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 2026, the Volunteer Leader roles are:

-Program Lead
-Team Lead
-Support Lead
-Medical Lead
-Medical Assistant
-Media Lead
-Media Assistant

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 the following time commitment:

• February-April: Up to 5-7 hours/week

• April-Program Week: Up to 8-15 hours/week.

This time includes planning camp schedules, attending trainings—including a required in-person 3 day 2 night Leadership Summit in March—and bi-weekly meetings with PALS Staff.

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

-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 & Assistant: This is a part-time volunteer position, with an expectation of 5-7 hours total leading up to camp. This time includes online training, team meetings/cals, and connecting with participants. Medical Leads and Assistants 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 hold First Aid and CPR/AED certifications, along with one of the following credentials: MD, DO, NP, PA, RN, or LPN with appropriate state licensure and clinical experience. 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 Assistants work alongside the Medical Lead to provide medical, behavioral, or other support to the program. Medical Assistants must have a current First Aid and CPR/AED certifications and one of the following: CNA, LPN, EMT, PA, OT, PT, medical student, or other relevant clinical qualifications. Individuals with an MD, NP, or RN from another state are also eligible.

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

Our application to be a Volunteer Leader will open on December 1.

Please note: Applications to be a volunteer Program Lead close on December 31.

Our application to be a Volunteer Leader will open on December 1.

After you complete the Volunteer Leader application, you will be prompted to sign up for a interview with a member of PALS Staff. These interviews may be group interviews or 1:1 interviews. 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 Volunteer Leaders to volunteer with PALS. Everything including room, board, trips, food, and activities is covered.

The only cost for Volunteer Leaders is travel to and from the program. PALS offers travel scholarships for travel to the nearest program and never wants cost to be a barrier to participation.

Don’t fear! Keep an eye on your email — we’ll reach out to you if a spot becomes available. There is often movement on the waitlist, so if possible, please keep your camp week open as long as you can. PALS staff will contact you immediately if a space opens up.

PALS recommends that volunteers do not delay submitting their application to attend camp in order to snag a spot!

Our programs take place on college campuses across the country. We have 4 regions in which we focus our programming—Mid-Atlantic, Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast.

Summer 2026 dates and locations will be announced in November.

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 volunteers to attend more than one program, as we want to share this experience with as many unique individuals as possible. However, we will assess volunteers 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.

In the event that a Volunteer Leader needing to cancel their enrolled program, please email PALS Staff at support@palsprograms.org as soon as you can with the reason for your cancellation. 

Because our program model relies heavily on our Volunteer Leaders and the support they provide for our participants, last-minute cancellations make it difficult to adjust rosters and pairings after summer has already underway.

For this reason, cancellations made after June 1 will incur a $50 cancellation fee to help cover program costs.

PALS can support gluten free, dairy free, vegan and vegetarian diets. If you have other dietary requirements, please reach out to support@palsprograms.org to discuss. 

Please note that PALS does not prepare any food in-house and so all of the meals served at PALS are provided by outside caterers and restaurants. This means that, while we communicate requirements to all vendors, we cannot absolutely guarantee that meals are free from the top nine allergens or from cross contamination with these allergens. If your dietary requirements mean you are sensitive to cross contamination, please reach out to support@palsprograms.org to discuss.

At every weeklong program, all medications, vitamins, and supplements will be collected by the Medical Team or PALS staff for secure storage. Participants will be able to access their medication at the appropriate time. The Medical Team will support the administration.

At weeklong programs, PALS will only accept medication with a prescription or other evidence from a medical professional that there is a medical indication for the participant taking a medication at camp. This means that over-the-counter vitamins, supplements, or as-needed medications without a prescription or note from a licensed prescriber cannot remain on-site or will be stored with medical staff but not administered. 

Medications must be in their original container with prescription information, or in a dose pack with prescription information from a pharmacy (example: SimpleDose from CVS, AccuPac, or MedPack).

At 21+ modified programs, participants are responsible for administering and storing their own medications. Medications may be brought in any container that would work best—original pill bottles, personal pill organizer, etc. If medications are not in their original containers, we ask that you include identifying information so we can confirm what each medication is (helpful if a pill is dropped or misplaced).

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 mixed 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.