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In our changing world there is an ever-growing need for selfless contributions by members of society in order that all people, regardless of culture and economic status, can be adequately and compassionately served at the end of their lives.

In almost all modern societies, the most basic of all values is people helping people and, in the process, helping themselves. The Hospice and Palliative Care movement is an excellent example of how modern society was inspired to come together and serve in an altruistic way for the benefit of the greater whole. The movement was based on selfless acts of volunteerism.

Ever since the Hospice and Palliative Care movement began, volunteers have consistently provided much more than just practical service to those who were dying. Through a compassionate connection with the dying person, their presence often becomes an important element in that person’s final journey – a crucial existential, spiritual, and developmental time to bear witness to the ending of a life.

Equally important has been the volunteer's compassionate support of family and friends as they experience an often difficult grieving process before and after the death of a loved one. As the death ripples out beyond the circle of immediate family and friends into the community-at-large, volunteers have been called to serve as community healers.

The Hospice Volunteer Association (HVA) was formed to ensure that the spirit of hospice volunteerism will be preserved in perpetuity and not be dissolved by ever-increasing financial pressures on hospice organizations. In 1996 the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded a two-year national research study of hospice volunteerism. The study conclusions reflect on the nature of the impact of these financial pressures on volunteer programs:

“Hospice leaders assert that maintaining a strong volunteer program requires a significant investment of human and other resources at a time of flat or declining revenues and increasing medical and pharmaceutical costs. While the responses indicate a broad commitment to volunteerism in the hospice industry, the researchers concluded cost concerns are likely to induce hospices to reduce future investments in volunteer programs unless their effects on patient outcomes are documented more accurately.”

Such pressures on volunteer programs are still very prevalent today. In an effort to keep the importance of hospice volunteerism in the forefront of the modern hospice movement, hospice volunteers and their managers are joining together as a unified voice through HVA.

There is a growing interest in establishing Hospice and Palliative Care volunteer services around the world. Many parts of the world are just beginning to develop such services and HVA wishes to reach out to help other countries establish effective volunteer programs.

To meet that end and create a unified international voice for hospice volunteerism, HVA is reaching out to embrace the worldwide hospice volunteer community. By striving to support and learn from each other, we can more efficiently improve the care of the dying and support of their families around the world.

Our Mission
  • To define a holistic volunteer program structure that encourages personal growth and excellence in all aspects of hospice volunteering and hospice volunteer management around the world.
  • To establish training and certification standards for hospice volunteers and managers that are respected throughout the Hospice and Palliative Care community throughout the world.
  • To promote better communication across hospice disciplines through internal education programs whose purpose is to increase non-volunteer staff understanding of the capabilities and roles of hospice volunteers.
  • To increase educational opportunities for hospice volunteers and managers through HVA sponsored workshops and conferences.
  • To provide a venue for hospice volunteers to come together and share their stories.
  • To attract more volunteers to the hospice community and improve volunteer retention.
  • To increase the cultural and age diversity of the hospice volunteer community.
  • To establish a global community of Hospice Volunteers Without Borders.
Our Vision

Our vision is a diverse, well-trained and globally unbounded volunteer community with a shared commitment to provide the most compassionate service possible to those who are dying and their bereaved.

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