Volunteers
Qualifications for Ship Visitors
- Must be a good listener and able to respect other cultures.
- Must be reliable and able to work one shift per week of at least 4 hours.
- Must have a good driving record and be willing to drive vans around the Port.
- Must be both willing to follow rules (security procedures, Seafarers' Center paperwork) and open to surprises (such as ship schedules changing, or a seafarer suddenly confiding about a sad situation).
- Must be able to keep seafarers' confidences confidential.
- Must be in good enough health to climb stairs.
- Must interview with the Director, train with the Director and other volunteers, and pass a simple background check (at no charge to the volunteer)..
Rewards of volunteering:
- Representing God's unconditional love to seafarers of many faith traditions (or none), many cultures, all ranks. Much of our work doesn't involve talking about God, but we do try to leave seafarers feeling valued.
- Experiencing the hospitality and trust of people you've never met.
- Encountering challenges creatively.
- Getting to know other volunteers, some of the most dedicated people you'll ever meet.
- Getting to know the Port, an exciting part of the global economy not familiar to many Marylanders, and giving something back to the invisible servants of our economy.
Note: possible roles for volunteers other than ship visitors could include working as an on-call host when seafarers want to spend an evening at our Center, or taking responsibility to keep the Center vans clean, etc.
Please contact:
Baltseafarers@aol.com or
410-685-1240