So, I transferred out of MassArt after my first year of college. I still like the school, but it…read morewasn't right for me. First for the good. Cheap tuition, especially if you're in-state. Cool campus, like a mix of different architectural styles. Interesting people. I made a lot of friends and had a lot of fun. Interesting classes. Other cool stuff, like international exchange programs, iron pouring, you name it. Heck, I learned how to throw pots by hanging out on the ceramics floor outside of class. I genuinely enjoyed my time there and miss it. But there were good reasons why I left. At the end of the day, this is a school, not a summer camp. MassArt lags behind in more technically inclined disciplines, or anything in the field of entertainment. The student postgrad employment rate in chosen fields is... abysmal. Like, half the people there want to be concept artists or key artists or animators for games and film, but most of the professors in those subject areas don't seem to have a lot of recent experience working in their fields or industries. What's being taught puts students years, if not decades behind. I still give it 4 stars because it's a great place and there are many opportunities if you're motivated, but it's really a better school if you're a fine artist/craftsman than someone who wants to go into entertainment like I did.

The Starbucks cafe is now open to the public . I have put the pictures below of where the entry…read moreis. The staff is super friendly .

I work in the non-profit sector so volunteering is my job. Whenever I've needed to find some…read morereliable, hard working, up to do anything people... I turn to this meetup group, and I'm never let down. It's so great to have a go-to bunch of people, some of them perfect strangers, that are so willing to lend a helping hand without wanting anything in return. These individuals volunteer solely because they can. So, if you have some spare time... check them out... there is always something to help out at and there is quite a variety of things to choose from!

Great group! There's no commitment beyond the one-time volunteering events you can sign up for when…read moreyou want to on meetup.com or through their website. You get to meet some pretty nice and cool people. Plus, they have a wide array of events, so there's something for everyone. There's also social gatherings from time to time, to connect with the people you volunteer with. Well worth it!

This location seems to be one the better ones, but the school management tends to have a…read moremini-corporate feeling, with little flexibility for situations outside policy. The Centre Street location in JP is less attractive, with classrooms packed into the ground level floor and almost no indoor play area, a problem in winter. There are better options in JP.

We selected Pine Village after a lot of research. It was important that our son continue to learn…read morea second language but even more important that he be in an environment where teachers are supported and love what they do. I believe that when teachers work in a supportive setting that fosters their own creativity and professional development it strongly influences the learning culture for the children. This is definitely true at Pine Village. The teachers are always engaging and appear happy and connected, working well as a team. My son is greeted daily by every teacher and the director. Our son's teacher, Marcella, is creative, smart and develops firm boundaries but in a loving way. Pine Village is a strong community rich with culture, art and lots of love. I couldn't be happier with our choice!

Boston Cares pairs you up up with non profits of your choice at convenient times. It's really easy…read moreand excellent way to volunteer at places all around boston. I can't stress this enough how easy it is to volunteer. The diversity of organizations as well is superb. They offer everything from food kitchens to the symphony! To join they require a $30 one time registration fee and you must attend an online (zoom) orientations. Stress free all around, and such an amazing way to interact with our community!

Could some additional checking in and some additional outlets. I have over 200 hours and I call…read moreabout some jobs and no one ever called me back. Still a good resource

This organization has been in the area for a few years now. Everyone who helps volunteers and it's…read morerefreshing to always see so many people willing to give a couple of hours on the weekend to cook and feed the homeless a nice hot meal. For an organization that doesn't have an office and no full time staff they run a pretty tight outfit at this church. The kitchen managers know their stuff and have their system down. If you want to help there's always something you can do, be it anything from setting up tables to cooking the food. I've seen numerous groups participate, whether it be military, local university or small organizations there's never a lack of people willing to help out. Sometimes it's even too crowded. How many places have you helped out where they have too many volunteers? And what's best is that they don't force their volunteers to make any commitment. Which I think works to their advantage as to why they get so many people. You can come when you can, be it once a month or how ever frequently you can fit it into your schedule.

Volunteering at its easiest and most rewarding. Show up at 12:30, you're out by 4-ish and may have…read moreserved about 100 people a hot meal. Saturday's Bread and Sunday's Bread (SB) rock. You get to do everything from, set tables, get condiments ready, prepare food, cook it, serve the food, and then clean up. Not only are you directed the whole way on what to do, but you get to be a part of the whole meal preparation and delivery process and you get to own it. The best part about SB is that it is almost completely volunteer run. The team leaders are volunteers, the church has offered up its space and groups of people just show up to help. You can meet new people as well as see an immediate impact that volunteering provides. There is usually leftover food too, so you too can sit down and enjoy a late lunch if you feel inclined.

VERY surprised at the previous reviewer. This is a non profit organization that helps disrupt the…read morecycle of violence in urban neighborhoods by providing a safe, fun and educational environment for EVERYONE to participate in. Due to the advanced metrics of success the organization used, the Boston Globe, The New York Times and WBUR ran articles about the organization after they were gifted $12MM from Goldman Sachs since their methods show tangible benefit and results for the City and State. Blown away by the previous reviewer who clearly is mistaken. Roca offers job training, public services, education, counseling, assistance to young mothers and a whole host of other services. Next time you see a ROCA van, stop and wave, I am sure they will wave back.

Roca: Roca is an outcomes driven organization that helps very high risk young people ages 14 - 24…read moreget out of violence and poverty. Roca's innovative intervention model uses long-term relationships, education and employment programming, and organizational partnerships to achieve sustainable individual and community change. Need: America's young people are dying. They are dying quickly from guns and gangs and slowly from poverty and isolation. There are no services for young people who don't show up for programs, schools or jobs. These are the young people and young parents in gangs, in and out of state systems, using drugs and alcohol, poor, hungry, often homeless and/or suffering from the trauma of war. Reports show that nationally 10-15% of all young people ages 14-24 are disconnected from work and/or education. What Makes Roca Different: Roca is unique in the work that it does: 1) Roca seeks out the most difficult, challenging young people - the young people who are unwilling or unable to attend traditional programming, work or school; 2) Roca is an outcomes driven organization and has created a successful Intervention Model to change the lives of our young people and our communities; and 3) Roca works with systems to change how they work with those young people. WHAT WE DO: We connect very high risk young people to each other and adults by building positive and intensive relationships. Using these relationships and targeted programming (life skills, education and employment) Roca helps young people develop the necessary skills to move them towards economic independence and living out of harm's way. Roca teaches young people to get and keep jobs, creating businesses and other opportunities to allow for economic advancement. Roca's transitional employment model has been successful at working alongside union employees. Roca's model is showing results and generating national attention. Most recently, Roca received a $2.3M grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Pathways Out of Poverty Program - the only grant of its kind in the entire state of Massachusetts. Goals for the Future: For the most part, people think that these young people can't change their lives. Roca knows better. Roca is demonstrating success. Young people are changing their lives. Roca is at an early stage in demonstrating its intervention model as a solution to reducing violence and poverty. To do this, Roca has five strategies: 1. Demonstrate the Intervention Model for Very High-Risk Youth as evidence-based; 2. Build an infrastructure to create and expand transitional employment opportunities; 3. Replicate the Intervention Model for Very High-Risk Youth; 4. Implement a Knowledge Sharing, Advocacy, and Public Policy Agenda to share the model, develop a comprehensive system for supporting these young people and leverage funds; and, 5. Increase organizational capacity for scale, impact, and sustainability. Benefit: Roca's work makes significant changes in the lives of young people and communities. It is extremely cost-effective, investing an average of $5,000 for a transformational relationship per young person per year over 3-4 years (average of $7,000 - $12,600 per person for transitional employment per slot per year from which young people pay taxes), as compared with the alternative costs to the community, estimated by the Journal of Criminology to be between $250,000 and $2,000,000 in social and incarceration support over his/her lifetime.

I gave 2 starts because I believe in their mission but found the staff to be disorganized and…read moreunprofessional if not downright rude. I offered my time and services as a volunteer. I came to the center and interviewed with the volunteer manager. After the interview she left me with another volunteer so that I could tour the facility. And when I say she left me, I mean she LEFT me. Like didn't shake my hand (Actually, she never gave me a handshake at all which, again, I find unprofessional), offer any explanation as to what the next steps would be, walk me out, etc. I don't think she even said goodbye. She handed me off to the other volunteer, walked away, and that was the last I ever saw or heard from her again. After the tour both myself and the other volunteer were confused as to what to do next. I just stood there while the other volunteer went to the manager's office. She knocked twice but there was no response so, totally confused, I just left. Never heard back from the manager despite her initially telling me they needed consistent reliable volunteers. At the end of the interview I asked for reasonable accommodation for a disability and I wonder if that has something to do with her ghosting me. Either way I think it's an incredibly unprofessional way to represent the organization and a rude way to behave towards ANYONE who is offering to volunteer their time and energy. While I understand they are understaffed, there is no excuse to ignore basic protocol of professionalism. Ultimately I decided to volunteer elsewhere.

The Women's Center in Cambridge has lots of interesting free groups to attend. I have gone most…read morerecently to the Spanish/English conversation group and the singing class, and to a few others over the years. There is also yoga, sewing, beading, songwriting, healing through arts, discussion for survivors of child sexual abuse, women's narcotics anonymous, feminist book club, and lots more. Any woman can propose to set up and facilitate a group. The house, on Pleasant Street, indeed is a pleasant place to hang out, use the computer lab (there are plenty of computers) or the library, or prepare yourself a snack. You can meet other women from all walks of life. There is a small restful patio in back with a garden. And, what I particularly like, everything there is free! This is partly because most of the staff are volunteers. And it's only a few blocks from the Central Square MBTA station.

Volunteered here with One Brick and while it was kind of chaos at the start (putting the food in…read morethe appropriate boxes) it ended up going well and was nice to be able to directly see the impact that you're having. Overall you'll be sorting food then helping the people pick up the food that they want and figure out how much of each food item they can have.

I've been around a good deal of volunteer organizations in the greater Boston area. It breaks up my…read moredays when all I want to do is sleep in late and waste away in front of my computer playing games. Harvest Food Pantry is a small operation out of the Cambridgeport Baptist Church and it does it's best to serve poor in our neighborhood every first and third Saturday. I wake up (or at least try to) at 7am to get here for 9 in the morning. That in itself is a huge feat, mostly because as I said I'm lazy. But I really, do enjoy these volunteer opportunities as it makes me think I'm not being completely selfish with my free time. Usually, you come in the morning, let the volunteer at the front desk know you're here to help then you head down to the basement where there's never a shortage of things to do. I've been here with One Brick, Boston Cares also helps out here once and a while. But I've also been here by myself. You don't need to sign-up or register to help here, just try to get here on time and be ready to work. There is no commitment but, if you wanted to make one or do more than just Saturday help they've got other roles you can participate in. Anyways, after you sort food and bags and maybe some clothes you head up to the waiting area where all the people who came by for food are waiting. You then escort someone down to the basement who will then shop from the available food products available at the pantry. They've got a really good system setup and let people take food according to family size. During this time you're either carrying bags for the people shopping or downstairs restocking. It's all over pretty quick, usually it's an hour setting up, an hour helping the patrons and an hour breaking everything down. Now the reason for the 4 stars is because I think that because this is a volunteer run outlet sometimes the people working the administrative side forget to order stuff, like fruits and bread and this has happened on more than one occasion that I'd been here so that effects the families that need help more than my own volunteer experience but yeah there's room for improvement.