Volunteer
“A simple act of kindness
can make a tremendous impact
on a person’s life.””
Compassionate Care... Freely Given
Our volunteers come from all walks of life and from all segments of the community. Some come to us with a desire to give back to the community or a personal calling to do hospice work. Others have directly benefited from the services of Hospice of Santa Barbara. HSB has a dynamic volunteer program. As part of the Patient Care Services team, Patient Care Volunteers enhance the quality of life of those impacted by a serious illness and their families by providing social, emotional, and practical support.
Become a Hospice Volunteer, Make a Difference When It Matters Most
We are currently recruiting for our upcoming Hospice of Santa Barbara Volunteer Training. This role is ideal for individuals who:
• Are compassionate and dependable
• Are comfortable sitting with serious illness and the unknown
• Want to serve their community in a meaningful way
No prior experience is needed, just compassion, reliability, and a commitment to serving others.
Comprehensive training and ongoing support are provided.
Our next Patient Care Volunteer Training has been scheduled for April 22nd-May 27th, 2026. Training sessions are held on Wednesdays from 12:00-3:00pm and applicants must attend all six weeks. Click here to Apply
If you would like more information about volunteer opportunities call 805-563-8820 or email our Volunteer Services Department.
Patient Care Volunteers
Our volunteers come from all walks of life and from all segments of the community. Some come to us with a desire to give back to the community or a personal calling to do hospice work. Others have directly benefited from the services of Hospice of Santa Barbara. HSB has a dynamic volunteer program. As part of the Patient Care Services team, Patient Care Volunteers enhance the quality of life of those impacted by a serious illness and their families by providing social, emotional, and practical support.
If you would like to volunteer in a capacity that is not described below, or you would like more information about volunteer opportunities contact us:
or email our Volunteer Services Department.
Volunteer Spotlight
Kay Stern
Kay’s interest in caring for people with medical issues began in her childhood with her pharmacist father who was consulted by doctors on what drugs would best treat the doctor’s patient’s diagnosis. That was the standard dinner table conversation at home. In her teens, she studied comparative religions and from that dive into culture, life, and death, she developed a wide set of eclectic spiritual beliefs. This informs her work with HSB clients, meeting them where they are. And her meditation practice grew out of that time.
UCLA was where she earned her BS. Her MBA was achieved at Pepperdine University. Her Masters’ thesis studied strengths and weaknesses of female executives. Her working career spanned regional, national, and finally international management responsibilities fulfilling her dream to live and work abroad.
Reading Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, led to her next dream, to work with people experiencing and planning end of life care, so when she and husband returned to the US, her dream was to train for Hospice work, and to raise service dog puppies to help people with disabilities. In Santa Barbara Kay trained for patient care work with VNA, then Alliance for Living and Dying Well, and then Hospice of Santa Barbara. She trained to help people complete Advance Care Plans and My Care. During that time, the couple raised 5 service dog puppies, including “Roselle” for Guide Dogs for the Blind. Kay credits Santa Barbara for helping socialize puppy Roselle who was trained and when the time came, was able to calmly lead her blind partner and others down 78 floors to exit the burning World Trade Tower in NY.
For many years, Kay has worked for Hospice of Santa Barbara, doing patient care work and advance care planning counseling. She loves how patient care work and advance care planning inform the work of each.
Today Kay and husband have 2 rescue dogs. When Kay is dying, her dream is to be in bed with her dogs on each side of her as she passes.
Past Volunteer Spotlight
Marybeth Carty
We believe there is no one who has done more with respect to community service for the greater SB community than Marybeth Carty. She exemplifies "compassionate and committed service" at its finest, not just at HSB but for many other organizations as well. Marybeth is the Executive Director of the Natalie Orfalea Foundation and has spent the prior 15 years in corporate philanthropy, interfacing with hundreds of different nonprofit organizations per year. She previously served as Director of grant funded education programs for the Carpinteria Unified School District for 10 years.
Marybeth's community impact goes way beyond her professional career--Her experience in the nonprofit sector spans over 35 years, serving and leading on a number of boards that address community strengthening, education and social justice in the Santa Barbara area.
Her service includes: *Board member and past President of Partners in Education. *Exec committee Foundation Roundtable. *CADA’s Fighting Back Mentor Program Task Force. *Founder Carpinteria Women’s Fund group, known as “Hearts of Carp,” and is heavily involved in the Carpinteria community. *She serves on the Board of the Carpinteria Children’s Project. *Chair of the Carpinteria Woman’s Club. *Chair of the steering committee for Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Compassionate Care of Carpinteria Initiative. *Advisory Board for the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center and the 93013 Fund *Trustee SB County Board of Ed Her accolades include Hospice of Santa Barbara Ambassador Hero Award, Pacific Coast Business Times’s Top 50 Women in Business, Fighting Back Mentor of the Year, Community Hero Recognition from former County Superintendent of Schools Bill Cirone, and Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s Woman of Inspiration.