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Virginia Department of Corrections — Public Safety First

Volunteering

The Volunteers Role

Volunteers play a significant role within the Department of Corrections. They assist in the areas of religion, substance abuse, support groups and counseling, life skills, family life programs, case management and transition programs. Volunteer opportunities exist within prison facilities and community-based correctional programs as well.

Volunteer Services

The services of volunteers are an indispensable resource for our criminal justice system. The vast majority of incarcerated offenders will eventually re-enter the community upon the completion of their sentences. Crime and delinquency are tremendous burdens on the community - both in the costs related to law enforcement and corrections, and in terms of human suffering. By supplementing the work of Department of Corrections employees, volunteers help to stretch our tax dollars. Each year, volunteers donate more than one million dollars worth of their valuable time to the Department - hours that otherwise might be paid for by taxpayers.

Over the past four fiscal years, the Department of Corrections utilized an average of about 4,000 regular and occasional service volunteers. These volunteers donated an average of over 100,000 hours of service per year. The overall value of goods and services donated by Department of Corrections volunteers averaged about $1,000,000 per year.

Commitment to Volunteerism

The Department of Corrections is committed to enhancing, promoting and creating a supportive environment for the utilization of volunteers within prison facilities and community-based correctional programs. The Department is equally committed to developing and implementing methods to engage community involvement in support of the Department's initiatives and goals.

Contact Information

For more information about volunteering with the Department of Corrections, please contact the volunteer coordinator
at a particular institution or field unit see contact listing), or contact:

Application for Volunteer Services

Applications for Volunteer Services are found under "Volunteering" in the Forms section.