SAN DIEGO — As California's COVID vaccine rollout continues to expand, the need for volunteers at hundreds of vaccination sites throughout the state is growing as well.
In response, the state is offering a major incentive to sign up to help: the chance to receive the shot yourself.
California is looking for both medical and non-medical volunteers, who can do anything from greeting and registering people, to translating for them.
In return, they could then qualify for the shot themselves as "community health workers."
"We're calling on all Californians to be part of the solution," said Josh Fryday, California's Chief Service Officer.
This call to volunteer at a vaccination site is one that North Park residents Carl and Maegan Kish have already answered.
"We just got really lucky," Carl Kish told News 8. "We had been checking for a couple of weeks. One afternoon I looked and saw spots had opened up."
They volunteered for a vaccination site operated by Sharp Healthcare.
This important volunteer work does not necessarily require a medical background. "If you're computer savvy, you could help people with registration or signing up to make an appointment," Maegan Kish said. "There are also people who are checking people into the lines."
It is volunteer work that they say was not only fun, but also fulfilling.
"It felt great," Carl said. "I mean, we helped disabled veterans through the whole process: sometimes you would literally walk someone through the entire thing and see them get their shot and then hang out with them in the monitoring area. And they were just deeply appreciative."
As an added bonus, they were also able to get their own vaccination shots as well through volunteering.
"We probably would have volunteered a few times without the incentive, but with the incentive there I think that that helps push a few more people over the edge to actually go and do that," Maegan added.
That's exactly what the state is now hoping for, by recently launching the "My Turn Volunteer" program, allowing residents 18 and over to volunteer at a vaccination site for a minimum four-hour shift.
Volunteers may have to return at a later date to get their shot, depending on how many available doses are on hand.
"So it will be up to the site where you volunteer to validate that you've completed the shift, you've done the work and that the site has enough vaccines to provide for the volunteer," Fryday said.
Carl and Maegan say their volunteer experience also provided them with a much-needed shot of optimism.
"This past year it's been really few and far between, so it was really nice to see how many people were there getting their shots and the enthusiasm from the volunteers," Maegan said.
For more information on signing up through the My Turn Volunteer program, click here.