BRATTLEBORO — This spring, Brattleboro Area Hospice will expand its training opportunities to people who want to become Hospice Care Volunteers with volunteer trainings in both Bellows Falls and in the Deerfield Valley.
The Bellows Falls training will take place Wednesday mornings, March 22 to May 31, from 9 a.m. until noon, at the Stone Church Arts and Immanuel Retreat Center, Currier Hall, 14 Church St.
The Wilmington training will take place Thursday afternoons, March 30 to June 8, from 3 to 6 p.m., at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 13 Main St.
Space for these trainings is limited, and applications must be submitted by March 10. Contact Brattleboro Area Hospice for an application form at 802-257-0775, or go to www.brattleborohospice.org for additional information.
Throughout Windham County, hospice volunteers aid neighbors and their families who are living with life-threatening illnesses. Help may range from running errands to gardening to emotional and physical support.
Hospice-care volunteers describe the work as challenging but rewarding. Training topics include hospice philosophy, nuts and bolts of volunteering, ethical issues, reflection on personal attitudes toward death and dying, and grief issues, among others. Presenters include professionals from the community as well as hospice staff and volunteers.
Brattleboro Area Hospice serves all of Windham County and is an independent, community-based, nonprofit volunteer organization that provides grassroots, volunteer-staffed programs to supplement and provide alternatives to the professional services utilized by dying and grieving community members.