WANTED: Volunteers To Cuddle And Nurture Babies At Adoption Agencies

February 19, 2016

Newborns around the country need your cuddles and love!

Adoption agencies in many states are searching for temporary caregivers to nurture newborn babies as they await adoption.

The little bundles of joy need some TLC during the first few weeks of their life, and there is currently a shortage of volunteers.

"Agencies are not exactly the best funded today, so volunteers are more important probably than they have ever been," Adam Pertman, president of the National Center on Adoption and Permanency, told ABC News. "All agencies over the years have certainly needed volunteers but … the need has grown. Volunteers have become more and more essential."

Interim care provider programs, like Spence-Chapin's, are looking for volunteers to cuddle newborns in onsite nurseries or take care of an infant at their homes for two to four weeks.

#tbt 1 week ago...couldn't do this work without our Interim Care Providers! Could you provide interim care? #family pic.twitter.com/hlZ010V8pC

— Spence-Chapin (@SpenceChapinSvc) January 21, 2016

Joan Jaeger, vice president of outreach and communications for Adoption Learning Partners, told ABC that visiting the nursery to give infants some love is their most popular volunteer activity.

"Everyone loves holding newborn babies," Jaeger said. "Newborns benefit so much from the one-on-one care."

To find an adoption agency near you that needs help, try searching for "interim care infants" or something similar.