Emotional & Spiritual Grounding Checklist for Volunteers

Here’s a gentle, practical, and spiritually grounded checklist you can adapt for volunteers supporting communities experiencing disaster. It’s designed both to help volunteers tend to their own emotional/spiritual state and attend to the people they serve with presence and care.

Before Volunteering

• ☐ Check In with Yourself

  • How am I feeling right now (body, emotions, mind)?

  • Am I hydrated, fed, and rested enough to serve today?

  • Do I need a grounding practice (breath, prayer, stretch, mantra) before I begin?

• ☐ Set Intention

  • Why am I here?

  • What qualities do I want to embody (compassion, patience, steadiness)?

  • Can I release expectations and focus on presence over fixing?

While Volunteering

• ☐ Presence with Others

  • Am I listening more than I’m speaking?

  • Did I offer dignity, respect, and eye contact?

  • Am I letting silence be okay?

• ☐ Boundaries & Safety

  • Am I aware of my own limits (time, energy, emotion)?

  • Did I respect the physical and emotional boundaries of others?

  • Do I need to ask for support from another volunteer or leader?

• ☐ Spiritual Practices in Action

  • Take a pause for three deep breaths when stress rises.

  • Say (silently or aloud) a simple blessing: “May we be safe. May we be strong. May we have peace.”

  • Notice small signs of hope, resilience, or beauty—even in crisis.

After Volunteering

• ☐ Release & Reflect

  • Did I witness or carry anything heavy? Can I name it?

  • Who can I share my experience with (peer, counselor, group)?

  • Have I taken a moment to acknowledge my service and its impact?

• ☐ Care for the Body

  • Drink water, eat nourishing food, and rest.

  • Stretch, walk, or shake out tension.

• ☐ Spiritual Completion

  • Offer gratitude: to the people, the earth, Spirit, or simply to life.

  • Light a candle, wash your hands, or use another ritual to symbolically release the day.

  • Speak a prayer, mantra, or affirmation for healing of self and community.

Community Checkpoints

• ☐ Are we watching for signs of burnout, trauma, or overwhelm in one another?

• ☐ Do we have a buddy system to check in before/after shifts?

• ☐ Are we offering volunteers access to support (counseling, debriefs, rituals)?

• ☐ Are we balancing action with moments of rest, prayer, or song together?

✨ This checklist can be printed as a one-pager for quick use, or expanded into a ritual flow for beginning and ending shifts.