CDH parents. Supplied you with information during one of the worst times of your life. If we've done this and you are able to have some spare time to give back, please do so. This is a group effort and we need and welcome any CDH parent who wants to volunteer to help other CDH families!

Some of the Volunteer Positions at CHERUBS include:



Volunteer positions for those with a lot of time and dedication and a huge willingness to help the CDH community:

State & International Representatives - Our Reps are well... representatives of CHERUBS. They are our hearts at the local level, working with families and hospitals. They represent us at local get-togethers, events, fundraisers, conferences, etc. They match families together, visit parents in the hospital, plan local events. Some run their blogs or sites. They are the local faces of CHERUBS and what we do and what we stand for and this position is one that requires a strong moral compass, a lot of compassion for others going through CDH, a willingness to sometimes put their own CDH emotions and journey aside to focus on other families, courage to stand above innapropriate behavior and be a local leader at the support group level, professionalism and class to remember that you are representing a charity and that you are part of an international group, and mostly it requires a completely unselfish heart to give of yourself to others without going into the position wanting support for yourself. But the rewards are amazing.... knowing you were there for a CDH family in their darkest hour. Knowing you matched up 2 local families who can now depend on each other for support. Or watching a cherub meet another cherub for the first time at a get-together. It's amazing.

This volunteer position is one of the hardest at CHERUBS. It's easy for parents to sometimes lose focus on who they are supposed to be helping (other CDH parents). This position has a great title and a lot of responsibility, but it's not for everyone. It requires a dedication to CDH parents and to CHERUBS - since after all, that's who you are representing.

We are looking for 2 Co-Representatives for each state and country - 1 parent of a survivor, 1 grieving parent. We have a lot of positions to fill! If you would like to volunteer, please let us know!

*We highly recommend you read the Volunteer Checklist to make sure that you're ready to volunteer directly with other CDH parents.

Volunteers positions for those who want to help a larger scale, with a few hours a month to help and a lot of ideas and energy to contribute:

The following are all great committees that need more members:

Conference Committee - help plan our international conferences, find conference sponsors, find volunteers for the conference, help us at the conference, help set round table discussions and more.

Awareness Committee - help us to come up with, plan and execute many different projects to help promote CDH awareness. This includes helping us on our new Congressional Bill to help protect CDH Awareness from the trademark on "Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Awareness"

CHERUBS HOPE Totebag Committee - help us to find the items that we need to keep this totebag project going. Whether it's helping to make blankets or collect items for the bags or putting together handprint kits, or recruiting members and the public in donating to these bags, we have a lot of work going into these bags and need help! This project is a WONDERFUL project to help other CDH parents and to honor / remember your cherub while working with other CDH parents!

Fundraising Committee - help us come up with fundraising ideas and events and recruit participants!

Grant Committee - help CHERUBS to research and apply for grants for various projects.

Angel Ball Committee - local NC committee to plan the event, find sponors, volunteers and more for our Halloween Angel Masquerade Ball

Volunteer positions for those who want to help and work directly with other CDH parents but who only have a little bit of time to help:

*We highly recommend you read the Volunteer Checklist to make sure that you're ready to volunteer directly with other CDH parents.

Card / PM Volunteers - Volunteers that send out birthday, memorial, and holiday messages through our site

On Call Parents - Volunteers willing to listen to other CDH parents who are having a rough day and need to talk. You must be willing to publically post your phone number and e-mail address and to take calls at all hours of the day or night sometimes.

Volunteer positions for those who want to help but have very limited time:

Research Committee - this committee searches for the latest CDH research articles and submits them our Research Library. They also help to review our newsletter research section, our CDH Research Survey Results and test our research site. This is the perfect volunteer position for anyone who likes to do internet research!

Translation Committee - this committee translates our materials into other languages. We currently need translators for all languages who can help with the newsletters, baby book and more.

5 Easy Steps To Volunteer!

1. Read over the Volunteer Roles to see what each position does.

2. Read over the Volunteer Checklist to see if you're ready to work directly with other CDH parents or in another capacity.

3. E-mail us at volunteer@cdhsupport.org and give us the following information:

• Your Name
• Your Address
• Your Phone Number
• Your E-mail Address
• Your Cherub's Name and Date(s)
• Which volunteer positions would you like to volunteer for?

4. Read, print, sign and mail the following 3 documents back to our home office at CHERUBS, 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587, USA.

• Volunteer Rules
• Confidentiality Agreement
• Conflict of Interest Agreement
  

5. We'll contact you shortly! Thank you for volunteering to help CHERUBS help families affected by CDH!

CHERUBS New Volunteering Process

CHERUBS Advisory Committee has been working hard to come up with new paperwork to help prevent any more incidents and to protect the organization. Plus, it’s been about 10 years since we updated any of the paperwork so it was well overdue! When you have state and federal laws to follow and over 3000 people in our membership – we really needed more guidelines than our old short little 1 page list that too many found loopholes to abuse. The new rules will protect the organization and all of us personally. It was long, long overdue! The new documents are more detailed so everyone will be more on the same page.

We have a new set up and new paperwork and are starting over from scratch - that means all current volunteers are re-volunteering and new volunteers are filling out paperwork also. And we have A LOT of positions to fill!

You can go here for directions and information:

http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/

We would really like to have 2 State & International Representatives (1 survivor, 1 non-survivor) for every state and country in our membership, all the committees filled and all the committees with leaders. Imagine all the incredible things we could do if we can do that! How wonderful it would be to have Reps in every state so that when a new family is diagnosed they have someone local to call who knows of other parents in their area.

Or if all of our committees were actively led and churning out 1 great service after another. CDH doesn't stand a chance against a group of busy and determined moms and dads standing together to help each other and fight this horrible birth defect and all it's effects on our children and families!

So please, each of you, take a look to see what each position does and let us know what we can sign you up for!!! Smile

5 Easy Steps To Volunteer!

1. Read over the Volunteer Roles to see what each position does. http://www.cdhsupport.org/volunteers/roles.pdf

2. Read over the Volunteer Checklist to see if you're ready to work directly with other CDH parents or in another capacity. http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/CHERUBSVolunteerChecklist.pdf

3. E-mail us at volunteer@cdhsupport.org and give us the following information:

* Your Name
* Your Address
* Your Phone Number
* Your E-mail Address
* Your Cherub's Name and Date(s)
* Which volunteer positions would you like to volunteer for?

4. Read, print, sign and mail the following 3 documents back to our home office at

CHERUBS, 3650 Rogers Rd #290,
Wake Forest, NC 27587
USA

* Volunteer Rules - http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/CHERUBSVolunteerRules.pdf
* Confidentiality Agreement - http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/CHERUBSVolunteerConfidentialityAgreement.pdf
* Conflict of Interest Agreement - http://cdhsupport.org/volunteers/CHERUBSVolunteerConflictofInterestAgreement.pdf

5. We'll contact you shortly! Thank you for volunteering to help CHERUBS help families affected by CDH!