Volunteer with us!

You Can Make A Difference By Becoming A Volunteer or be an Intern.

      Volunteering for CONTACT Helpline brings the satisfaction of making a difference in the lives of others in your community. The needs for emotional and financial support in the community grow each year.

     How can so many needs to be addressed? As a CONTACT volunteer, you can provide listening support to those in isolation or distress.  You have access to a database of thousands of local agencies and programs; you can connect callers to sources of assistance, empowering them to seek solutions to their problems.

     You can volunteer at our Harrisburg location.

     Volunteer Ruth says, “It is gratifying . . . feeling like you’ve helped people.” She has answered calls at the Helpline for 20 years.

     Karen, a volunteer since 2013, says that volunteering for CONTACT, “fills a spot in our lives” but is not overwhelming, since volunteers are a point of contact rather than a counselor or problem solver. She notes that the time commitment per month is very manageable, and scheduling volunteer time is flexible.

     Dave and Linda have volunteered for CONTACT for 36 and 23 years, respectively. Dave participates in the training of new volunteers. He tells them, “Learning active listening skills can help you in your personal communications, as well as on the Helpline.” Over the years, he found that using active listening often diffused conflicts at work. Linda has observed that using active listening skills improved her interactions with her children and other family members, in addition to being a helpful asset in the workplace. She also enjoys working with the Communications Committee.

    Their belief in the CONTACT mission has kept them involved for a combined 59 years!

    Ask any Helpline volunteer, and they will agree that it is rewarding to “make a difference, one caller at a time.”

Click here to read a story for one of our volunteers about active listening.

Training

The training program is designed to help teach the art of "active listening" and information and referral techniques. It includes topics such as:

  • Callers who are hopeless

  • Community resources

  • Problem-solving

  • Mental health issues

  • Coping with Values Conflict

Training is held several time a year at varying locations throughout the region.  The valuable training consists of 8 sessions of classroom training and 5 sessions of practical experience. Training start dates are subject to change.

Call the CONTACT business office at 717.652.4987 to learn more

Internship Application

Are you a college student looking for an internship?  CONTACT Helpline may be just what you are looking for. Fill out the following application with why you're interested in working with us and you'll hear back from our Volunteer Coordinator shortly.