May 2018 - Boston

 
Drop by the Farm and Get Your Hands Dirty for Hunger Relief
Community Harvest Program
 
Date/Time: Drop in Monday through Saturday, 9am - noon, now through September (except for holiday weekends)
 
Location: Brigham Hill Community Farm, 37 Wheeler Road, Grafton
 
Community Harvest Project is a nonprofit farm that engages volunteers to grow fresh fruits and vegetables to donate to those experiencing hunger throughout our community. Through our volunteer farming programs, education initiatives, and community partnerships, we bring thousands of community members together each year to improve access to healthy foods for individuals and families in need across Central and Eastern Massachusetts. The farm is a great place to help children understand how food is grown and instill the value of volunteering and helping others while impacting their awareness of hunger, nutrition, and food access. No gardening experience is necessary. Please wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty. Bring a water bottle, hat, sneakers, and sunscreen. All work is outdoors and, in the fields, harvest happens rain or shine, so please dress accordingly. Season length can vary due to the nature of farming, so check  Facebook for up to date openings and closings.
 
Ages: All ages are welcome. An adult must accompany children under 16.5
 
Time Commitment: Up to three hours per shift. Volunteer anytime Monday through Saturday, 9am - noon.
 
Contact: Wayne McAuliffe, wayne@community-harvest.org
www.community-harvest.org

 
 
Watertown Helps Out
Watertown Community Foundation
 
Date/Time: Saturday, May 5. The Kick-off event will run from 8:30 - 9:30am; individual project times vary during the day.
 
Location: The Kick-Off event will be at the Hosmer School Cafeteria, 1 Concord Rd, Watertown. Volunteer projects are located in various locations around Watertown.

Watertown Helps Out is an annual volunteer day organized by the Watertown Community Foundation. Light refreshments will be available at the Kick-Off Event as everyone fuels up for a day of helping out, meeting other volunteers, and talking about the work of WCF and the other organizations participating in Watertown Helps Out. Free T-shirts will be handed out to volunteers at the breakfast. If you'd like to wear your T-Shirt from a prior year, please do! If you can't make it to the kick-off event, you can go directly to the site of your volunteer project. We will try to have some spare T-shirts at each location for those who can't make it to the breakfast. After the kick-off event, volunteers will head out to help local organizations garden, paint, clean up, and more! The following activities allow children, as long as they are supervised by an adult:
  • Watertown Bike Path Cleanup
  • Historical Society of Watertown
  • Cunniff Elementary School
  • Operation American Soldier
  • Watertown Middle School
  • Town of Watertown-DPW
  • Watertown Health Center
  • Hatch Makerspace by the WFPL
  • Wayside Youth & Family Support Network
  • Vacation Garden School at Church of the Good Shepherd
  • Vocational Advancement Center (VAC)
  • Watertown Middle School Library
  • Trees for Watertown
  • Belmont Watertown United Methodist Church: 
Ages: There are several projects that are available for families with children of all ages.
 
Time Commitment: Varies by project
 
Contact: All volunteers must register online. If you have additional questions, email who-volunteer@watertownfoundation.org
 
 
Set up for The Walk to End Elder Isolation
FriendshipWorks
 
Date/Time: Saturday, May 19, 2 - 5pm
 
Location: Rogerson House, 434 Jamaicaway, Jamaica Plain. (Enter from Beaufort St.; use 30 Beaufort for GPS)

FriendshipWorks is a Boston nonprofit whose mission is to reduce social isolation, enhance quality of life, and preserve the dignity of older adults in Greater Boston. We accomplish this by recruiting and training volunteers of all ages, faiths, and backgrounds who provide friendship, advocacy, education, assistance, and emotional support. To prepare for our walk, we need to set up 200 chairs and 40 tables inside the tent. Then we will be making Arts & Crafts signs. We will provide the supplies to make signs for the bathrooms, Registration, water stop, etc. We also welcome you to join the walk the next day!

Ages: All ages are welcome. Children under 18 must be supervised by adults at all times.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: Julie Kaufmann, 617.482.1510 x121, events@fw4elders.org. Walk registration is available online.
www.fw4elders.org

 
 
The Walk to End Elder Isolation
FriendshipWorks
 
Date/Time: Sunday, May 20, 9:15am - 12:15pm
 
Location: Rogerson House, 434 Jamaicaway, Jamaica Plain. (Enter from Beaufort St.; use 30 Beaufort for GPS)

FriendshipWorks is a Boston nonprofit whose mission is to reduce social isolation, enhance quality of life, and preserve the dignity of older adults in Greater Boston. We accomplish this by recruiting and training volunteers of all ages, faiths, and backgrounds who provide friendship, advocacy, education, assistance, and emotional support. We are walking around Jamaica Pond as a fundraising walk. We need volunteers to run the water stops (handing out water and snacks), to stand at junctures and point people in the right direction, and to be cheerleaders.
 
Ages: All ages are welcome. Children under 18 must be supervised by adults at all times.

Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact:  Julie Kaufmann, 617.482.1510 x121, events@fw4elders.org.
www.crowdrise.com/walk4elders
 
 
Food Rescue Volunteers Needed
Rescuing Leftover Cuisine, Inc.
 
Date/Time: Varies
 
Location: Throughout Massachusetts

Rescuing Leftover Cuisine provides a volunteer platform to bridge the gap between surplus prepared food from businesses and local shelters and soup kitchens who give this food to those in need. Learn more by reading our Volunteer FAQ's.

SIGN UP INSTRUCTIONS:
  1. Visit: www.rescuingleftovercuisine.org/users/sign_up 
  2. Visit our Events Calendar to view Volunteer Opportunities in Boston, MA. Sign up for events that fit your schedule.
Ages: Whether you're 9 or 99, travel by 4 wheels, 2 wheels or 2 feet, you can volunteer! An adult must accompany children under age 14.
 
Time Commitment: An average event rescues 50 pounds of food, accommodates 40 meals, and takes 30-60 minutes
 
Contact: Dana Siles, New England Coordinator, Dana@RescuingLeftoverCuisine.org
www.rescuingleftovercuisine.org/MA

 
 
Mother's Day Walk For Peace
Louis D. Brown Peace Institute
 
Date/Time: Sunday, May 13, 5am - 2pm (flexible timing for different volunteer positions)
  • Day of Walk registration begins at 6 am
  • Opening remarks at 8 am
  • Walk begins at 8 am
Location: The walk has two starting points:
  • Town Field Park, Fields Corner, 1520 Dorchester Avenue, Dorchester (6.8 mile route)
  • Madison Park High School, 75 Malcolm X Blvd, Roxbury Crossing (3.1 mile route)
The walk ends at Boston City Hall.

The Mother's Day Walk for Peace is a celebration of our potential to create more peaceful communities. Every year families from across the state and region walk together toward peace because in unity, there is healing! The Mother's Day Walk for Peace is an annual fundraiser for families across the region to honor the lives of our loved ones who have been killed, celebrate the courage of community, and sustain the Peace Institute's programs and services. The Walk benefits the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute, a center of healing, teaching, and learning.  Over the past twenty-one years, the Mother's Day Walk has become a time-honored tradition when families of homicide victims can honor the memory of their loved ones and neighbors can commit to creating more peaceful communities. Every year thousands of people participate including survivors, allies, business owners, elected officials, providers, the faith community, and law enforcement. We would love to have families come and volunteer for the walk. Families can help out by being "cheerleaders" along the walk to encourage and direct our walkers or families can work at one of our tables handing out maps, buttons, flyers, and fun swag!

Ages: Everyone is welcome to participate.
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
Contact: Scott Mizrachi, Volunteer Coordinator, scott@ldbpeaceinstitute.org. Please fill out our online application and our Volunteer Coordinator will follow up with you.
www.mothersdaywalk4peace.orgwww.ldbpeaceinstitute.org/
 
 
Newton Kids PMC Bike Ride
PMC Kids Rides
 
Date/Time: Sunday, May 20, 8 - 11am
 
Location: 180 Wells Ave., Newton

The PMC is a 38-year-old cycling event that has raised over $500 million for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund to support cancer patients and medical staff working to eradicate this terrible disease. The PMC donates 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar directly to Dana-Farber and is the institute's largest single contributor, raising more than 52 percent of the annual revenue at The Jimmy Fund. Adult riders bike one of 12 routes throughout Massachusetts annually during the first weekend of August. Building on that success, the PMC launched an extension of the event called the PMC Kids Ride. PMC Kids Rides are mini bike-a-thons that involve kids ages 2 to 15 in the PMC mission by providing them the opportunity to fight cancer just like adults. This is a great way to get kids involved in raising money for an amazing cause. There is a minimum $30 fundraising requirement, although we encourage riders to raise at least $50, if possible. Two-wheeled riders will zoom around a one-mile loop on Wells Avenue in Newton as many times as they can from 9 to 10am. The 3-wheeled and balance bike crowd will tear it up on a separate tot course. Be sure to stick around for the post-ride party starting at 10am. There will be food, face painting, bike decorating, raffles, and more .

Ages: The ride is for children ages 3 to 13. Teens 14 and older are welcome to volunteer at the event.
 
Time Commitment: Three hours
 
Contact: Christina Perez, cperezmail@yahoo.com. Registration for the ride is available online.
http://www.kids.pmc.org/newton.aspx
 
 
Explore Nature with a Scavenger Hunt
Doing Good Together
 
Date/Time: Anytime you can get outdoors with your family!
 
Location: Your local park or nature center

When children learn to appreciate and enjoy nature, they are more likely to grow into adults who value and protect our environment. You and your family can use Doing Good Together's printable Nature Scavenger Hunt checklist to liven up your next walk in the woods. Enjoy exploring nature as a family, invite friends along, or bring this activity to your scouts meeting, classroom, or community gathering. Check out Doing Good Together's Nature Scavenger Hunt project page for more ideas and reflection questions.

Ages: The whole family is welcome to participate
 
Time Commitment: Varies
 
Contact: mail@doinggoodtogether.org
www.doinggoodtogether.org
 
 
Celebrate Milestones This May!

Whether you are celebrating the graduation of a preschooler or college student - or any big moment in between - these milestone moments offer opportunities for sharing gifts that encourage kindness and giving. Visit our Shop Kind Vendor Page for our favorite gift-giving books. And for advice on tackling transitions (by kids and parents), revisit this post from our Blogger: www.doinggoodtogether.org/bhf/blog/masterful-transitions.

 

 

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This list was compiled by Doing Good Together™ (www.doinggoodtogether.org)
 When calling to volunteer for any of the opportunities listed above, please let the coordinator know you found it through this listing. You are encouraged to ask any questions you may have of the sponsoring organization before committing to a project.
Disclaimer: This list is provided as a service to families. Inclusion of organizations in this listing does not imply affiliation, endorsement or quality assurance on the part of Doing Good Together.™ Doing Good Together™ bears no responsibility whatsoever for the activities and actions of the listed organizations. 
                                                                            

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