Volunteer Opportunities

GOTCHA, (Get Off the Corner Hanging Around) started in 2003 as an annual summer youth workforce development collaborative based in the Dudley Street, Uphams Corner and Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhoods of Roxbury and Dorchester with 150-250 teens working at 20-25 nonprofit organizations.

In 2008 GOTCHA launched its first year round program with youth working after school. Six of the organizations (Bird Street Community Center, Cape Verdean Community UNIDO, Bowdoin Street Health Center, Dorchester Bay EDC, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative and The City School) play a planning role (Planning Partners) and the remaining, which varies from year to year, are worksites for teens.

The 20-25 organizations or worksites represent a variety of non-profit organizations that work on community organizing, planning, advocacy, education, legal, health, human services and community development. The Planning Partners located in Roxbury and/or Dorchester all work with youth and families and are linked by their shared commitment to community building, youth leadership development and youth services.

A program of Catholic Charities Greater Boston, the Teen Center at St. Peter’s serves teens ages 15 to 19 from the Bowdoin/Geneva neighborhood of Dorchester. There are approximately 200 members of the Teen Center, with as many as 80 participating in educational or recreational activities daily. Through the center, adolescents of the mid-Dorchester corridor are provided with work opportunities, have access to various support services, and have a safe place to recreate. Work and activities aim to provide the skills necessary for academic success, while also increasing self-esteem and enhancing the perception of teens as a positive force in the community. Catholic Charities’ Teen Center at St. Peter’s is part of a unique collaboration with St. Peter’s School and the Bowdoin Street After-School Program. The three programs, all housed in St. Peter’s School, have worked together to serve the families of the Bowdoin Street neighborhood for five years.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay’s mission is to promote the healthy development of children through the nurturing of continuing, one-to-one friendships with caring, responsible adults, supported by trained professional staff. For more information please call 617-542-9090 or visit www.bbbsmb.org.

Centro del Cardenal is committed to providing young men and women, ages 14-20, with the opportunity to earn either a high school diploma or a GED in a nurturing environment that values and supports them.

In 2001, the Friends of Ronan Park (FoRP) was established under the premise that a park has the distinct ability to transform and rejuvenate a community, and should thus be nurtured and protected by everyone. Urban parks are particularly vital as they are the heart of so much daily activity for children and families. Conversely, if they are neglected, parks become a cancer that attacks the heart and spirit of a neighborhood. One of the goals of FoRP is to encourage usage of the park in constructive, creative and fun ways as well as build towards leaving a more permanent legacy that speaks directly to all who visit and use the park. Since the inception of FoRP, Ronan Park has witnessed success through events such as Shakespeare in the Park, park clean-ups, National Night Out, the annual Multicultural Festival, and more. A recent influx of new homeowners in the community surrounding Ronan Park has sparked an increased interest in revitalizing the park