Our Volunteer Leaders support our mission of building a world of belonging through leading our week-long and modified programs. Volunteer Leaders work on building communities in our regional locations, and welcoming new participants to PALS! All Volunteer Leaders are required to submit a volunteer application.

In 2025, the Volunteer Leader roles are:

-Program Lead
-Team Lead
-Support Lead
-Medical Lead
-Medical Volunteer
-Media Volunteer

Learn more about the different volunteer leadership roles HERE.

Yes! Each of our volunteer leadership roles caters to specific interests, strengths, and commitment levels. We encourage volunteers to seek the roles that they see best fit! Learn more about the different volunteer leadership roles HERE.

-At least 18 years of age by the start of your program
-Complete the PALS leadership application
-Complete an interview with a PALS staff member and fully understand role requirements
-Accept the role and complete the necessary volunteer agreement forms
-Review the specific leadership role documents in their entirety
-Contact Participants prior to the program as necessary
-Receive and complete all PALS volunteer staff training
-Attend your program in its entirety!

Each Volunteer Leadership role requires a good amount of time, energy, and effort both leading up to the program and while on-site. Below is a breakdown of time commitments per role:

-Program Lead: This is a part-time volunteer position, with an expectation of 10-15 hours per week from February to the start of the camp session.

Program Leads are required to fully commit their time during the 10-day camp session (Friday - following Saturday) and attend the Leadership Summit.

-Team Lead: This is a part-time volunteer position, with an expectation of 2 hours per week from April to the start of the camp session. Team Leads are required to fully commit their time during the 10-day overnight camp session (Friday - following Saturday).

-Support Lead: Support Leads are required to fully commit their time during the 10-day camp session (Friday - following Saturday). Accommodations can be made for individuals who cannot commit their time to the entirety of the program week.

-Medical Lead & Volunteer: Medical Leads are required to fully commit their time during the 10-day camp session (Friday - following Saturday). We recognize not all Licensed Medical Professionals can commit to that timeframe. As a result, accommodations can be made for individuals who cannot commit to the entirety of the program week but can commit in a shortened capacity.

-Media Volunteers: Media Volunteers are required to fully commit their time during the 7-day camp session (Sunday - following Saturday). Accommodations can be made for individuals who cannot commit their time to the entirety of the program week.

Our Medical Leads must be qualified with licensure to practice and prescribe in the program’s state, including MD, DO, NP, PA, and RN. Medical Leads stay on-site during the entirety of the week of camp to support participants, distribute medication, and assess all safety and health concerns.

Our Medical Volunteers work alongside the Medical Lead to provide medical, behavioral, or other support to the program. These individuals must have a valid First-Aid/CPR/AED certification and be a qualified CNA, LPN, EMT, PA, OT, PT, or any other clinical qualifications. Medical Volunteers may also be medical students or MD, NP, or RN with out-of-state licensure.

If you have a skill or specialization that you think could help PALS, contact our team at support@palsprograms.org

Volunteer Leadership applications for summer 2025 will open on December 1, 2024!

Our application to be a Volunteer Leader will open on December 1st and we invite you to apply as soon as it officially opens! After you complete the Volunteer Leader application, a PALS Staff member will be in contact with you to set up your 30-minute interview. We want to get to know you, your leadership experience, and answer any questions you may have! If you have attended a PALS Program in the past, you will still be asked to interview! Our Volunteer Leaders often change roles from season to season and we want to reconnect with everyone! PALS Staff will then reach out within a few weeks after your interview to update you on your application status and next steps.

There are no costs for Leaders to volunteer with PALS. Everything including room, board, trips, food, and activities is covered. The only cost for Peers is travel to and from the program at the start and end, though PALS offers travel scholarships and does not want cost to be a barrier to anyone's participation.

Our programs take place on college campuses across the country. We have 10 regions in which we focus our programming.

Specific locations for the 2025 season are coming soon!

For 7 days and 6 nights, PALS participants engage in unique on-campus activities, explore the local sights, and experience life on a college campus – all the while building transformative, lifelong friendships and learning the true meaning of inclusion. Click here to view a sample schedule.

For our modified 21+ programs, participants arrive on Wednesday and stay through Sunday. We still engage in three days of off-campus activities as well as unique on-campus fun!

We typically do not encourage peers to attend more than one program, as we want to share this experience with as many unique individuals as possible. However, we will assess peers attending more than one program on a case-by-case basis.

Each camp location has a camp-specific page filled with details! Once you are enrolled in a program, we will send you the link and password. On this page you will find general details about your program and closer to your program it will also list schedule and pairings.

It takes many people and months of planning to make our programs happen. We ask that once you have committed to your spot this summer, you do not cancel. However, we understand that unavoidable circumstances may make it difficult to attend. In that case, please let the PALS Staff know as soon as possible. We highly encourage you to fill your spot with a new Peer Volunteer if possible so camp can run with the same number of Staff as planned.

Vaccination

PALS strongly recommends all participants are fully up to date with COVID vaccinations, per CDC guidelines. Research and data continue to show that COVID vaccines reduce the severity of symptoms, which is especially important for those individuals with Down syndrome who can be considered a high-risk population with compromised immune systems. We encourage all PALS families to review this resource prepared by Dr. Brian Skotko and the Massachusetts General Hospital to learn more about the research related to COVID and individuals with Down syndrome.

Note: PALS continues to require all other vaccinations to be up-to-date for participants in PALS programs, especially TDAP and Meningococcal.

Testing

At this time, PALS does not have a testing requirement for 2025 summer programs.

Please note that these policies may be updated at any time.

At every program, all medications, vitamins, and supplements will be collected by the Medical Team or PALS staff for secure storage. This includes all medications (prescription or over-the-counter), and any vitamins or supplements that will be taken during the program. Volunteer Leaders will be able to access their medications as needed by touching base with the Medical Team on-site.

*ALL MEDICATIONS, VITAMINS, AND SUPPLEMENTS MUST BE IN THE ORIGINAL CONTAINER* In summer 2025, we will not accept any medications, vitamins, or supplements that do not meet these requirements.

Yes, for summer in-person programs, all participants must submit a physician’s examination that is dated within one year prior to the program start date.

Teams are made up of four of five pairs of participants and are led by a highly trained Team Lead. Teams are based on age primarily, and then we consider similar factors to those considered when making pairs in order to build balanced teams. All of our teams are all gender.

“Dorm room” = space where one or more individual beds are located.

“Quadruple room” = space where four individual beds are located.

“Suite” = larger space with a common area and several dorm rooms leading off from it. Suites typically also have at least one private bathroom/shower area.

Include rooming based on pairings, pairings based on preferences in CD, likes and dislikes, age, etc

In the CampDoc forms completed before camp, every participant (Partner and Peer) has the opportunity to indicate their preferences relating to the gender of the person with whom they will be sharing a dorm room. PALS will respect these choices and only place individuals in dorm rooms with other participants who align with the gender identity/identities of individuals selected in these forms. Note that there may be times when suites with separate dorm rooms with locking doors and private bathrooms are shared by people of different genders.

Volunteer Leaders will never share a dorm room with participants. However, in rare cases, volunteer leaders may share a suite or quadruple room with at least two participants.

Yes! PALS will verify up to 100 hours of community service. You can email support@palsprograms.org after your program to request verification.