Child Life Volunteer Opportunities
Child Life volunteers assist the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center Child Life Department in a number of important ways, providing recreational play for patients, organizational support in our playrooms, and programming support within our CCTV studio.
Volunteer Requirements
- Volunteer candidates must commit to giving a minimum of 100 hours of service/year (without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered).
- Volunteer candidates are required to commit to a 4 hour volunteer shift once per week over a minimum of 6 months. New volunteer shifts are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. or 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. only. Weekend and evening shifts are not available to new volunteers.
- Summer volunteer opportunities are available to individuals who reside in Baltimore during June-August; these candidates must be able to provide 8 hours of volunteer service per week.
- A Child Life volunteer t-shirt must be worn during volunteer hours. There is a $5 charge for this shirt.
- Volunteers will need to provide vaccination records for review including documentation of respiratory virus season Flu shot.
Volunteer Application Cycle
Child Life volunteer candidates are interviewed and selected on a seasonal basis (fall, spring, and summer). We are not currently accepting applications, but will re-open the application process in July 2026 for the fall cycle.
- July 1, 2026: Volunteer Applications Open
- July 23, 2026: Volunteer Applications Close
- August 28, 2026: Onboarding Completion Deadline
- August 31, 2026: New Volunteers Begin
Click here to access the Child Life Volunteer Application
For further questions not addressed on this webpage, please contact the child life volunteer coordinator at [email protected].
Volunteer Positions
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Volunteers on our inpatient units facilitate developmentally appropriate play for patients at bedside and in our designated playrooms. Play activities may include holding infants and toddlers, practicing developmental milestones with infants and toddlers (i.e. grasping objects, building towers), reading stories, playing board games, facilitating arts and crafts, and assisting with homework.
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Volunteers in our outpatient clinics facilitate developmentally appropriate play in clinic waiting areas when patients and families arrive. Volunteers help children to feel more comfortable and relaxed by engaging them in books, board games, card games, arts and crafts activities, and imaginary play.
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Working with the CCTV programming team, these volunteers help to assemble craft and cooking kits, organize the prize cart for weekly BINGO, answer phones during call-in shows (such as BINGO), and support patients seated in the studio audience.
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High school students 16-18 years of age may be eligible to volunteer in conjunction with the High School Hospital Summer program (HS2) organized through the Department of Volunteer Services. HS2 is a 7-week opportunity to volunteer 100 hours, with some flexibility for scheduling. Volunteers will also serve to help patients find their way, and help with unique hospital volunteer projects Applications are available from the Department of Volunteer Services in January. Availability is limited.
Please contact the Department of Volunteer Services at 410-955-5924 or [email protected] for more information.
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Join our awesome gaming volunteer program! Our volunteers bring gaming karts to patients' rooms which are equipped with Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5 to play with patients. We currently have hundreds of games to choose from and expand weekly.
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Under normal circumstances, we welcome individuals and groups to apply to visit the hospital, including college groups, community organizations, performers, athletes and others. For more information about our current visitor guidelines, please reach out to [email protected].
Child Life Volunteer FAQ’s
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Yes! You are able to apply and volunteer if you are not a college student at JHU or any other college/university.
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No, the child life department currently does not offer volunteer positions to high school students. High school students do not qualify for our year-round volunteer positions, however, we encourage you to review other volunteer opportunities offered at Johns Hopkins Hospital.
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New child life volunteer shifts are only available between 9 a.m.-1 p.m. or 1 p.m.-5 p.m. This is to ensure that you are on-site when your unit supervisor is present and can support you as you adjust to your role.
After your first cycle of volunteering, you may reach out to your unit supervisor to discuss changing to an evening or weekend shift for the next upcoming cycle (fall, spring, summer). Unit supervisors and the child life volunteer coordinator will also determine if you are eligible for weekend or evening shifts based on your performance (dependability, task initiative, timeliness, etc.) as well as their own discretion.
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If you are a current child life volunteer, please reach out to your unit supervisor to switch units or shifts.
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Yes! We recognize that volunteers may need to take a break from volunteering due to health, scheduling conflicts with school or work, family matters, etc. If you need to take a break from your assigned weekly shift for an extended period, you MUST EMAIL your unit supervisor and the child life volunteer coordinator in advance. If you plan to take a break for longer than 3 months, you must also contact volunteer services as your volunteer portal will become inactive if you are not logging your hours after 3 months.
Volunteer Services can also assist you in setting your account to ‘leave of absence’. Volunteers are also expected to reach out to their unit supervisor and the child life coordinator when they are interested in returning before they can begin volunteering on their unit again. Please note, we cannot guarantee that your unit/time slot will still be available when you are interested in returning.
Example: You are currently volunteering during the summer cycle but you are unable to continue for the fall due to your class schedule. You are responsible for emailing your unit supervisor and the child life volunteer coordinator and letting them know that you will be taking a break for the fall cycle. If you are able to return for the spring, you are responsible for reaching out in December, that you are interested in returning for the spring cycle beginning in January.
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Yes! JHH employees are welcome to apply and volunteer with our department. However, you will not be able to volunteer in the clinical area (inpatient units or outpatient areas) that you work in.
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If you are currently a JHH volunteer, you are welcome to submit an application to be considered for child life volunteering.
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No. We encourage individuals who are seeking an opportunity to learn more about professions in the healthcare field as well as medical diagnoses or procedures to participate in an observership.
Learn more about observerships.
For individuals that are specifically interested in an observatory introduction to the Child Life profession, we encourage you to review our practicum experience offered at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center.