Boston Volunteer Projects (Part One) October 1, 2010

The USA has a lot of great social programs for its residents and citizens. Run by NGOs, government agencies, and various non-profits, social programs thrive with help of volunteers. Boston is one of the most cosmopolitan and liberal cities in the U.S. and has hundreds of social programs run every year. Refugees and political asylums come to Boston from all over the world; their first goal is to learn English so they may get a job as soon as possible. Volunteers are needed to serve in the classrooms to help refugees with vocational English.

Help is also needed in working with low-income retired people who live their everyday life in the nursing home.

Refuge work

You will have access to an array of teaching tools, including computers for you to utilize on a one-on-one basis or in small or large groups. Your tasks may include teaching how to schedule an interview using the telephone, how to interview for a job, practicing customer service at the cash register or in a restaurant, or helping refugees search and apply for jobs online. 

Remember that it is very difficult for some refugees to assimilate to new culture without the knowledge of the English language. Their lack of the English language will not prevent refugees from getting jobs completely, but it definitely limits the kind of job they can get when they first arrive. Apply to volunteer at JVS.

Social Work with Elders

You will be working with elderly people in a low-income elderly residence where the oldest is 103 years old.   Some of the residents have no family, and it gets very lonely. Your responsibilities will be to entertain them, play games (bingo, word games, checkers, etc.), do arts and crafts, sing songs, make them feel less lonely, and perhaps have them share their life stories with you and vice versa. Find opportunities at the Little Sisters of the Poor.

Your City Cares Non-profit September 29, 2010

Boston Cares was founded in 1991 by six young adults who were determined to find a way to make community service a part of their busy lives. Like many of their friends, they wanted to become meaningfully involved in their communities but didn’t know how to get started. Plus, they worried their unpredictable schedules would not allow for the level of commitment organizations might require.

They worked together to find non-profit organizations that could utilize the help of volunteers on a flexible basis, with the goal of creating a calendar of volunteer opportunities to send out to their friends. And so, starting with a calendar of only 2 service projects, Boston Cares was launched. Today, Boston Cares’ volunteer opportunities exceed 200 projects each month.

Boston Cares offers a wide array of programs and opportunities that make it easy for you to volunteer no matter how busy your schedule is. In 2009, more than 23,000 Boston Cares volunteers contributed 64,000 hours to 180 non-profits in the Greater Boston area. Projects include:

- planting community gardens,
- serving meals to the homeless,
- cleaning parks,
- painting community centers,
- tutoring children,
- caring for sheltered animals,
- ushering at cultural performances,
- and much, much more.

In 1989, President George H.W. Bush invoked the vision of a Thousand Points of Light, a constellation of change agents that make our communities and democracy work. That vision to promote and cultivate volunteer engagement gave birth to a federally authorized, independent nonprofit entity called the Points of Light Foundation.

At about the same time, volunteers were gathering in living rooms and taverns in places like Atlanta and New York to create new ways for people to volunteer. This grassroots, entrepreneurial movement became known as Hands On Network and for almost, two decades these two organizations worked independently, alternatively collaborating and competing, to engage volunteers.

On August 1, 2007, Points of Light Foundation and Hands on Network decided to join forces and merged into a single organization with a shared vision and a shared set of goals.

The new organization, now called Points of Light Institute, is implementing a bold new strategy to create unprecedented scale and people-centered community impact through volunteerism and civic involvement.

US Largest Volunteer Organization September 28, 2010

Red Cross is the nation’s largest humanitarian organization led by volunteers (900,000), who comprise 96% of American Red Cross workforce. One out of 43 Americans is a Red Cross supporter. In 2006 the organization celebrated its 125th anniversary.

Red Cross is led by its president and CEO, who reports to the Board of Governors (BOG). There are 50 Board of Governors, all volunteers, who convene 4 times a year to set  policy for the entire organization. The Chairman of the American Red Cross is appointed by the President of the United States. Red Cross is a non-profit organization which is not funded by the government. There are 800 chapters in the country. Red Cross’s major services include: Biomedical (blood collection), Service to the Armed forces, Health and Safety, Disaster and International.

The American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay is headquartered in Cambridge and has locations in Boston, Brockton, Fall River, Haverhill, New Bedford, Peabody, Quincy, and Waltham that serve as local sites for community programs, volunteer recruitment, and disaster preparedness and response.

To find open volunteer opportunities please go to the Red Cross website. Volunteers are needed in various areas, especially in Disaster relief. “Red Cross disaster relief focuses on meeting people’s immediate emergency disaster-caused needs. When a disaster threatens or strikes (fire, flood, etc.), the Red Cross provides shelter, food, and health and mental health services to address basic human needs”.

 All Red Cross disaster assistance is free and available to all, which is made possible by voluntary donations of time and money from the American people.

What makes Red Cross so successful in utilizing volunteers? They have a great website with many volunteer opportunities. Their response time is quick and they provide competitive training (in class and on-line), and they take volunteers year-round on flexible terms.

Join Women Who Care 2010

 

Date: Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Registration: 7:30 AM

Breakfast Program: 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Location: The Westin Copley Place