Volunteer with Family Support, Foster Care & Adoptions
Volunteers and donors are vital to our success.
Catholic Charities Family Services consists of more than 30 programs across central and western Maryland, serving several thousand families a year. This division provides a continuum of care and treatment that includes adoption services, out-patient mental health clinics, home and community-based behavioral health services, special education schools, treatment foster care and residential programs. Numerous group and individual volunteer opportunities are available in many of our programs.
Please join our volunteer mailing list. You can learn more about all of our volunteer activities and stay in touch with other volunteers.
Volunteers or interns wanting more information on how to connect with our programs should contact the Volunteer Coordinator at 667-600-6039 or volunteercfs@cc-md.org. Anyone seeking an internship or an ongoing volunteering role in one of our programs must complete an application and background screening. Once we have matched someone with a recurring opportunity, we then require that they attend one of our quarterly Pre-Service Training sessions.
Ways to Serve
Family Services Mentoring and Companions
Be a Mentor at Family Services
Because sometimes it takes a hero to change a child’s life.
“You are the best mentor I ever had in my life. You are like Superman, Batman, and the Hulk.” Isaiah, about his mentor, Charles McFadden
Who are Family Services Mentors?
They are people just like you. They range in age from 23 to 75 and come from every walk of life. Mentors are a special visitor, a positive role model, and a consistent person in a child’s life. Every child in our care needs a hero! The children receiving services come from neighborhoods both nearby and across the state of Maryland. Typically, mentors are matched with children in one of our residential facilities or our special education schools. Matches can sometimes progress into the community. Mentors commit to mentoring for one year and give at least two hours each week. All of our mentors share something very important. Every volunteer mentor has taken the time to:
Make a Difference in the Life of a Child
We need school supplies, too. You can contact us first or just drop off your donation at the address below.
Ready to start making a difference for a child? Fill out a Mentor Application to begin your journey! Just email your completed application to Lauren Porter at lporter@cc-md.orgor print and mail the application to:
Lauren Porter, Mentor Coordinator
Family Services/St. Vincent’s Villa
2600 Pot Spring Road, Timonium, MD 21093
Need more information? Read our Theraputic Mentoring Brochure or contact Lauren Porter at 667-600-3054 or e-mail her at lporter@cc-md.org.
Undergraduate and Graduate Internships
Family Services is a national leader in cultivating a true strength-based, partnership-driven culture that supports and empowers clients and families. We provide state-of-the-art behavioral health, child welfare, special education, early childhood, and family-development services to help strengthen families and individuals of all ages.
Undergraduate and graduate students from accredited colleges and universities have the opportunity to refine their academic development and professional skills with hands-on experiences in a variety of Family Services programs. Placement opportunities include psychology, social work, counseling, family studies, special education, speech pathology, nursing, arts, music, recreation, marketing and human services, as well as a limited number of doctoral placements. Family Services offers programs that serve Anne Arundel, Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Garrett, Harford, and Washington Counties, and Baltimore City.
Undergraduate level internships
Undergraduate interns assist in the operation of a Family Services program to which they are assigned for a period of one semester or a summer intersession. Interns report directly to a staff supervisor within their program, with additional oversight from Volunteer Services. In compliance with Catholic Charity policies, undergraduates cannot serve clients in a clinical capacity; however, interns may be closely involved in other therapeutic aspects of their program, including directly with clients.
If you are interested in an undergraduate internship, email your resume to Mikael Kristiansen, Volunteer Services Coordinator, at volunteercfs@cc-md.org, making sure to specify your area of concentration and any other internship requirements. For more information on the application process, including deadlines, requirements, and sample role descriptions, please review our Undergraduate Internship Overview Handbook.
Graduate level internships
Our graduate and doctoral placements are made through formal partnerships with various universities. For more information regarding graduate internships, contact Diane Shannon at dshannon@cc-md.org.
Gather together with your co-workers and participate in a Day of Caring as you complete a fun project to enhance our program.
Sponsor a special activity for our children, or sponsor a child or family during our holiday campaign, and see how smiles really are contagious!
Family Support, Foster Care & Adoptions in the News, Stories & Testimonials
Outbreak poses real challenges for older adults | READER COMMENTARY
FOR THE BALTIMORE SUN | MAR 30, 2020 Thank you very much for your thoughtful article, “It’s not easy: For seniors in Baltimore, coronavirus social distancing comes with a side effect: loneliness” (March 26). I’m writing to [...]
Catholic senior living centers learn to adapt amid unprecedented precautions
TIM SWIFT | CATHOLIC REVIEW Doris Hollis, a resident of Caritas House Assisted Living, celebrated her 94th birthday March 27. Her family brought a cake and a homemade banner for the special occasion, but there [...]
‘It’s not easy’: For seniors in Baltimore, coronavirus social distancing comes with a side effect: loneliness
By COLIN CAMPBELL, BALTIMORE SUN MAR 26, 2020 Bernadette Croaker knows loneliness is taking a toll on her neighbors. No longer can they gather to enjoy the Wednesday movie nights that Croaker, 76, has hosted for [...]
Mobile Pet Food Bank Delivers Free Pet Food To Low-Income Pet Owners
Dawn White, WBAL NewsRadio 1090 and FM 101.5 A local organization wants to make sure pets don’t go hungry during the COVID-19 outbreak. Thankful Paws is a mobile food bank for pets that supplies [...]
“If Catholic Charities stopped feeding people … where would they eat?”
Cedric Howard, senior cook at Our Daily Bread Employment Center, arrives at work two hours early these days – but doesn’t mind the 4 a.m. start. “This place is like a lifesaver to me. I’m [...]
When schools closed, a 9-year-old got worried. So Safe Streets got busy.
A 9-year-old, worried about his friends not being able to eat, was the driving force behind a Safe Streets-led initiative to feed families during the COVID-19 crisis. The day after schools closed across Maryland in [...]