But that profile is changing, as young people who saw what it did for their grandparents or other relatives step up to do what they can to ease the final days of other dying patients. There are other factors, of course, including Internet-savvy outreach by the hospices (which advertise on websites like Craigslist) and community-service requirements at colleges and high schools.
Some hospices are even seeing a surge in teen volunteers. Teenagers account for 10 percent of the Hospice of the Florida Suncoast's 3,000 volunteers. At the largest hospice organization in New England, Beacon Hospice, the number of volunteers in their teens and 20s has risen nearly 80 percent in the past year.
For more information on becoming a hospice volunteer, see the HFA website.
