The Balanced Mind Foundation offers a range of volunteer opportunities both online and in our office (located in the Chicago area in Evanston, IL). No effort is too small to make a difference. If you are interested in one of the opportunities below, or would like to be kept in our database for future projects, please fill out our Volunteer Application Form and email it to nschiman@thebalancedmind.org so that we can find the best match for your skills, experience and interests.

Online Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteering with our online support programs is a great way to give back or pay it forward to help parents. It is also an excellent opportunity to sharpen existing skills, learn new ones and expand your knowledge about mood disorders, treatments and interventions. Our mission is to help parents find the information, resources and support that they need to make the best decisions for their child’s care and treatment.  

• Online Support Groups:  Primary responsibilities are to guide parents to resources, ensure that participants follow the support group rules and guidelines so that our groups are safe and supportive, and stay current with posts to verify that questions have been answered by group members or volunteers. 
• Forums:  Primary responsibilities are to respond to message board posts, direct parents to resources within the The Balanced Mind Foundation website as well as elsewhere, review posts to ensure they meet message board guidelines, and alert the appropriate The Balanced Mind Foundation staff of any problems or concerns. Volunteers will be matched with message boards that best utilize their skills, training and experience.
• Family Response Team:  Provide one on one support by responding to emails and phone calls from parents, teens and young adults. Many are facing a new diagnosis, or are facing specific challenges relating to education, medications, locating clinicians, or just needing to know that they are not alone.  
• Chat Rooms:  Cover one or more scheduled chat sessions to provide guidance and support for parents and caregivers. Monitor conversations to ensure that members are welcome, encouraged to participate, steered to accurate and appropriate resources and that chat room rules and guidelines are followed.

Qualifications

Prospective volunteers should have 3 or more months of active experience on the The Balanced Mind Foundation forums, support groups, chat rooms or general use of our website and have strong communications skills, a solid working knowledge of pediatric bipolar disorder and treatments and familiarity with the The Balanced Mind Foundation website.

Training is provided. Please contact Nanci Schiman, nschiman@thebalancedmind.org. 

If you are undecided about where you would like to help out, and would like us to match your interests with The Balanced Mind Foundation's needs, please send a note to info@thebalancedmind.org. Briefly describe your background and skills and your interests in working with us. We may ask for references.

Our need for volunteers varies from month to month. Whether we find a match for you right away or not, we appreciate your offer and will keep you in mind. If you can spare just a couple of hours a week or can make a larger commitment, we invite you to join our volunteer network. You can use your current skills and learn new ones, make new friends, and help other families. We know, from our own experience, that it can be deeply satisfying and empowering to turn one's hard earned experience into valuable and compassionate assistance, advice and advocacy.

For Chicago-area The Balanced Mind Foundation volunteer opportunities, please click here.

Welcome to The Balanced Mind Foundation!