Direct Support

St. Madeleine Sophie’s Center provides programs to adults who have developmental and intellectual disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, and cerebral palsy. While there are no cures for these disabilities, people with cognitive disorders can still achieve personal and professional fulfillment.

We need volunteers to help assist our Direct Support Professional (DSP) staff by engaging our students in a variety of indoor and outdoor programs that include aquatics and fitness, education, crafts, and more. Hours are flexible: M-F from 8:30am-2:30pm.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Cleaning up before/after class
• Supervising students to ensure safety
• Engage students with class materials and learnings
• Lunch buddies: handle lunch tasks for students and socialize (10:30 am-12 pm M-F)

Desired Experience (not required, but preferred):

• Direct care or direct training of people with intellectual, developmental, learning, or physical disabilities or equivalent experience in social services.
• First Aid/CPR/AED certification or complete an in-house training course.

Time Commitment:

At least one day per week for 2 hours preferred. We ask volunteers to commit approximately 30 hours within 3-12 months to ensure consistency for our students.

Volunteer Requirements:

• Can provide 30 hours of service in 3 months or 1 year of service
• Volunteer application and Interview
• Physical, tuberculosis screening and drug/alcohol screening (Provided by SMSC)
• Fingerprinting (Provided by SMSC)
• Proof of citizenship or immigration status
• If you are under 18 years of age, you must provide consent from a legal guardian
• 2-3 hour orientation training
• Acknowledgement of receipt of SMSC Volunteer Handbook

Benefits:

Volunteering at SMSC will help you build priceless soft skills necessary in the workplace such as problem-solving, adaptability, communication, time management, and more. This is a two-way street where you will help us with your time and effort, and we will help you gain valuable experience and develop new social networks.

Impact:

Our mission is to educate and empower individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. To give them the space and resources to let them realize their full potential. By volunteering, you will bring our students one step closer to realizing that they, too, can make an impact on the world. The smiles you will see will be even more rewarding than our free lunches.