Volunteer/Intern
Volunteer Meet and Greets are held the 3rd Thursday of each month at 8:00am and 6:00pm. Submit your application to become a Volunteer or Intern today to be invited to the next one!
Email Us If You Have a Group That is Interested in Learning More About a Service Project
Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are a critical part of Turning Point’s services. Through the aid of volunteers, we extend our reach well beyond what our staff could provide alone. Volunteers have a real impact, either through direct work with survivors of domestic and intimate partner abuse or by serving in many other indirect ways. Some opportunities involve just a few hours each month, some a few hours a week, some are on an “as-needed” basis.
Providing services to survivors and their families
“Direct Service” describes the empowerment counseling and trauama informed advocacy we provide to survivors and their families. Opportunities include: answering the helpline, court accompaniment, co-facilitating an empowerment group, supporting our residents in the Safe House, assisting with after school activities and homework help for children. The amount of time required of volunteers depends on the job.
Helping with administrative, development, or outreach tasks
"Indirect Service" is how we describe the number of ways people can help without directly providing counseling and advocacy services to survivors and their families. Opportunities include: helping at health/community fairs, organizing/picking up donations, bundling outreach materials, dropping off outreach materials, data entry, creative writing, special event planning, landscaping, gardening, and building repairs.
Collaborating with a group for a task oriented project
"Service Projects" refer to a type of project in which a person or group of people (typically from a workplace, place of worship, community group, college group) who work together to complete tasks for a pre-identified service project, such organizing or completing building or property improvements. We have both indoor and outdoor opportunities available.
For ALL Volunteers and Interns, you must successfully:
- Complete a Volunteer Application. Please save as a .pdf and email to hr@turningpointlv.org with the required paperwork.
- Attend a volunteer "Meet & Greet", which will be emailed upon receipt of your application.
- Submit required clearances (instructions on how to obtain clearances are included in the volunteer application):
- Pennsylvania State Police Criminal Record Check.
- ChildLine (Pennsylvania Child Abuse History Clearance through the Department of Human Services).
- Copy of FBI Criminal Background Check (fingerprint check): if you have lived outside the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the last 10 years. Note: If you've been a continuous resident of Pennsylvania for the past 10 years, you must sign a ‘’Disclosure Statement for Volunteers required by the Child Protective Service Law" waiver stating that this is true.
In addition, direct service volunteers and interns will be required to:
- Complete a minimum of 45 hours of domestic violence training and practicum as required by the PCADV (Pennsylvania Coalition Against Domestic Violence). This training is a hybrid of online courses, exams, and remote instructor training.
NOTE: Turning Point does not take court mandated candidates for community service.
Additional Items for Interns Only
To ensure a quality experience we can only accept one intern per semester to work in a team, with no more than 3 total interns in the agency per semester. Selections may be based on a “first-come, first-serve” basis or by conducting interviews, depending on the level of demand.
Each year we welcome students to intern with us in our Safe House, Legal Advocacy, and Outreach programs. Internships that help in administrative, advancement and finance can also be considered.
In addition to the above mentioned requirements for volunteers and to make the experience as valuable to the students as well as the agency, we have a few special requirements for you to consider before applying for an internship with Turning Point:
- A two semester commitment is required for any student who wants to provide direct service to survivors. You will complete the 45 hour training and additional practicum training during the first semester, and provide supervised service during your second semester.
- One semester internships may be considered for students not providing direct services.
- In addition to the application, please submit your:
- Recent academic transcripts for each college/university you have attended (can be unofficial copies).
- Current résumé
Please note that Turning Point offers trauma-informed empowerment counseling services. We believe in the value of this peer-support model and do not provide therapy or other medical interventions. We do not offer Master’s Level advisors to supervise MSW interns, but can work with advisors if there is an option for the university to help students meet this requirement through their own faculty.
Return your completed application, clearances, and any other documents to:
Human Resources
Email: hr@turningpointlv.org
Phone: 610-797-0530, ext. 236
Mail or drop off in person to:
Turning Point of Lehigh Valley
Attn: Human Resources
444 E. Susquehanna Street
Allentown, PA 18103