2025 Summer Games

Special Olympics MA 

Date/Time(s):

Saturday, June 7:

• Volunteer registration opens at 6:45 a.m. 
• Competition begins at 8 a.m. 
• Law Enforcement Cruiser Convoy arrives at Harvard at 11:30 a.m.  

Sunday, June 8:

• Volunteer registration opens at 6:45 a.m. 
• Competition resumes at 8 a.m. 
• Competition ends at 3 p.m. 

Location: Harvard Athletic Complex, 65 N Harvard Street, Boston.

Ages: All ages are welcome and encouraged to volunteer when accompanied by an adult.

Time Commitment: Varies, most shifts are two hours.

Special Olympics Massachusetts Summer Games are hosted every June in Boston. It serves as the season-ending state tournament for our spring sports: Swimming, Power Lifting, Tennis, Track & Field, and Volleyball. Special Olympics Massachusetts is always looking for enthusiastic volunteers to deliver sports to the 12,000+ athletes with intellectual disabilities who participate in our programming. This is the largest sporting event of the year, and we rely on approximately 1,400 volunteers to plan and execute this flagship event. Volunteer roles are wonderful opportunities to support, cheer on, encourage, and congratulate the athletes as they compete and showcase all of their hard work and training. 

Contact: Please email volunteer@specialolympicsma.org. Registration is available online. Scroll down to find the volunteer opportunity you are interested in and follow the registration prompts.

www.specialolympicsma.org

Lemonade Days

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation

Date/Time: Sunday, June 1 through Monday, June 30.

Location: Your own location.

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation is on a mission to change the lives of children with cancer through funding impactful research, raising awareness, supporting families, and empowering everyone to help cure childhood cancer. Every year, supporters from all over set up stands and events to raise money and awareness for pediatric cancer research. Pick any day (or days) in June to participate and help make this year the biggest Lemonade Days yet. Register your lemonade stand today and make every cup count toward cures. Click here to learn more.

Contact: 866.333.1213, TakeAStand@AlexsLemonade.org. Registration is available online.

alexslemonade.org

2025 Walk to Cure Arthritis 

Arthritis Foundation

Date/Time: Sunday, June 8.

• Volunteer arrival at 7:30 a.m.
• Registration begins at 9 a.m.
• The walk starts at 10:30 a.m.

Location: Christian Herter Park, 1175 Soldiers Field Road, Allston.

Ages: All ages are welcome to participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Don't miss the 2025 Walk to Cure Arthritis! The Walk to Cure Arthritis is the Arthritis Foundation's nationwide signature event that unites communities across the country to put an end to arthritis. The walk route is a 1.2-mile loop along the Charles River. We aren't just helping the millions of people with arthritis to live better; we're charting the course to a cure. Be part of honoring the 54 million Americans battling arthritis. It's easy to participate. Register online today and start fundraising! This is a dog-friendly event, so feel free to bring your leashed dog along. Music, food, and festivities will ensure that this is a fun-filled day! Learn more here. 

If you are interested in volunteering on Sunday, June 8 at Herter Park in Boston, please register here. Please register as a “volunteer” so you can be added to our list for the day. Volunteers are needed at registration, kids zone, floaters and cheering, as well as set up and clean up support. If folks are interested in volunteering, but have limitations, please email us for accommodations.

Contact: Hannah Hergenrather, hhergenrather@arthritis.org. 781-312-9635. Please register online before the event. 

www.arthritis.org

Community Cleanup and Lynn Mural Tour

SPUR Community Northshore and Beyond Walls

Date/Time: Saturday, June 28, 9 a.m.

Location: Beyond Walls, 18 Mount Vernon Street, Lynn.

Ages: All ages are welcome with a parent chaperone.

Time Commitment: Two hours.

Join SPUR and our partners at Beyond Walls on Saturday, June 28 to pick up litter around downtown Lynn while learning about the neighborhood's murals and the muralists who come from all over the world to create them!

We'll start our morning at the Beyond Walls office with bagels and coffee then we'll take our trashbags to the streets guided by the Beyond Walls staff.

Contact: info@spurnorthshore.org, 781.451.7787. Learn more and sign up here.

www.spurcommunity.org

The Longest Day

Alzheimer’s Association

Date/Time: Friday, June 20.

Location: Your home or community.

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

The Longest Day coincides with the day with the most light, the summer solstice. On June 20, people from across the world will fight the darkness of Alzheimer’s disease through a fundraising activity of their choice. Use your creativity and passion to raise funds and awareness for the care, support, and research efforts of the Alzheimer’s Association. From basketball to baking and card games to crafts, there's an activity for everyone! Plus, nearly any fundraising activity can be done at home or online. Click here for a variety of creative fundraising project ideas!

Contact: TLD@alz.org. Registration is available online.

alz.org/thelongestday

Go Camo Care Package Collection

Soldier’s Angels

Date/Time: Soldiers’ Angels now sends care packages all year, which means you can participate in hosting or supporting Go Camo at any time!

Location: If you’re collecting items or purchasing items locally, once you have completed the Intent to Donate Form, you can ship all of your items to our headquarters in San Antonio.

Ship your collected items to:

Soldiers’ Angels Go Camo

2895 NE Loop 410, Suite 107

San Antonio, Texas 78218

Ages: Everyone can participate.

Time Commitment: Varies.

The mission of Soldiers’ Angels is to provide aid, comfort, and resources to the military, veterans, and their families. The Go Camo Care Package Collection helps Soldiers’ Angels collect the top-requested care package items throughout the year as well as financial donations to help offset the cost of shipping the care packages! Soldiers’ Angels sends thousands of care packages to deployed individuals every year. Your family can help by collecting and donating items for care packages including hygiene and personal care items, snack care items, and downtime items. Click here and scroll down for the complete list of items needed.

Contact: inkind@soldiersangels.org.

https://soldiersangels.org/

Boston Harbor Islands Stewardship Saturdays

National Park Service

Date/Time: Every Saturday during the summer. The ferry departs at 9 a.m. and volunteers return at 2:30 or 3 p.m..

Location: Boston Harbor Islands - location varies per event, focusing on five primary properties. The ferry locations are listed on the registration page.

Ages: Families with children seven years old and older are welcome to participate. Teens 14 years old or older may volunteer without a chaperone. If intending to have people under 18 participate, the adult must email the contact person below for registration.

Time Commitment: Six hours.

If you like to get your hands dirty and make a significant impact in your community, then our Stewardship programs are for you. These are volunteer opportunities where you work alongside park staff to restore and enhance ecosystems and landscapes across the Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park. You will learn to identify and remove invasive species, keeping our coastal habitats from transforming into invasive plant thickets. More details on Stewardship Saturdays may be found here. 

What to wear: Long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, closed-toe shoes, and layers for the weather. Conditions can be unpredictable so please monitor the weather in the days leading up to the event and dress appropriately.

What to bring: Bring a lunch and a reusable water bottle. Sunscreen and a hat are always recommended. Tools, gloves, and PPE will be provided. The event will run rain or shine, however, may be canceled due to severe weather.

Work consists of natural or cultural resource field stewardship. Tasks may include data collection, clearing vegetation, debris, and/or trash, consolidating cut material into bags or piles, carrying materials, planting, trail clearing, and/or light maintenance. Work may be conducted in extreme heat or cold. Children may also complete projects at home and turn their projects into a park ranger to get their Junior Park Ranger Badge at any of the Boston Harbor Islands. Junior Park Ranger info may be found here.

Contact: Lindsay Ashley, lindsay_ashley@nps.gov. Program destinations are subject to change based on field conditions. Registration is available online. If you are looking to volunteer with a group larger than 7, please reach out to the contact directly. Even in small groups, every participant must register individually. Registration is required for all events. We do not permit walk-ups. 

https://www.bostonharborislands.org/

Donation Collection Drive/Donation Sorting, Organizing 

Grad Bag Boston Chapter

Date/Time: Ongoing through July 15. In-person volunteering is available through July 30, Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. through 2 p.m. 

Location: In-person volunteering will be held at Temple Shalom, 175 Temple Street, West Newton. Collection drives may be held in your community. 

Ages: Everyone can donate items. 

Time Commitment: Varies. We're happy for all volunteers to help for any amount of time that works - stop by for an hour or two - we appreciate your help!

Grad Bag’s mission is twofold: to support underserved college-bound students and to advance sustainability. Grad Bag provides a more equitable transition to college by collecting, refreshing, and repackaging lightly used dorm room essentials for redistribution to incoming students in need. 

Start a collection drive in your community! The following items are greatly needed:

• Twin and twin XL sheets, blankets, and comforters.
• Power strips.
• Hangers.
• Plastic storage container.
• Laundry baskets/bags.
• Over the door hooks. 

We will be collecting items through July 15 and would welcome receiving donated items.

Contact: Katrina Yolen, katrina@gradbag.org. Please contact Katrina to make arrangements to drop off your items or to volunteer for in-person sorting and organizing

www.gradbag.org

Kitchen Volunteers

Community Servings

Date/Time: Weekdays, 9 a.m.–noon, 1–4 p.m., and 4–7 p.m.

Location: Community Servings, 179 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain. We have parking available on-site if you are traveling by car. We are located close to the Stony Brook stop on the MBTA Orange Line if you are coming by public transportation.

Ages: Teens 13 years and older can volunteer with a parent or guardian signature. If you’ve never volunteered in our kitchen before, you will be given an orientation before the start of your shift.

Time Commitment: Three hours.

Community Servings’ mission is to actively engage the community to provide scratch-made medically tailored meals to individuals and their families experiencing critical or chronic illness and nutrition insecurity. Volunteers can expect to help with tasks like peeling and chopping vegetables, portioning and packaging food, and packing meal bags for delivery to our clients.

Dress Code

• Long-sleeved shirt.
• Shoes that completely cover the foot (like sneakers).
• Long pants without rips or tears or a full-length skirt.
• Hairnets, aprons, and gloves will be provided on-site.

To volunteer, you must feel 100% healthy and be free of any symptoms of illness, including a cough, fever, chills, body aches, chest congestion, shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, or diarrhea. Masks are no longer required. To learn more about our mission, please visit, www.servings.org/.

Contact: Stacey Terlik, sterlik@servings.org. To sign up for a shift, please visit our volunteer opportunity website. 

www.servings.org/

Gardening/Harvesting Help

Spur Community Roots Garden

Date/Time: Ongoing. Planting is on June 7.

Location: Spur Community Roots Garden, Saint Andrews Church, Lafayette Street, Marblehead.

Ages: All ages are welcome with a parent chaperone.

Time Commitment: Varies.

Our SPUR Community Roots garden benefits area food pantries and community programs. Our garden includes over 40 garden beds in a 3,000 square foot space and is a tangible way to bridge the gap for those who may have barriers accessing healthy food. Thank you to all of the volunteers who are helping us move towards our goal of growing nearly 1,000 pounds of fresh produce for households experiencing food insecurity in 2025! There are lots of opportunities to help with watering, weeding, harvesting, and delivering throughout the growing season! Whether you are experienced in gardening or a beginner, all abilities are welcome and our Garden Chairs would be happy to set up a time to meet you in the garden. Interested in becoming a garden volunteer? Whether you join us just once or stay for the whole growing season, everyone is welcome in the Community Roots Garden!

Contact: blamoreau@spurnorthshore.org, 781.451.7787, Learn more and sign up here.

www.spurcommunity.org