Volunteer Opportunities

Steppingstone Foundation, The

Mailing Address (if different than physical location): 

The Steppingstone Foundation Admission Department 155 Federal Street, Suite 800 Boston, MA 02110

Phone: 

617-423-6300

Email: 
Website: 
Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

After school and Summers, Saturdays 9-2. Family Information Meetings are held at a Dorchester location in October, November and December. See website for more information.

Mission: 

To develop and implement programs which prepare urban schoolchildren for educational opportunities that lead to college.

Location

155 Federal Stree
Boston, MA 02110
United States
Key Partners: 

Our key partners are the Boston public, parochial and charter schools from which our students come, and the placement schools we work with, incuding the three Boston public exam schools and a number of independent schools in the area.

How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

The Steppingstone Academy is a free, summer and after-school academic program that prepares motivated Boston schoolchildren who would not otherwise have the opportunity, to gain admission to and succeed at public exam and independent schools. The Steppingstone Academy offers 14 months and 26 months of tuition-free rigorous summer and after-school classes for current Boston schoolchildren in 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th grades. Families interested in applying attend a Family Information Meeting [held in October, November or December] - students are nominated by teachers, principals and community leaders [in 2009, due Friday, Dec. 4]

Key Programs Offered: 

Tutoring, mentoring, college counseling.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

People Making a Difference (PMD)

Mailing Address (if different than physical location): 

PO Box 120189 Dorchester, MA 02112

Phone: 

781-963-0373

Email: 
Website: 
Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

Everyday: 9am-9pm

Mission: 

PMD involves and engages people through meaningful, hands-on work that meets local needs by following a strong service ethic to: 1) Produce appreciable results while conserving recipients' limited resources, 2) Educate volunteers about broader issues, and 3) Bring people together to make a difference

Key Partners: 

105+ local charities who need hands-on assistance and/or training 12 and local companies who have community involvement programs

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance

Phone: 

(617) 822-9100

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9am-6pm

Mission: 

The Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) is a statewide non-profit group that works to encourage local and state government and businesses to invest more money in affordable housing. Since 1985, our organizing of tenants and home owners to voice concerns and break down barriers to affordable homeownership has resulted in 2.8 billion in investments. MAHA's research on important housing issues and our award winning homebuyer and homeowner classes for consumers in the Boston area, make the most of the programs MAHA has helped put in place.

Location

1803 Dorchester Avenue
Dorchester, MA 02124
United States
How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

People who take the classes come to buy homes

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
11/22/2010

Cape Verdean Community UNIDO

Mission: 

CVC UNIDO promotes the power and the potential of the Cape Verdean community. We advocate for, inform, and organize our community to reach its cultural, social, and economic well-being.

CVC UNIDO’s mission is to outreach to, inform, and organize the Cape Verdean community around issues of self-empowerment and social and economic development while advocating for and accessing resources that meet the self-identified needs of the community. This mission is accomplished by a consortium of native Cape Verdean and Cape Verdean-American individuals and representatives of local organizations that serve the Cape Verdean community in Greater Boston through a series of different programs and activities that reach out to families and youth. Goals are to bring the Cape Verdean community together to develop our collective power and strategize solutions to current challenges; to create opportunities, and an environment, where youth and families can gain tools to empower themselves and the community; to improve family cohesion through developing nurturing and parenting skills; and to assure services delivered by local, municipal, and state agencies are coordinated and culturally competent.

Location

492 Dudley Street
Roxbury, MA 02119
United States
Key Partners: 

Bird Street Community Center, City of Boston, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative (DSNI), Log School, Settlement House, MassCosh, Northeastern University, St. Patricks Church, Upham's Corner Health Center

Key Programs Offered: 

Cape Verdean Providers, GOTCHA- Youth Employment Collaboration, Boston Cape Verdean Student Association Collaboration, Jorge Fidalgo Memorial Soccer Challenge, Youth Empowerment Project- Youth Leadership Development, “Boston… Connecting Cultures” Mural Project, Dudley Youth Council, College Bound, The World Is My City, Recreational Activities, Adult ESOL Classes, Citizenship Classes, Dorchester Occupational Health Initiative, Fuel Assistance & Information & Referral Family Fun Days, and VALOR (Values Affecting Learning Our Roots)- Family Support Program.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Dorchester CARES Coalition for Families & Children, Inc.

Phone: 

(617) 474-1256

Fax: 

617-474-1261

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Mission: 

The mission of Dorchester CARES is to coordinate, develop and institutionalize comprehensive, community-based programs which will support families and prevent child abuse and neglect in target neighborhoods.

Location

200 Bowdoin Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
Key Partners: 

Department of Social Services, Department of Youth Services, as well as the 20+ Coalition member organizations serving families in Dorchester. Dorchester CARES and Family Nurturing Center of MA partner for the Dorchester CARES Family Resource Center, viewable on our guide here.

How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

Contact our Family Support Advocate, Remetrious Pena-Rogers at 617-474-1256 x231 for volunteer opportunities. Contact Lyndsey Firneno, Executive Director, to get involved in program development and planning and membership opportunities on the Board of Directors.

Key Programs Offered: 

See http://www.dcares.org/services/ for complete listing.

Dorchester Family Connections: Dorchester Family Connections seeks to enhance family functioning; promote positive parent-child interactions, healthy childhood growth and development, and healthy birth outcomes; prevent child abuse and neglect; encourage maximum parental educational attainment and economic self sufficiency; and reduce repeat teen pregnancies.

Family Nurturing Program: The Family Nurturing Programs use an interactive focus to help family members recognize and communicate the needs of self and others, handle stress and anger, enjoy warm interactions with other families and volunteers. These 15 sessions engage both children and families in mutual learning and understanding. The program meets once a week for 2,5 hours for 15 weeks. The program provides food and transportation and is free of charge.

Patch: In any given neighborhood, there are many people, groups, and agencies that have resources to help families in crisis. Patch works with a variety of families in a strength-based way to determine what the stresses in the family are and help the family decide how to address those stresses. The Patch Team works directly with families and is made up of the expertise and talent of: neighborhood residents and parents, Dorchester CARES staff and community agency partners, and Family Caseworkers and managers from the Department of Social Services (DSS) and the Department of Youth Services (DYS).

 

Contact: Brenda Mottram, Patch Supervisor
Department of Children and Families
617-822-4739 (Park St area office)
617-740-8744 ex 242 (Patch)
brenda.mottram@state.ma.us

Family Cooperative Program: The Family coop strengthens families by connecting them to their neighbors and to their community's resources. It is a place where families can get to know their neighbors and access needed resources. The program provides advocacy, information and referrals, Family Nurturing Program, drop in childcare, basic needs, food pantry, clothing exchange, support groups, Play groups and Welcome Baby. Contact person: Noemia Monteiro, Program Coordinator (e-mail: nmonteiro@dCARES.org)

Welcome Baby! Began in July of 1997 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, a community rich with cultural diversity and supportive of the economic challenges that families face every day, as a collaborative effort between Dorchester CARES, Family Nurturing Center of Massachusetts, Inc. and Connecting the Dots for Boston Tots. When a baby is born, a basket filled with gifts is lovingly assembled and delivered to the family by a specially trained neighborhood visitor. This friendly one-time visit offers not only a beautiful gift from the community but information about community resources and services that families may need.

Parent Leadership Development: Dorchester CARES Parent Leader Internships are open to parents in the community who have been active in CARES programming and have demonstrated leadership potential. The program is designed to provide a safe and nurturing learning environment for parents to learn develop skills. These skills include the basics of reading, writing and computer skills. Interns also gain experience in human services by working as advocates for families. Interns participate on the Patch team, Welcome Baby visits and Prevention team trainings, team building and family support conferencing meetings; convene and facilitate monthly Parent Advisory Board meetings; complete a twelve-hour "Parent as Leaders" training; and recruit then go participants for the next course. Internships range in duration from six to eighteen months according to need. Upon completion of internship, efforts are made to link parents to potential jobs in human services. For more information: Contact Janet Connors, Training Coordinator at Dorchester CARES at 617-474-1256 X271.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
01/28/2011

Greenwood Shalom Outreach Community, Inc.

Phone: 

(617) 282-1464

Fax: 

617-282-1573

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 10am-6pm Sunday: 8am-6pm

Mission: 

The mission of Greenwood Shalom Outreach Community, Inc is to work with children, parents, and young adults within the community to guide them in achieving, to the fullest extent possible, their God-given potential. Our goal is to provide a safe and nurturing environment where we will attend to the spiritual, educational, physical, and social needs of children, parents and young adults. We believe in working in partnership with parents and the community to better equip children, youth, and their families to become productive members of society and to encourage and support parents in their own personal growth and development.

Key Partners: 

Greenwood Memorial United Methodist Church

Key Programs Offered: 

Unlike some after-school programs, Greenwood Shalom moves well beyond simply homework assistance. Program participants are instructed in literacy and math skills based on Massachusetts' curriculum frameworks. Tutors teach components of the Children's Defense Fund's curriculum Freedom Schools. Further, they engage in "Harambee" gatherings, where community members entertain and inspire them. Monthly field trips are also important components to the children's after-school experience. To ensure the success of the program, Greenwood Shalom offers Parent Empowerment Seminars, advocates for children and their parents and teaches parents how to become more involved in their child's education. Recognizing the significance of studies on teacher-student ratios, Greenwood Shalom boasts a one-to-five staff-student ratio. This is accomplished through the use of high students as assistant tutors, volunteers from Sudbury United Methodist Church and Hearts for Boston. Greenwood's cultural sensitivity and our specialized work with children with special needs are a few of the key areas that set our after-school program apart from most others. For the 2005-6 school year, 30% of the children had disabilities. These children require a one-to-three (and sometimes one-to-one) staff-student ratio.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
11/30/2010

Close to Home Domestic Violence Prevention Initiative

Phone: 

(617) 929-5151

Email: 
Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9am-5pm Saturdays: varies

Mission: 

Close to Home is a resident-driven domestic violence prevention and community organizing campaign based in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. Close to Home aims to prevent domestic violence and get help for those affected by educating, supporting, and developing leadership from the existing network of friends, family and neighbors. Close to Home is also working to mobilize the neighborhood's civic life, through dialogue and problem solving, to address domestic violence as a priority community issue in Dorchester.

Location

Close to Home
42 Charles St. Suite A
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
Key Partners: 

Dorchester House Multi-Service Center, Tieng Xanh Voice, Inc., SCI Dorchester, Vietnamese American Initiative for Development, Inc. (Viet-AID), Vietnamese American Civic Association (VACA), All Dorchester Sports League, Boston Police Dept. District C-11, Fields Corner Community Network

How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

By contacting us and/or coming to our meetings and events.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
04/23/2010

Pope's Hill Neighborhood Association

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

Meets 4th Weds., 7-9PM, at 1 Worrell Street (Murphy School)

Mission: 

We the residents and friends of the Pope's Hill section of Dorchester, realizing the efficacious results of well organized planning and discussion pertinent to maintaining a properly balanced neighborhood, hereby join together to assist each other and act.

Location

Murphy School
1 Worrell Street
Dorchester, MA 02122
United States
Created: 
12/03/2010

Florida Corridor Neighborhood Association

Phone: 

(617) 822-8322

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

N/A

Mission: 

Working together to help build community partnerships for a better community:with safer and cleaner street, and a more pleasant and friendlier neighborhood.

Key Partners: 

Boston Police, City of Boston, State House, neighborhood watch groups, health centers, merchants

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
11/10/2010

This civic association is currently not meeting regularly.

Food Project, The

Phone: 

(617) 442-1322

Hours of operation (or meeting times & dates): 

M-F: 9am-5pm

Mission: 

To grow a thoughtful and productive community of youth and adults from diverse backgrounds who work together to build a sustainable food system. This community produces healthy food for residents of the city and suburbs, provides youth leadership opportunities. Most importantly, we strive to inspire and support others to create a change in their own communities.

Location

The Food Project - Dorchester Office
555 Dudley Street
Dorchester, MA 02125
United States
How to get involved/application guidelines and procedures: 

Donate, volunteer, buy our food, work on our farm, sign up for our mailing list, shop weekly at any of the Dorchester farmers' markets July through October.

Community Meeting Space Available: 

No

Created: 
11/02/2009
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