Innisfree Village Volunteer Application: Part 1

Innisfree Village is seeking individuals interested in joining our lifesharing community as residential volunteers. Volunteers commit to spending a year living and working alongside adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, whom we refer to as coworkers.

Each volunteer lives in a family-style home with a small group of coworkers and one or more fellow volunteers. Together, they share household responsibilities and support coworkers with daily living tasks, including personal care, home upkeep, and recreational activities.

Volunteers also engage with coworkers in therapeutic workstations and take part in a variety of community events and programs across our beautiful 550-acre farm in Crozet, Virginia.

Please carefully read the following information before completing the application form. 

1. Take a few moments to familiarize yourself with the volunteer information packet. This information gives a more extensive overview of the residential volunteer opportunity, its responsibilities, and our community's goal of lifesharing. 

2. Please have the following items available before beginning the application: 

• An electronic version of your resume/CV (If you do not have a resume or CV, space is provided below to share these details)
• A cover letter (optional)
• A recent photo of yourself (Format should be either .jpeg or .png)

3. As our work supports individuals with disabilities, prospective applicants must undergo a criminal background check as part of the application process. All applicants can review and challenge the factual accuracy of a result before action is taken to exclude the applicant from the position.

4. Innisfree does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or military status, in any of its activities or operations.

5. The Volunteer application comes in 2 parts. After an initial review of your information, if you are selected to proceed, you will receive Part 2 to complete.

6. Please be aware that, as part of our collaborative decision-making process, the information you provide in your application will be shared with our volunteers and staff. This allows them to offer input and feedback, ensuring that our decisions reflect the collective wisdom and values of our community.

If you have any questions about the materials or the application, please contact Julie Freeman-Mullins, our Volunteer Recruitment Coordinator, at julie@innisfreevillage.org.

Thank you! The Team at Innisfree Village

Note about your application: If you would like to save your progress and come back to your application at another time, please click on the save button at the bottom of the current page you are completing. It will allow you to receive an email that returns you to the most up-to-date version of your application. Jotform will ask you about creating an account. You can simply click on "Skip Create An Account" and it will send you to a screen for entering your email.  Enter your email address, click send, and then check your inbox for confirmation. You must return to the link in the email in order to enter your application at the place you stopped. If you have issues with this process, please contact us at info@innisfreevillage.org. 

1. We welcome families to apply (accompanying children under 18 do not need to apply), however, we generally review these applications on a case-by-case basis, keeping in mind if we have availability in the village as well as determining the appropriate balance between family life and volunteer responsibilities. Because bringing families with children into the community has a bit more complexity involved, applicants are encouraged to share as much as they feel comfortable sharing about their family in the application so that Innisfree can get to know the family dynamics as well as possible. 

2. Please note that when applying with a partner or spouse, both individuals must complete the application process independently. This ensures that both applicants provide the necessary personal information, background, and relevant details for our review process. Completing separate applications ensures a comprehensive evaluation of both individuals, while also considering the couple's joint circumstances. 

To learn more about our family application process, please read our guidelines here. 

The United States immigration services require that all international Innisfree volunteers have a B1/B2 non-immigrant visa to travel to the United States for a period of service in our community. Please answer the following questions about your current visa status. Before proceeding, please review the current eligibility requirements for international candidates here.

Additional note: It is the responsibility of the volunteer to finance any costs in acquiring the B1/B2 visa. Innisfree provides guidance throughout the visa application process, as well as providing documents for the visa interview that specify the volunteer position and the Innisfree mission. 

Volunteering at Innisfree Village is a wonderful way to be part of our community, but it does require strong English speaking and understanding skills. You’ll be communicating with adults who have intellectual and developmental disabilities, some of whom may have limited speech or unique ways of expressing themselves, so it’s very important that you can understand their needs and provide the right support.

We ask that you be honest about your English skills. While we value a willingness to learn, volunteering at Innisfree is not intended as a program to improve English—you’ll need to already be able to communicate effectively in English to succeed in this role. Your English ability will be considered carefully as part of the application process to make sure you can have a meaningful and successful volunteer experience.

Please answer the following questions to indicate your level of English fluency.

Basic – you can communicate on simple topics or know some phrases in this language.

Conversational – you can communicate on everyday topics with minor grammar or vocabulary mistakes but you can’t write in this language.

Fluent – you have the ability to express any idea without hesitation, with good vocabulary and grammar; people understand you easily. Both your spoken and written skills are good.

Please upload a clear and recent portrait-style photo to your application. This photo should show your face clearly and be suitable for identification purposes. Please do not put any filters on your photo. 

Why do we request a photo?

We request a photo in the residential volunteer application to help us establish a personal connection with applicants. As we seek individuals to join our close-knit community, it's important for us to visualize and begin to know each potential volunteer. Additionally, our community members are actively involved in the application process, and a photo helps them connect a face to your application, fostering a more informed and inclusive decision-making process.

While not required, we encourage you to submit a cover letter with your application. This is an excellent opportunity to share more about your experiences, motivations, and why you feel you would be a great fit for our community. If you choose to include one, it will help us get to know you even better, but please know that it is entirely optional.