Volunteer

If you are currently a Tufts University School of Medicine Student and you would like to volunteer at Sharewood, we are always looking for additional volunteers. If you have any questions about volunteering at Sharewood, email the volunteer coordinators for more information.

If you are a physician and would like to volunteer, please email our Director of General Clinic for more information.

If you have any questions about volunteering at Sharewood, email our volunteer coordinators for more information.

If you are a current undergraduate student and would like to volunteer, please contact our undergraduate volunteer coordinators.

What do we do?

Undergraduates are responsible for all aspects of client intake, client flow throughout the project, and initial client assessment. Specifically, undergraduate students discuss services with clients, create files, and triage clients. The triage process involves taking the client's height, weight, blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate and chief concern. The Sharewood Project also regularly engages in several community outreach programs including: attending soup kitchens in various communities, staffing health fairs and attending meetings with community leaders.

Who can volunteer?

Any Tufts undergraduate is eligible to volunteer at The Sharewood Project. Due to the high demand for volunteer spots, only Tufts undergraduates may volunteer at Sharewood during the academic semesters. Students must apply and only 20-25 students are accepted each semester. During the summer and during winter recess, students from other universities may be permitted to volunteer at Sharewood on a case-by-case basis. Those interested in applying for the next semester can email the volunteer coordinators.

Time commitment

Sharewood operates every Tuesday night throughout the school year, summer and during vacations from 6:00pm-8:00pm. In order to volunteer, students must commit to arriving at the project by 5:45pm and staying until 8:00pm. Transportation will be provided from the campus center at Tufts (leaving at 5:10pm from Hotung café) and returning at approximately 8:30pm. Students are permitted to drive to the project on their own, but must commit to arriving on time and staying until the undergraduates leave.

How to volunteer

There are four steps to become certified to volunteer as an undergraduate at The Sharewood Project.

1. Students need to apply and be accepted before they can perform any of the listed steps (such as training sessions).
2. Prospective volunteers must attend a mandatory 50-minute training session offered on Tufts' Medford/Somerville campus by members of the Undergraduate Board.
3. Prospective volunteers must complete a vital sign practice log (done during training session) and then get approved as "qualified to volunteer; by the board member running the training session. The vital sign log (PDF) can be downloaded here and should be printed and brought to the training session.
4. Approved volunteers must then fill out the volunteer form emailed to the Sharewood e-list prior to the beginning of each month indicating which dates they are available to volunteer.
5. The Volunteer Coordinator will then email out a schedule to all volunteers who filled out the form with their assigned volunteer slot(s).

Scheduling is done on a month-by-month basis. Volunteers are typically scheduled to attend the project once or twice per month on average. Questions about volunteering and the training session schedule should be sent to the volunteer coordinators.

Other ways to get involved

Beyond volunteering at the project, there are three undergraduate committees with which students can become involved.

• Outreach Committee
  The publicity committee is responsible for marketing The Sharewood Project. Members of the publicity work frequently with other community organizations throughout Somerville, Medford, Malden, and Everett. Anyone interested in the publicity committee should contact the outreach chairs.
• Fundraising Committee
  The fundraising committee is responsible for organizing fundraising initiatives and for promoting ongoing initiatives for The Sharewood Project. Fundraising initiatives include promoting an Amazon link that donates a portion of the purchases made through it to Sharewood and working with local businesses to organize a charitable event. Anyone interested in the fundraising committee should contact the fundraising committee.
• Public Health Committee
  The public health committee is responsible for developing and executing public health initiatives at Sharewood. Currently, the public health committee is providing clients with resources on how to eat healthy food despite fiscal constraints, including bringing in nutritionists to provide dietary advice. Please contact the public health committee if you are interested in participating.

General inquiries about undergraduate involvement in The Sharewood Project should be sent to the general board.