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.

AIDS Walk Boston is a community fundraising event that takes place on the first Sunday of June each…read moreyear. 100% of the proceeds of this event go to benefit the programs and services of AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts. (http://www.yelp.com/biz/aids-action-committee-of-massachusetts-boston#hrid:dt3GuDomElwu82P0u1dPhg/query:aids%20action) AIDS Action's mission is to stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic by preventing new infections and optimizing the health of those already living with this disease. You can help AAC achieve their mission by walking, running (yes, there is a run, too!), or volunteering for AIDS Walk Boston! Sunday, June 1st, 2008 will mark the 23rd annual AIDS Walk Boston. Each year, approximately 15,000 community members "from all walks of life" come out to show their support, raise awareness, and honor and remember those we have lost. Plus, it's a fun way to spend a spring day with your family and friends! The Walk route is a scenic 10K (6.2 mile) route through Boston, Brookline, and Cambridge. Afterward, you'll be treated to free food, information booths, and live enterainment as part of the post-Walk Wellness Festival. What's not to love? Okay, so now that you have all the basic information, I should mention that I work for AIDS Action Committee, specifically on the Walk. Being behind the scenes on this event has only made me more passionate about the cause. The services we are providing are bettering the lives of people every day, and would not be possible without the funds raised by the Walk. 26 years after AIDS was first "discovered" we still do not have a cure-- but AIDS is preventable! I continue to walk and support this event out of the hope that someday, we will no longer have to. Need more incentives? Raise $100 and get an AIDS Walk Boston "green" tote bag Raise $300 and get an AIDS Walk 2008 t-shirt Raise $1,000 and get a hooded rain jacket and become a member of the Extra Mile Club. Yelp team, anyone? You can register online at www.aidswalkboston.org or call the Walk line at 617-424-WALK. Now let's all cross our fingers for a beautiful, sunny day on June 1st!

There's a lot of feel-goodery that transpires at your charity walk: the camaraderie, the awesome…read morefeeling of accomplishment that swells the heart with other people's donations, the free samples of anything from chocolate covered peanut butter cookies to flavored creamer to condoms. Let's get it started. A few thousand people gather to walk six miles or run three, and this year, I opted for the latter. The staff and volunteers are so genuinely supportive that I guarantee, at least once, you'll think someone's coming in for a hug. They're not, but you'll swear they are. The event is large, but for the most part, there's not a lout going down at home base. A few speakers peppered the crowd with commentary about how much HIV/AIDS suck (preach!), and there were samples from the aforementioned-plus-a-handful-of-others at the billed Wellness Festival. For activities, plan on spending a bulk of your time walking. Or running, like us. The course is paved and pleasant, sending us down the scorching asphalt of Storrow to swing back along the Esplanade's waterfront. Relaxing, scenic and the staggering of the runners by time made for practically zero congestion along the way. Only one water stop and tucked away progress markers might spurn the hardcore, but it's a charity run by criminy. Felt that way, until we hit the finish and were corralled into Athleta rows for micro-accurate race times. Raise, run and roll around if your now-endless supply of disposable toothbrushes, half-eaten Boloco and Hint water you snagged from the freebie tent. It's a Sunday well spent.

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

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.

I agreed to be a Loader. A Loader, I was told, had to have the ability to lift at least 50-70…read morepounds for three hours. Naturally, I saw this as a challenge, and I accepted. The Greater Boston Food bank employs 14,500 volunteers and provides 19.5 million meals to 320,000 people in New England annually, not just Boston. Volunteers allow the GBFB to defer nearly $600,000 in payroll costs. Wow. Volunteers help in many ways, but mainly by inspecting, sorting and re-packing food at the Roxbury warehouse. Here is what my team accomplished in an afternoon shift: . Number of volunteers: 43 . Total pounds of food sorted: 10,412 (Ten Thousand Pounds!) . Total pounds of food salvaged: 8,330 . Pounds of food sorted per volunteer: 194 . Meals made possible per volunteer: 149 . Total meals made possible by NAIOP volunteers: 6,407 There are many ways to help. You can donate money. You can donate food. You can volunteer for a less physically demanding job. Just do something.

If you're looking for a place to volunteer, this is it. Good for singles or groups. Call ahead,…read moresign in, get ready to sort. Huge new clean place used to sort donated food. It's awesome. You get a rundown on food safety, what to look for, how the process works, then you're off to the main room to sort. It's actually kinda fun. And the facility is nice and new so it's definitely safe and good. Bonus - they feed you expired candy and crap after you're done! Yay!?

There are a lot of places you can choose to volunteer with in the Boston area. There's various…read morewebsites that will put you in touch with finding the organization just right for you. I was looking for something to do for the holidays and stumbled across Little Brothers. During the holiday season there's an incredible outpouring of help so you've got to get in on the holiday volunteer work a few weeks in advance. While there's never a shortage of soup kitchens and shelters that need people Little Brothers does something a bit different. First of all they primarily only do work with the elderly. During the Thanksgiving holiday I decided I'd help out to bring meals for the elderly. When I got to their event location at Northeastern I sat through a quick orientation. I learned that their motto is "flowers before food". You're not just providing a hot meal to an elder you're sitting with them for a while and talking to someone who might not have anyone visiting them during the holidays. Sure the food is good but I got the sense that the socializing with them was just as important. After I finished people were lined up according to which neighborhood they wanted an elder from and someone provided me a name and a map. The Little Brothers coordinators were also excellent with providing exact directions to where I needed to go and understanding that I didn't have a car so the location had to be T accessible. My Thanksgivings was a bust as my elder had surprisingly went out for Thanksgiving. But I tried again during Christmas and gave a bit of my time to a very nice old Russian couple who couldn't go anywhere for the holidays. It was a pleasure having some tea and a chat with people who were very happy and grateful for some company. Do note that Little Brothers does have need for volunteers year round and not just the holidays but if you're in need of something different than the clique homeless soup kitchen then consider helping out here. You can do what I call 'Adopt an elder' where you make a yearly commitment to spend I think 2 hours a week with an elder. You can also volunteer to chauffeur a group of people to a community event and drive them back to their home at the end. There's many different ways you can help the elderly and Little Brothers is an organization that really cares about the work they do.

I have to thank my cousin Brad for introducing me to Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly…read more Their staff and volunteers are wonderful and super-organized. I've been serving holiday meals and gifts to their 'extended family' who stay at there homes either because they may have no family with whom to share holidays or are unable to leave their homes or choose to stay at home. I have met, visited and re-visited several elders in Boston and always gain a lot from them at each visit. It is a lot of fun to do these visits and stay in touch with them. Michelle gives an excellent description of the services offered by Little Brothers - Friends of the Elderly and they have a very dynamic and informative web site. Check it out and have a great year ahead!

I am thankful for the hard work performed by the entire staff to allow seniors with medical issues…read moreto eat. The Driver(s) are incredibly reliable, empathetic and helpful. Nutrition Services listen, make suggestions and are willing to make menus changes when I need extra help. The food is good and the portion sizes are huge. Without this service Id still be buying, and waiting, whatever I can afford, not necessarily health conscious decisions. If I had one suggestion re: Community Servings Id ask for menus medically tailored for IBD, softer, or pureed food easy to digest. Otherwise, 6 Stars. ​

very kind and accommodating as they can be to address individuals needs. I am grateful to have…read morehad the service while I needed it. Thank you

The various art shows are wonderful and the classes are great. There's even a Gallery Gift shop…read morethat's open during the shows with handmade items like stained glass, ceramics, jewelry, wood and more. Plus there's free parking!

Right now, you can go to the Arts & Crafts Society to get your fix of handmade woodwork, pottery,…read morescarves, shirts, table runners, bottle stoppers, purses, jewelry boxes, vases, decorative plates, spoon rests, earrings, necklaces, watercolor paintings, and... I think that's about it. This month, the members have exhibited their wares - and everything's available for a very fair price. Perfect for getting that little "New England gift" for a family member. The staff is really friendly and talkative, asking lots of questions and giving you advice on how to make your own homemade things. Also, classes are available in everything from jewelry making to ceramics (hand building AND wheel throwing!), woodworking to knitting. Very nice, and perfect for those with too much energy.