LEWISTON — Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice is in need of volunteers to support patients and families under its care. Volunteers are needed to assist with bereavement support, companionship with hospice patients, transportation to appointments, grocery shopping, greeting visitors at the Hospice House, helping around the office, veteran-to-veteran companionship and support of complementary therapies like reiki, reflexology and pet therapy.

June is a busy month for volunteer training, which is required for all of Androscoggin’s volunteers.

All training takes place at Androscoggin’s Lewiston Office, 15 Strawberry Ave.

Hospice training will begin at 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 6. Hospice volunteers play an important and supportive role in the lives of hospice patients as they approach the end of life. Twenty hours of training is required for hospice volunteers.

Bereavement training will begin Thursday, May 31, for those who have not received hospice training and Thursday, June 5, for all others. Classes start at 1 p.m. and 12 to 15 hours is required to provide bereavement support. Bereavement volunteers meet one-on-one with those who are grieving and often check in on those who have suffered a loss to offer reassurance.

General volunteer training is set from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 7. These volunteers assist with other important tasks but do not provide companionship to hospice patients or bereavement support.

Volunteers are needed throughout the organization’s service area, which includes all of Androscoggin, Franklin and Oxford counties, northern Cumberland County and parts of Kennebec, Sagadahoc and Somerset counties.

To learn more or to sign up, call 207-795-9580 or 1-800-482-7412 ext. 1280, or visit www.androscoggin.org.

Androscoggin Home Healthcare & Hospice is the largest, nonprofit independent home health and hospice organization in the state. To learn more about Androscoggin, including employment and volunteer opportunities, visit www.androcoggin.org or call the Marketing and Development Office at 207-777-7740, ext. 1311.