Volunteer with EngAGE Beverly
EngAGE Beverly is a small community for older adults on Chicago's South Side, especially those navigating memory changes. We are getting ready to open, and neighbors like you help make each day warm and welcoming. There are three ways to give your time, and we would love to help you find the one that fits.
Prefer to support with a gift instead? Visit our Donate page.
Three ways to help
Gathering Host. Set the scene and tend the details. Help set up and clean up, welcome participants and guest facilitators at the door, prepare and clear the shared meal, and keep the day running smoothly. One host each day, and a wonderful first way to get involved.
Gathering Companion. Assist and participate. Sit alongside our participants through the gathering, joining the singing, the art, the conversation, and the gentle activities. A steady, friendly presence beside our staff. One companion per session.
Gathering Guest Facilitator. Share a talent, an interest, or simply your company! Some ideas include playing music, leading movement exercises, sharing the companionship of a calm animal, sharing artistic talents, or facilitating a hands-on service project. Come once, monthly, or on a rhythm that suits you.
Ways to be a Gathering Guest Facilitator
- Artist Guest: art appreciation, a gentle making session, or both
- Music Guest: lead a sing-along, play an instrument, or host a drum circle
- Movement Guest: chair yoga, gentle dance, tai chi, or seated stretching
- Animal Visit: a gentle, well-mannered animal for a calm, joyful visit
- Community Service Guest: co-lead a project, like bead kits for kids in the hospital, cards to troops, or packing care kits
Something else to share? Storytelling, reading aloud, pottery, Beverly and Chicago history, poetry, photography, games, gardening, and more are all welcome. Tell us in the form below.
How we welcome volunteers
Because our participants include older adults living with memory changes, we take gentle care with who joins them. Following the lead of Elderwise in Seattle, we welcome every volunteer through a relationship first, not a form. We are upfront about what it involves, because these steps protect everyone, participants and volunteers alike.
- A conversation. We meet, often over coffee, to get to know you and find the role that fits.
- References and a background check. For every volunteer, no exceptions.
- A few simple agreements. A confidentiality agreement, a short code of conduct, and a liability waiver.
- Orientation, and a first day beside our team. Your first visit is spent shadowing our staff, and volunteers are never alone with participants.
Our full volunteer policy and background-check standard are being finalized with our board's elder-law counsel.
Looking for a more formal role on our founding team?
We are hiring our founding team right now. Two part-time roles, both beginning in October, both on site here in Beverly.
Interested in growing with EngAGE? Volunteers interested in future openings are welcome to let us know, though volunteer service does not guarantee employment.
Register to volunteer
Tell us a little about yourself and how you would like to help, and we will follow up personally to set up a conversation.