One Brick is a perfect solution for professionals, young and old, that are looking to spend some…read moretime volunteering as their busy schedules allows, but also meet and socialize with others. Volunteer Events can be signed up in advance for a limited number of spots, but if you can't make an event and let them know, its not a big deal. They partner with some awesome charities and causes throughout Boston, including Room to Grow (an organization that helps babies during the first 3 years of life of families in poverty, so that they are more equipped to be successful in school), Cradles to Crayons (a non profit that looks to equip children age 0-12 of low-income families with essential items they need to thrive), as well as a host of other charities including Bikes Not Bombs, and the Roxbury and Cambridge food banks. They're events are listed on their website at boston.onebrick.org. However, some of the best events are the 5Ks and monthly volunteer socials. The Cambridge 5ks are a series of themed 5ks that Cambridge hosts, and throws a rocking party for after. Its a great volunteer experience, and party is great too. The monthly volunteer socials are generally held at a location accessible by the Boston MBTA, and are a great way to come and learn about One Brick, as well as eat some food, have a drink with a new friend, and socialize. Besides partnering with some great charities, One Brick also uses Event managers to communicate with you updates and details about the events as they approach. At the event the EM's are suppose to greet you before the event, and time willing, throw a quick little ice breaker so that everyone gets to know each other. After the volunteering is done, the EM's host a social somewhere local to the event, and we generally eat or have some drinks together. All the EM's I've met, including Dave, Graham, Kat, Deidre, Cristina, and Johnny have been extremely passionate about volunteering and very friendly. All in all, if you're looking to volunteer for a variety of causes and as your schedule allows and meet some pretty great people, I think One Brick is the place to be.

Are you a busy person looking to help out in the community when you can? Are you social (or trying…read moreto be) and would like to connect with others you wouldn't otherwise know? Enter One Brick Boston! The One Brick Boston calendar (http://boston.onebrick.org) is full of varied volunteer opportunities to satisfy many different interests. Events are timed in a way to fit into the schedules of working professionals, as they occur in the evenings or on the weekends. And for us commitment-phobes, there are no regular meeting or training requirements - just sign up for an event, show up on that day, and volunteer with cool people! And better yet: One Brick includes a social component to volunteering! After the majority of events, the One Brick Event Manager will invite the volunteers to an optional social (usually at a nearby bar), so they can continue getting to know each other. One Brick also hosts monthly volunteer socials at a different spot every month. Past socials have been held at Slumbrew's Brewery, American Fresh Assembly Row, Bantam Cider Tap Room, the Asgard, Dillon's, Highball Lounge, Howl at the Moon, Boston Beer Works, and the Lawn on D among others. One Brick is all about being involved in the community. They have partnerships with over 60 nonprofits as well as Slumbrew, Bantam Cider, and Cambridge 5K. At Highball Lounge, for every mini rubber duckie patrons add to their (crazy good) cocktails, a portion of the proceeds are donated to One Brick, so you can feel even better about drinking when you add #oneduckforonebrick (more details here: http://www.highballboston.com/promotions/one-duck-for-one-brick.htm). Trust me, guys, this organization really is the perfect mix! Try it out for yourself.

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

Yep, I'm behind Trish's 30 second stop light hip hop stretch. haha.. I was also the one doing the…read morevisualization techniques.. "this isn't rain.. it's ocean spray from a sandy beach somewhere tropical"... this year. People were definitely troopers this year trudging through the downpour. I was rocking the hoodie underneath a rain jacket underneath a poncho. Communication this year was definitely ON (or maybe it always was but it finally reached me). Volunteers received a hand out that had several important numbers of team leaders, police, and who to contact when someone was lost. They did try to keep me and my friend longer again but s'all good. Those looking to be walk marshals (helping people cross the street basically).. definitely work out a plan with your team members. The police were kind of hiding out while it was raining super hard so we had to direct traffic AND walkers. This can be especially tricky/dangerous since the traffic lights don't always correspond with the walk signals (DOH!).

If there's one thing you must do each year, it's to support Project Bread in what they do. Proceeds…read moreare given throughout the Greater Boston area through pantries, food banks, kitchens, school breakfast and lunch programs and more! Annually, they host the Walk for Hunger and has been going strong for 40 years. 20 miles with usually over 40,000 walkers despite weather conditions shows that we as a community can truly come together to make a difference for a great cause. Especially one you can relate with especially in these economic times, hunger is a strong thing. We forget every day that there are those less fortunate than ourselves that don't get to eat or eat poorly. There are those who never thought they'd be asking for assistance, now on the other side of the fence. If you haven't already joined in the fight against hunger. Please consider joining our team. Last year, Yelp and SBS joined forces to bring forth over $8500 raised and made it to one of the top teams. If you can't walk, consider cyber-walk, volunteer, or make a donation. * Although a side note, I only wish Project Bread would stop sending me all the paper mailings between annual reports to various newsletters. I'd much prefer if it was all electronic in my e-mail instead. It's such a waste of paper and postage. Top Organizations at the 2008 Walk # Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts - $47,846.99 # Raytheon - $41,254.67 # Arbella - $35,008.50 # Teradyne - $25,802.00 # Phillips Academy - $16,465.00 # EMC Corporation - $13,368.50 # MIT - $10,230.82 # St Andrew's Wellesley - $10,020.81 # Oak Middle School - $9,905.00 # The Self-Defense Institute (TSDI), Tewksbury - $9,491.00 # Citizens Bank of Massachusetts - $9,389.21 # Temple Israel Boston - $9,159.50 # Harvard University - $9,009.00 # Social Boston Sports & Yelp - $8,616.00 # Boston University - $7,505.14 # BCEC - $7,324.48 # Chestnut Hill School - $7,170.00 # Iron Mountain - $7,001.00 # Surg-Care/Surgi-Tech - $6,359.33 # MetLife Auto & Home - $6,214.00 Save the Date! The next Project Bread Walk for Hunger will be on Sunday, May 3, 2009.

I've volunteered here 3 times in last 4 or so months and it's truly incredible. I need to sign up…read morefor more! You get grouped off to different stations (shoes, big sort, sizing, or building outfits, etc.), and by the end of the two hour shift, the staff is able to summarize everything each station completed. You can see and hear the immediate impact you're making on children at risk of clothing insecurity in the Greater Boston Area. It was super easy signing up online as a volunteer group, and I couldn't recommend it more.

What an amazing place that carbs about the community. Was here for volunteer work and quality…read morematters when it came to separating items for donations. I like that care is put into this organization. Donations that were damaged, stained, smelled, etc were trashed. Just because people get donations doesn't mean the deserve poor quality items. I truly enjoyed volunteering here and would definitely do it again. Please donate any new or gently used goods here. It helps people who need it.

I am very happy to have finished the 2009 Jimmy Fund Walk this past weekend in Boston. As another…read morereviewer has mentioned it offers the following distances: full bore marathon (26.2 M), half marathon, 5 miler, and a 3 mile option as well. The course itself is very scenic taking walkers through Newton, Wellesley, and finishing with the last mile and change passing Fenway, finally into Copley square (a cool place to finish your last mile when you need some steam). This was my second time walking the full marathon, and I highly recommend it to others. Another excellent thing about the Jimmy Fund walk is how they funnel the proceeds and contributions directly to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and do not chop it down with administrative fees. Walkers pay the admin/signup separately so that 100% of donations go directly to the charity. It is also very well organized, and the 700+ volunteers really help make the event happen. I was proud to be add my sister, Mother and Father to our team this year- just as my girlfriend and her family added me to their team 2 years ago. Even if you cannot walk, or volunteer, I urge you to sponsor a walker (me!). You can do so here: http://www.jimmyfundwalk.com/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=297511&lis=1&kntae297511=D898C44B2CC24AD49C63DA7AFB54B49D&supId=185253811

The Boston Marathon Jimmy Fund Walk is a great thing.. last year we raised over $5,500,00.00!!!!!!…read more 10 Brookline Pl houses the Jimmy Fund-Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Marathon Challenge head-quarters. I have been active with the Jimmy Fund for two year - one year as a volunteer for their office & along the route - last year I did the 1/2 marathon and raised over $3000. If you, a family member, friend, anyone you know has been effected by cancer (and I think we all have) this is a great thing to get involved in! This year they have even more walk route options.. of course the full 26.2 miles, 1/2 marathon of 13.1 miles, brand new 5 mile route, or the 3 mile route! There is also a brand new "virtual walker" program where even if you can't be there to walk with everyone on the date of the marathon, you can still fund-raise and talk a walk any time you choose at your own pace! Get involved!! http://www.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=224199

I did the Walk for Hunger this year and it was only 10 miles because of construction. I was sore at…read morethe end, but it is for a good cause and it felt good at the end!

The last time I did Walk for Hunger was when I was about 12ish years old and didn't make it past…read moreBoston College. However, this time I made it to 12 miles and I'm so proud of myself.....yet very sore! We started in Boston Common and made it before the Charles River checkpoint and the turnout was huge!! We couldn't have asked for a more better day because of how sunny and warm it was! The volunteers were very chipper and enthusiastic which is something I don't remember seeing last time I walked. I love that because it motivated me for sure. When we stopped off at the snack checkpoint behind the Home Depot at the Arsenal Mall, I was so glad. There were food trucks, free goodie snack bags, and free sandwiches that were given to us....how nice, right? I helped myself to a few of the cheese sandwiches and fried dough that was split between my boyfriend, sister, and I. Next year, I plan on walking the entire 20 miles flabbergasted or not!

I usually prefer to help individuals I know rather than organizations, but made a donation to…read morePan-Mass challenge as part of a program to get a discount on my auto insurance. The website wasn't entirely clear to me so I called and reached a helpful, pleasant, easy to understand representative in the United States. She explained the process and I received the acknowledgement promptly. However, I did not get the receipt and had to call back the next day for it. I think their systems could be automated and upgraded. The insurer applied the discount to my policy after I took the receipt to my agent. The discount was almost 3 times the minimum donation amount I made. If you have Mapfre insurance and live in Massachusetts check out this promotion.

Having just completed my fifth Pan-Mass Challenge last weekend, i'm taking some time out of my busy…read moreschedule of eating everything in sight to tell everyone how awesome an experience it is. First and foremost, it raises a ridiculous amount of money, 99% of which goes to The Jimmy Fund, a great cause that pretty much every Bostonian knows about already. The folks who run the PMC are thorough and efficient, and get the most out of everything and every cent that's donated to them. Besides that, it's a really great experience, whether you're riding or volunteering; this is the closest thing we have here to something like the Tour de France; not in that it's a competition, but that it's a traveling show that brings people across the state to roadsides, to the foot of their driveways, to their front lawns, from 6am on, to cheer on, entertain, and be entertained by thousands of riders of all speeds. Whether you're a fast rider, or just starting out, strangers on foot and on wheels will be exhorting you to climb the hill, and thanking you for doing it. Volunteers will be keeping you hydrated, fed, and pointed towards the same goal, and you'll have a good time doing it. It's not any kind of luxury vacation; you sleep in a tent or a barracks, you eat sandwiches and grilled food, and drink gatorade and beer. But with the right folks, it all tastes good. The sleep, well, you don't get a heck of a lot of that. With legs burning and a few choice profanities, you'll top the last hills out towards P-town, and roll in to deafening cheers. Drink some beers, ride the party boat. Get home, get some sleep, eat everything in sight. And mark down the sign-up date for next year.

Great Events, Great People, Promoting Awareness and Stirring up Research Funds!…read more The CF Foundation has a lot events - from celebrity pool tourney's, to Charity Walks, poker tournaments, to bike events. Events are year round and do not ask for much of your time or even money. The people in the office are awesome and super helpful. I just moved to the area, and when I was trying to get connected with the various charities I was a part of in Colorado, the CF was the most responsive and enthusiastic about my coming out east and joining in. They are not an in your face charity, which I greatly appreciate! They are just as happy with your time, not just after your money, which is a nice change from the norm. If you are looking to get involved - this is a great place to start!

Great team doing great work for a very worthy cause. Check into the annual xtreme hike!read more