What It REquires
An Introduction
When you reach out, tell us a little about yourself. What interests you in our program? Have you ever volunteered before? Have you worked with individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders in the past? This helps us understand your experience and learn how you’d like to be involved.
Meet With Our Staff
Once we’ve had a chance to talk, We’d love to meet with you to go over what it means to volunteer and to see if you’re a good fit for our program. If everything aligns, we’ll contact you again with the details about the next steps and anything we need from you moving forward.
Clearances You’ll Need
***All of our staff and volunteers are required to submit criminal clearances before volunteering. This is a mandatory requirement set by our organization to protect the safety and well‑being of our travelers. Your clearances help us determine whether we can move forward in the process. We value our travelers’ safety above all else and truly appreciate your understanding and cooperation.
To obtain your Pennsylvania criminal background clearance, please visit the official state website: https://epatch.pa.gov**
Training That Protects Our Travelers
After all clearances have been reviewed, we will contact you to schedule your required trainings. One training provides a basic overview of our policies and expectations. The other is First Aid/CPR/AED training, which is provided by us through the American Red Cross, or you may submit a current certification from the American Red Cross or the American Heart Association.
We do not accept company‑based or workplace‑only first aid trainings. Our certified trainer also reserves the right to evaluate your skills and understanding at any time.
We work with individuals who can become medically fragile, and we are entrusted with their safety. Your training matters, and we take it extremely seriously.
Expectations That Protect Our Travelers
Once your clearances and training are complete, we will begin signing you up for the trips you’re interested in. While volunteers are welcome to express their preferences, not all trips will be available to every volunteer. We work hard to be fair and to give everyone an equal opportunity to volunteer, and trip assignments depend on team balance, traveler needs, and overall consistency.
Consistency matters to us. If someone is only interested in volunteering on flight-based or high‑interest trips—and does not participate in other trips—we cannot move forward in that way. We are not a free vacation service. Volunteers are here to do an important job, and while we absolutely encourage you to have fun and enjoy the experience, our travelers are always your priority.
Your actions directly reflect on our organization, and we will not allow any behavior that puts travelers at risk or uses them for personal benefit. For this reason, we reserve the right to limit or deny certain trip requests until we build trust and see consistent, reliable participation. This is not a punishment—it is a reflection of our commitment to the safety of the individuals we support and the families and caregivers who trust us.
We truly appreciate your understanding and your dedication to creating safe, joyful travel experiences for our travelers.
Traveling Together
Once all requirements are completed, you’ll be fully cleared to volunteer with us whenever we have a trip or vacation available. At that point, we consider you part of the family.