Volunteers play an essential role at WCRC. We cannot do it without you. Join us to help change the course of cancer in your community! Volunteer with us to provide information, resources, and emotional and practical support to women at risk for and diagnosed with cancer.
Please note that, due to public health and safety issues related to COVID-19, our information sessions and training session dates are subject to change.
Volunteers provide many services:
- Information and referral to community resources
- Community Outreach Advocates (COAs)
- Community Client Navigators (CCNs)
- Pro-bono psychotherapy for low income women
- Cancer education and healing arts workshops
- Administration: data entry, mailings, filing, office support, and grantwriting, fundraising and event assistance
The Volunteer Process
- Step 1: Complete the Volunteer Application
- Step 2: Attend a Volunteer Orientation Session
- Step 3: Participate in the Volunteer Training
Step 1: Complete the Volunteer Application
If you’d like to volunteer with WCRC, you first need to apply. Submit the online Volunteer Application, or complete the Volunteer Application (.PDF) and return it to Audrey Shoji ([email protected]). Audrey will confirm receipt of your application and invite you to the next Volunteer Orientation Session.
Step 2: Attend a Volunteer Orientation Session
After applying, you must attend a Volunteer Orientation Session at WCRC where you’ll learn about us, the services volunteers provide, and volunteer requirements.
Our upcoming Volunteer Orientation Sessions are scheduled on (subject to change):
- Tuesday, July 6 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
- Tuesday, August 3 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
- Tuesday, September 7 from 6:00 – 7:00 pm
Step 3: Participate in Volunteer Training
Following your Volunteer Application and Orientation (required), you may be invited to participate in our 1-day Volunteer Training led by cancer experts, community partners, and staff. Assisted by client and volunteer panels, we’ll discuss and explore the basic biology of cancer, cultural humility, boundaries, confidentiality, self-care, and community resources.
Next Mandatory Volunteer Training:
Date: TBD
Location: WCRC office, 2908 Ellsworth St., Berkeley
Breakfast & lunch will be served.
For more information and to register, contact Audrey Shoji ([email protected]) / 510-809-0202
WCRC Volunteer Positions Available
- Information and Referral Helpline
2-3 hour shift/week (approximately 10 am-1 pm or 1-4 pm, Monday-Friday)
Volunteers conduct phone and drop-in intakes, develop care plans, recommend resources, answer questions, provide emotional support, make follow-up calls to those requesting ongoing support, and train incoming I&R volunteers. We also seek bilingual (Spanish/English, Mandarin/English, Cantonese/English, etc.) volunteers for this position. - Programa Latino (must be fluent in Spanish)
6-8 hours/month, times vary.
Volunteers provide cancer navigation, emotional support, and education to Latina women in their own language and in support of their cultural values. Volunteers with training in medical interpretation may also volunteer with client support, or simultaneous interpretation at WCRC events and wellness workshops. Los voluntarios proporcionan navegación del cáncer, apoyo emocional y educación a mujeres Latinas en su propio idioma y mantienen sus valores culturales. - Sister to Sister African-American Outreach
6-8 hours/month, times vary.
Sister to Sister volunteers offer welcoming support to African American women through cancer navigation, emotional support, cancer education workshops, wellness programs, and community outreach. Volunteers must be African-American or of African descent. - Community Outreach Advocates
Daytime, evenings and weekends, times vary.
Volunteers participate in tabling and outreach. Activities may include sharing and coordinating materials and information at community health fairs and street fairs, presentations and assisting at WCRC fundraising and celebration events. - Community Client Navigator (CCN)
Times vary according to mutually agreeable times for clients & CCNs at sites where medically-related services are provided in Alameda & parts of Contra Costa County. Regular access to a vehicle is helpful. Volunteers provide community-based, culturally-centered client navigation throughout the continuum of care by: meeting &/or driving a client to an appointment or service, supporting the client during the appointment, driving the client back, if needed; by making follow-up calls to check in with client, as needed. - On-call
2-4 hrs/event, some days, eves & weekends, times vary. Volunteers sign up to help Wellness Workshop presenters set up, welcome participants, prep food, help straighten up after the workshop, & are welcome to participate in the workshop as long as volunteer duties are covered. Volunteers also assist with ad hoc WCRC projects and events. - Administrative/Office Support (must have admin/computer skills)
3-4 hours/week, (approximately 10 am -1 pm or 1-4 pm, Monday-Friday)
Volunteers assist with administrative duties such as filing, copying, mailing, phone reception, inventory projects, record keeping, and general facility upkeep. Opportunities to help the Development Department with fundraising, event planning, and grant-writing are also available. - Volunteer Psychotherapist
12 clinical hours over a number of months.
Join our cadre of psychotherapists – both licensed therapists and interns in private practice – in volunteering 12 sessions to a low-income woman or couple who are living with cancer. These sessions would take place in your private practice office. As part of the program you can choose to participate in an ongoing consultation group that meets every month on the first Wednesday of the month and professional development opportunities. This network of like-minded clinicians has become a consistent and supportive presence for our volunteer therapists, as well as in the lives we touch in the cancer care community. The regular consultation groups provide a highly valued opportunity for reflection on the challenges of working with women, living with cancer and death and dying. To become a member of the Women’s Cancer Resource Center’s Psychotherapy Program, please contact our Clinical Services and Resources Manager at 510-809-0216.