Volunteering

Help prevent and address intimate partner abuse in your community by taking part in one of our volunteer opportunities.

As a Direct Service volunteer, you’ll have immediate, one-on-one contact with CORA clients. Direct Service opportunities include peer counseling through our 24-hour hotline, working in our Emergency Response Program (ERP), accompanying clients to legal proceedings, and assisting with community education, children’s activities and more.

Direct Service volunteers must complete a state-mandated training in domestic violence intervention and prevention and agree to a minimum annual commitment of 100 hours of service to our clients.

As an Indirect Service volunteer, you can help without interacting directly with CORA clients. Indirect Service opportunities include annual and special events, translation, data entry, filing, copying, organizing our donations, and recruiting volunteers. More opportunities may be available to utilize your specialized skills (such as HR, accounting, web design, marketing and others).

While the Domestic Violence Training is not required for Indirect Service volunteers, we strongly encourage everyone working with CORA to take the training.

Still have questions about volunteering? Call our Volunteer Coordinator at 650-652-0800 x 172 (email here) for more information.

Twice a year CORA offers Domestic Violence Training. (The next training will take place soon. Check back later for more details.) Trainers include departmental and external community agency representatives who are experts in their fields. CORA’s Domestic Violence Training meets state guidelines and provides volunteers with practical, hands-on skills in peer counseling, crisis intervention, assessment and advocacy.

If you’re interested in signing up for the next training, please fill out the application for the Domestic Violence Training. We will contact you upon receiving your application. Space availability is limited for participants wanting certification only and is assessed on a per training basis.

Members of the public and community agency representatives who take the training for certification are required to pay a nonrefundable fee of $300, due prior to the first day of training.

If you are volunteering with CORA, the fee for training is only $75. We require a one-year commitment of volunteers who take our training, a minimum of 100 hours upon completion of the training, and one shift per week. If you need to have the fee waived due to hardship, please talk to our Volunteer & Community Education Coordinator directly.

Still have questions? Call our volunteer coordinator at 650-652-0800 x172 (email here) for more information.

Anyone! We need all talents and vibrant energy! If you have accessed intimate partner abuse services, we ask that you wait a complete year after that date to begin volunteering with CORA. Intimate partner abuse services include things like support groups, emergency housing and more.

There are many opportunities to show you care and use your unique skills to change the course of intimate partner abuse. Apply and we’re almost certain there’s a rewarding fit for your personal passion and drive.

Most of the volunteer opportunities are during normal business hours – weekdays, 9 to 5. There are some weekend and evening opportunities, but they are often sporadic or one-time functions.

Time frame varies according to project and volunteer, but for the usual Direct Service volunteer, we ask that you complete 100 hours over the course of one year.

The Domestic Violence Training is required by the State Law of California to work directly with domestic violence survivors or their children (Direct Volunteer). This comprehensive training qualifies you to become a Certified Domestic Violence counselor in the State of California. You do not have to take the training if you are an Indirect Volunteer.

Of course! Everyone who wants to better understand domestic violence and how to help those experiencing it can take the training. Even if you’ve taken the training before, research evolves and requirements change, so a refresher training might be helpful.