SERVICE & VOLUNTEER PROGRAM

Volunteer for 3-12 Months

For those interested in integrating yoga, meditation, and service into their daily routine, the Art of Living Retreat Center invites you to apply for a program that’s rich in outward giving and inner discovery. Seva is the yogic practice of selfless service. This practice is a gateway to deeper a connection with our community and its mission. Volunteers play a key role in our goal of providing a retreat center for guests to rest, rejuvenate, learn, and grow in a community of celebration and diversity.

We come to realize that the true measure of our lives is not how much we have gained for ourselves, but how much we have given. —Sri Sri Ravi Shankar

Testimonials

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The Specifics

Volunteers contribute at least 30 hours of service per week in the following fields:

  • Guest Services
  • Program Coordination
  • Shuttle Driving
  • Housekeeping
  • Administrative Support
  • Outreach
  • Culinary Assistance and Dining Services
  • Trails and Forestry
  • Organic Farm and Garden

When not doing service, volunteers engage in other activities such as yoga, meditation, breathwork, meditative chanting, hiking, and social staff/volunteer events.

Volunteer Role Descriptions

This role assists with office-related activities such as filing, emails, updating spreadsheets, communicating between team members, and keeping the space organized and clean.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Strong organizational and multitasking skills
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook)
  • Ability to maintain confidentiality and handle sensitive information with discretion
  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a professional, positive demeanor

Dining volunteers have the opportunity to help support our guests in their healing journey here at the Center. They are responsible for helping to serve the stellar vegetarian meals prepared by our dedicated Chefs and kitchen team. Duties may include greeting guests, restocking plates, cutlery, and food on the buffet line, and assisting in ensuring a delightful experience for our guests. If you enjoy serving others, this job may be for you.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Ability to stand on feet for long periods
  • Work well with a team or independently
  • Great communication skills
  • A willingness to take direction and work in a team environment
  • Display care and attention to detail
  • Positive outlook and abundant optimism
  • Customer service attitude
  • Ability to interact with guests to ensure a positive dining experience

This position entails coordinating venue setup and breakdown— including furniture arrangement and equipment setup—overseeing venue cleanliness and maintenance, and providing support during events.  Additionally, the role involves being on-call for event emergencies, providing necessary equipment to teachers and events, and walking guests to their events on the first night.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Previous experience in venue coordination, preferably in a hospitality or retreat center environment
  • Must be able to lift/carry 30 lbs
  • Strong organizational and multitasking skills, with meticulous attention to detail
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, building and maintaining positive relationships with clients, vendors, and team members
  • Proactive problem-solving abilities and the capacity to handle multiple tasks and priorities in a fast-paced environment
  • Knowledge of event planning, logistics, and vendor management
  • Experience in venue cleaning, set-up, and breakdown is essential

This role assists guests through the check-in and checkout process as well as answers in-person, online, or on-the-phone inquiries regarding the Center, room rates, and program information. These tasks include

  • Collecting necessary guest information (like contact details, exact dates of their stay, and payment methods)
  • Welcome guests upon their arrival and assign rooms
  • Provide information about the Center, available rooms, rates, and amenities
  • Respond to clients’ complaints in a timely and professional manner

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Previous work experience as a hotel front desk agent, receptionist, or similar role
  • Customer service attitude
  • Excellent communication and organizational skills

Garden Assistants help sustain our organic garden by

  • Supporting the Garden manager to carry out the vision of the garden
  • Helping to plant and care for the garden
  • Conducting daily garden tasks like watering, bug management, and weeding
  • Tilling the garden, adding soil and other nutrients.
  • Caring for our apple trees by applying mulch, augmenting soil, watering, etc.
  • Lovingly caring for the plants
  • Maintaining a clean garden area

Preferred Skills & Experience

  • Ability to work physically for several hours including carrying items, shoveling dirt, constructing fences, etc,
  • Starting plants from seed.
  • Ability to monitor health and care for plants, berries, and trees.
  • Knowledge of watering and feeding plants.
  • Ability to work with many personalities.
  • Trimming trees and shrubs a plus
  • Soil care and knowledge of organic fertilization are a plus.
  • Ability to compost.
  • Flexibility in scheduling,

This position manages a team growing organic vegetables for our Center. Responsibilities include,

  • Working with Lead Gardener and Kitchen Chef to carry out the vision of the garden
  • Setting up weekly garden meetings
  • Monitoring daily garden tasks like watering, bug management, and weeding
  • Tilling the garden and adding soil and other nutrients
  • Scheduling volunteers to work in the garden
  • Care and pruning of apple trees
  • Providing specific and general information regarding our various vendors and products
  • Ordering supplies
  • Lovingly caring for the plants
  • Maintaining a clean garden area
  • Inspiring the rest of the team to have a great time growing food!

Preferred Skills/Experience

  • Organizational skills: Setting up systems, writing proposals, and executing projects.
  • Ability to work with many personalities and inspire a team.
  • Experience starting plants from seed.
  • Ability to monitor health and care for plants, berries, and trees.
  • Knowledge of watering and feeding plants.
  • Soil care and knowledge of organic fertilization.
  • Ability to compost.
  • Flexibility in scheduling.
  • Trimming trees and shrubs a plus.

Kitchen volunteers have the opportunity to help our dedicated Chefs and kitchen team prepare stellar vegetarian meals and support our guests in their healing journey here at the retreat center. A good portion of this work is cutting vegetables and ensuring the kitchen is always clean and sanitized. You may find yourself assisting in the dish area, helping to support the Dining team, or caring for our small culinary garden just off of the kitchen. If you enjoy serving others, this job may be for you.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Ability to stand on feet for long periods
  • Work well with a team or independently
  • Great communication skills
  • A willingness to take direction and work in a team environment
  • Display care and Attention to detail
  • Positive outlook and abundant optimism
  • Customer service attitude
  • Ability to preform some small manual labor task (cut veggies)

This role assists the Outreach Team with events and relationship building. Responsibilities include travel to off-site events like yoga festivals and participation in on-site outreach events such as our community yoga and meditation classes. Additionally, this position helps organize and collect marketing leads, which include influencers, referral partners, and potential groups.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a professional demeanor
  • Exceptional verbal communication skills.
    Proficiency in Google Sheets/ Excel
  • Strong organizational skills
  • A positive attitude is key
  • Being a certified yoga teacher is a plus

This role includes video capture for social media content and other marketing needs. Additionally, we would like someone to take photos of the property, nature, events, and people while they are living at the Center.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Excellent interpersonal skills and a professional demeanor
  • Strong photography skills
  • Videography abilities
  • Organizational skills
  • A positive attitude is key
  • Adobe Premiere knowledge is a plus

Apply all principles of excellent retail guest service, including

  • Greeting and directing customers as needed
    completing sales and returns
  • Preparing products for travel
  • Providing specific and general information regarding our various vendors and products
    multi-tasking through both the retail shop portion and the café portion of the business
  • Maintaining visual merchandise displays by cleaning, restocking from backstock, noting and reporting depleted stock levels, and completing standard shop upkeep as needed
  • Working closely with shop management to receive merchandise and reconcile orders and invoices
  • Properly tag and label products, and prepare them for sale
  • Be constantly learning: new products, new vendors, new modalities of health and happiness
  • Having fun and being creative! The space is one of creativity and joy, the right associate will embrace it as it embraces them.


Preferred Skills/Experience

  • Experience as a retail sales associate
  • Computer literacy is a must, as are basic math skills; Shopify experience is a plus
  • Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
  • Desire to learn and convey information for holistic, natural, inspirational, and life-expanding products
  • Flexibility in scheduling
  • Ability to thrive in fast-paced environments and then shift easily into quiet task-focused work

Shuttle Drivers help our guests navigate their way around our property so they can focus on their retreat. If you like to meet new people and you enjoy driving, this opportunity may be for you.

Preferred Experience/Skills

  • Valid, Clean driver’s license
  • Comfort driving in all weather conditions
  • Customer service attitude
  • Able to take independent responsibility for work tasks
  • Outstanding people skills

Testimonials

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Inward Bound volunteers

Those committed to completing three months or more of the volunteer program may participate in an Art of Living Happiness Retreat; the fees for the program are waived. Also, the Meditation Retreat is available at a discounted rate to participants new to meditation.

Housing, Food, and Other Details

Housing and food are provided. Housing is shared in single-sex rooms. Each room has two beds, a bathroom, a desk, a chair, and a side table. The Center provides a wholesome diet of plant-based, vegetarian cuisine. If you have specific allergies, please indicate this on your application. The Center offers the chance to serve in a unique, inspirational environment that also offers a perfect setting to look deeper into one’s life.

How to Apply

We genuinely appreciate your patience and dedication to being a part of our volunteer team. We continuously process applications throughout the year.

  • Please apply using the online application form; there is a $25 application fee.
  • The nature of our center is movement and change. If possible, applications will be reviewed when submitted. At other times, it may take up to a month to review. We will contact you as soon as we are able.
  • Once connected the interviewing and placement process may also take 1–2 weeks. Please indicate the range of your availability on your application.
  • A minimum commitment period of three months is requested.

Sample Day for Volunteers

7:00 Daily Practice
8:00 Breakfast
9:30 Work Meeting/Work
12:30 pm Meditation
1:00 Lunch
1:45 Work
5:00 Break
6:00 Dinner
7:30 Kirtan and Meditation

Volunteers attend group practice to maximize their experience on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings. Duties may start and end at different times, or have a different rotation of on and off days, such as three days on one day off. Volunteers have two full days off from the schedule (usually Monday and Tuesday) weekly.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together to create meaningful experiences at the Art of Living Retreat Center.

 

Questions? Contact us at [email protected].

Group Inquiry Request

Group Inquiry Request