The largest Boston AmeriCorps Alums networking event of the year is coming up on February 23rd!
Join fellow alums, currently serving members and our friends at The Heller School for a fun night of socializing, networking and learning about how your service experience can be an accelerator towards an MBA or MPP degree.
Complimentary beer, wine and appetizers will be served.
For more details on the event and to register, please visit http://acalumshellerschoolnetworkingsocial2012.eventbrite.com/.
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http://www.youtube.com/acalumsboston
In an effort to get the word out that we are here to connect the AmeriCorps Alums in Boston, we have launched a new YouTube Channel and Video introducing the 2011-2012 Board and reasons for “reaching out” to us! If you still wear your AmeriCorps gear with pride, we want to meet you, hear your AmeriCorps story, and have you join us at our next service project, social networking, or professional development event! And of course, we want you to join us in advocating for AmeriCorps and launching the next generation of service! Please watch the video, share with your AmeriCorps Alums friends, and reach out to us soon! We hope you had a great day engaging in service in honor of Martin Luther King Jr!
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MLK Day is a Day on, not a Day off. Sign up for one of these awesome service opportunities. Be sure to wear AmeriCorps gear and connect with other Alums and current members at one of these great projects.
Service Opportunity # 1: Boston Cares and the City of Boston at The Curley School in Jamaica Plain
Background: On Monday, January 16th, 2012 Boston Cares partnered with the City of Boston, will be celebrating the life and legacy of MLK Jr. through various volunteer service opportunities. We will gather at the Curley School in Jamaica Plain and we ask that individuals, families, troops, clubs and other groups come out and help us honor MLK Jr. and make a positive difference in our community! Participants will be able to engage in different activities, like making scarves and decorating quilt squares, that will be benefiting agencies throughout the Boston Metro area, all the while learning more about various struggles for civil rights in America’s history. There will be a variety of different projects and a variety of people coming together to serve their communities and celebrate their differences.
This is a family friendly event, with two different shifts of service times to make volunteering flexible and fun! Space is limited so sign up soon! Please RSVP for a timeslot through the links below:
Service Opportunity # 2: Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries with Brandeis University serving many community-based programs throughout Waltham and Brighton
Background: Cooperative Metropolitan Ministries (CMM) is the greater Boston area’s oldest interfaith social justice network. Founded in 1966 by faith communities to address poverty, housing, and racial justice in Boston and to link urban and suburban congregations in just, transformative partnerships, CMM has tackled the most pressing issues facing our communities for 42 years, working to build Dr. King’s vision of Beloved Community for all citizens. Service will include direct service work with Waltham area youth programs, clearing neighborhood parks and playgrounds, rehabbing facilities of new immigrant agencies and service meals to homeless persons. The Day of Service will also include a community meal where volunteers participate in reflection on the life and teachings of Dr. King.
Date: Monday, January 16, 2012.
Time: The Day of Service starts with people gathering for registration and dialogue at 1PM. Volunteer service on campus and around greater-Boston will be from 2:30-4:30. From 5PM-6PM we will serve dinner and there will be time for reflection. from 6:30-8PM we will have the Brandeis Annual King Day Celebration with Rev. Liz Walker, music, spoken word, and much more!
Main Location: Brandeis University, 415 South St. Waltham MA (Upper Campus). We will have various projects and service work going on through groups at Brandeis.
Sub-sites: Volunteers will be bussed to sites off-campus. Those sites include Cradles to Crayons (155 North Beacon Street, Brighton, MA 02135), Community Day Center of Waltham (34 Alder Street, Waltham, MA 02454), Temple Beth Israel (25 Harvard St, Waltham, MA 02454), the Christ Church Waltham food pantry (750 Main St # 1, Waltham, MA), Home Suites Motel for the homeless (455 Totten Pond Rd, Waltham, MA 02451), and others.
Register here: http://mlkdayofinterfaithservice2012.eventbrite.com.
For more information, contact ifyi@coopmet.org or 617-244-3650 or visit www.coopmet.org.
Service Opportunity # 3: Northeastern University and Massachusetts Promise Fellowship featuring service projects and leadership development workshops
Date: January 16, 2012
Time: 9:00am – 3:30pm
Event starts with a program kick-off with keynote speakers and youth-led activities and then all volunteers will be split into groups and will rotate through a schedule of service projects and leadership development workshops. The day will end with a full-group reflection activity.
Service Projects will include:
Painting murals with the NU Mural Club that will hang in the Yawkey Boys and Girls Club and Patrick Kennedy Elementary School
Decorating Book Folders for Generations Incorporated
Planting produce with the NEU Sustainable Service Committee
Workshops will be facilitated by representatives from:
Peace Through Play (NEU Student Organization)
The Food Project Youth Interns
Massachusetts Promise Fellowship Non-Profit Leadership Institute
826 Boston
To receive more details and volunteer, contact Andrew Olson at A.Olson@neu.edu.
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Are you looking for a job? Interested in working alongside fellow AmeriCorps Alums? Want to make a difference in the lives of children? Check out the job openings at the Boys and Girls Club of Middlesex County!
The Boys and Girls Clubs of Middlesex County, an agency serving Somerville, Medford, Cambridge and Everett MA is currently hiring for a number of positions.
Open Positions:
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Friday, November 4, 2011 was a special day in Massachusetts. It was AmeriCorps Opening Day, the day when more than 1,400 AmeriCorps members across the Commonwealth come together to hear about the hundreds of programs across the state, take the pledge of service, and begin to realize the collective impact AmeriCorps can and does have.
For AmeriCorps Alums, this is always an exciting day, one where we stop to remember back to our year of service, to the excitement and energy we had toward making change in our community. It is a time when we think back to the things we learned along the way, about ourselves, our team members and the people we served. It’s a day when we reflect on what we have accomplished since we served, and we recognize how our service experience has helped us to get where we are today.
This past AmeriCorps Opening Day was extra special. The Director of AmeriCorps, John Gomperts, came to town to lead 1,400 Corps members in the AmeriCorps pledge. After spending the day with current members, Mr. Gomperts came to meet up with the Alums Chapter for a few drinks and the chance to hear our reflections on service. He asked questions, took notes,told jokes, and made each of us feel proud that we had served our country. He told the group how important he thinks it is to talk with Alums in order to continue improving the program and to demonstrate it’s impact. He took the time to speak with each Alum who showed up. The event was a great success and we were glad to share Opening Day with someone who is working to ensure that many other young people will have the same chance to serve as we did. Thanks John Gomperts!
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When it rains and shines, it’s just a state of mind. - John Lennon
Many thanks to all the Alums who braved the storm to join us for the 2nd Annual AmeriCorps Alums Harpoon Happy Hour! Despite the weather outside, AmeriCorps Alums Boston kicked off a great Alums year with good cheer and free beer at the Harpoon Brewery on October 19th. We enjoyed great company, seeing old friends, making new ones and networking with those with a like-minded love of service.
If you couldn’t make it, no worries. We’ll see you at the Gomperts event on November 4th (RSVP here). It’s a chance to learn about the exciting ways to get involved with the Boston AmeriCorps Alums this year and meet the Director of AmeriCorps. See you there!
Big shout out to our friends at Harpoon Brewery for providing a fine establishment, free beer and teaching us about the Brewery.
Another big thanks to the surprise tasty treats provided by Uno’s.
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As part of the 2009 Serve America Act, 9/11 was officially designated a National Day of Remembrance and Service. Join Boston AmeriCorps Alums in recognizing the 10th anniversary of September 11th by volunteering with us at a Boston Cares 9/11 Tribute project. We will be volunteering to help complete the DCR rail trail project in Waltham. The event is on Sunday, September 11th from 10am-1pm. Join Boston Alums afterwards for lunch and time to socialize.
There are several members attending who will be driving. If you need a ride OR are willing to drive, please email us at americorpsalumsboston@gmail.com. We are hoping to support Boston Cares with a good showing of Alums, so please join us! In order to sign up, you must register as a member of Boston Cares and then sign up for the project on their website: www.bostoncares.org. If you have questons or concerns, please email us.
We look forward to serving with you on September 11th.
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Please call your State Senator (find out who that is here) and ask them to support Senator Dan Wolf’s Amendment #245 which would keep funding for the Massachusetts Service Alliance at its current level ($750,000) for FY 2012. This would allow Massachusetts to continue its leadership in the service community, providing service opportunities for over 1,000 AmeriCorps members who contribute essential services to people across the Commonwealth.
We need you now more than ever to make the call. Funding at the National level has severely hindered the ability for programs across the state to do what they do best and many will need to rely on this state funding to operate next year.
Massachusetts is the birthplace of programs like City Year, Jumpstart, Youth Build and home to hundreds of other programs that provided needed resources to our most vulnerable communities. Without adequate funding, these programs will be unable to deliver these resources during a time when our country needs it most!
Please email us at americorpsalumsboston@gmail.com if you have any questions or suggestions or would just like to help!
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Co-Hosted by The Heller School at Brandeis and AmeriCorps Alums Boston Board
Tuesday, June 14
6:00-8:00 PM
Daily Catch at Fan Pier (On the Terrace)
2 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA 02210
* next to the Moakley Courthouse on the Silver Line and walking distance from Government Center and South Station
REGISTER HERE: http://acalumssummer.eventbrite.com/
Join the service community including AmeriCorps Alums, current AmeriCorps members and recent grads, Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and the Heller School at Brandeis for a fun evening celebrating and appreciating the contributions of alumni and soon-to-be alumni of service programs home and abroad.
In addition to socializing with fellow alums, strengthening connections across service programs and taking in the scenic views of the Boston waterfront, this event is a great opportunity to learn more about the amazing partnership with the Heller School who has invested $1M in exclusive scholarships for AmeriCorps Alums and Returned Peace Corps Volunteers.
The first 150 people who register will receive one complimentary drink ticket – so REGISTER NOW! Complimentary appetizers will also be served.
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“State of Service” event draws big crowd to build up community service in the Bay State”
Event highlights need for collaboration across sectors
BOSTON—Collaboration was the theme of the day as approximately 120 people gathered this morning at “State of Service: The Next Chapter of Service” at the Liberty Hotel. The event was hosted by the MassINC Associate Board and AmeriCorps Alums Boston, a partnership of young leaders dedicated to improving service in Massachusetts.
The event, the last in a three-part series about improving service programming in Massachusetts, brought together key service organizations to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the service sector and determine effective action items. Throughout the series, representatives from some of the largest service organizations in Massachusetts, funders, and volunteers themselves have worked together to identify best-practices to help make Massachusetts a model of service for the nation.
Aimee Ward, MassINC Director of Finance and Operations and founder of the MassINC Associate Board, said today’s discussion may have wrapped up the series, but not the conversation.
“If I have learned anything from working with the service community, it is that they are a committed group of hard-working people. The community is continuing to build consensus, work together and most importantly, stay connected. MassINC is thankful for the opportunity to bring this important group of people together,” said Ward.
The breakfast event was kicked off with a keynote address by Kristin McSwain, Executive Director, Boston Opportunity Agenda and former Chief of Program Operations for the Corporation for National and Community Service, and was followed by facilitated discussions on topics ranging from technology to advocacy. A recurring theme of the series was the need for the service community to make better use of technology to stay connected. Another key point was the need to continue to align & strengthen metrics to quantify the value of service. The majority of participants agreed that if the service community was better able to quantitatively demonstrate the value of their service, it would be easier to pursue funding.
Mary Bruce, the Co-Chair of the AmeriCorps Alums – Boston Chapter, said she and fellow alums would continue these conversations to promote service throughout Massachusetts and the nation.
“Massachusetts is the Silicon Valley of service,” said Bruce. “In a time when it can be easy to feel discouraged – when many are in need more than ever before – there is also much cause for hope because of the high-impact, solutions-driven work of the service sector, built on decades of experience. Together, we will continue to strengthen communities – and set the model for the nation – through service.”
About the MassINC Associate Board – The Board evolved from MassINC’s successful RealTalk program, and will build and expand upon the theme of engagement among young people in the Commonwealth. The MassINC Associate Board’s mission is to build a new generation of civically engaged leaders for the Commonwealth and the nation. Board members serve as advisors to MassINC’s research, journalism and civic event programs.
About AmeriCorps Alums – Boston Chapter – The AmeriCorps Alums Boston Chapter is a community of experienced volunteer leaders who share a commitment to a vision of a more perfect America. Nationally, we are a network of over half a million alumni from AmeriCorps national service programs (including NCCC, State/National, VISTA and pre-AmeriCorps VISTA). Our mission is to fully realize the potential of national service alumni as leaders in communities. Our goal is to get alumni connected, equipped and engaged in order to foster their leadership drive and potential. We also aim to support current AmeriCorps Members in their professional and leadership development.
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Celebration of Service: Summer Social on the Waterfront
