1. Boston-Online, Volunteer Links

www.boston-online.com/Volunteer/

This page contains a list of approximately 60 non-profit and volunteer groups in the Boston area, with short explanations and links. Examples for these organizations are the "American Anti-Slavery Group," "Citizen Schools" (an after-school program located in 11 Boston public schools that relies on volunteers), "City Year" (Boston’s pioneering volunteer program for young adults), "Homeless empowerment," or "Women’s Educational and Industrial Union."

2. Boston Partners in Education (BPE), Volunteering

"Boston Partners in Education is unique in its intimate understanding of the day-to-day operations of the Boston Public Schools, its professional management of volunteers, and its sensitivity to the needs of today's children. For 35 years, Boston Partners has dedicated itself to recruiting, training, and supporting volunteers to help Boston Public School students gain needed academic skills and self-esteem. (...) Our volunteers support and strengthen the efforts of Boston Public Schools by working as tutors, mentors, classroom and library assistants, career speakers, and in the important capacity of good role models. In addition to volunteer placement services, Boston Partners also offers training and technical assistance, on a fee-for-service basis, in parent involvement and in partnership and community resource management."

The volunteer opportunities are categorized in one-time and weekly work. The weekly volunteer jobs are the following:

1. classroom Assistant (Weekly opportunities to work in a classroom under teacher supervision with students in small groups or one-to-one.)
2. Tutors (Weekly tutors are needed in reading, math, English as a second language, writing, computer science, foreign language and many other subjects to assist students in need at all ages and academic levels.)
3. Mentors (Volunteers work one-to-one with a student, building a mentoring relationship within an academic context.)
4. Library Volunteers (In 1966 BPE helped establish libraries in the Boston Public Schools. In keeping with that tradition, our volunteers continue to play important roles in school libraries, serving in our Read Aloud program, special workshops, and as library assistants.)
5. Read Aloud (Volunteers read stories to students either as part of a library or a classroom-based program. Read Aloud training is available for volunteers.)

The volunteers are encouraged to submit an evaluation of their volunteer position and how they were supported by BPE.

Contact:

Barbara Harris, placement coordinator

Phone: (617) 451-6145

email: bharris@jsi.com

1. Volunteer solutions – Greater Boston

"Volunteer Solutions has three main constituencies: individual volunteers, nonprofit agencies and universities. (...)

1. Individual Volunteers: Are you an individual who is interested in volunteering in your community. You might already know how you want to volunteer or perhaps you want to browse our extensive database of opportunities to find the right one for you.
2. Nonprofit Agencies: Are you a member of a nonprofit organization that would like some free help in recruiting the perfect volunteer? Our site makes you part of an interactive, online network of potential volunteers.
3. Universities: Are you a member of an umbrella organization that supports multiple nonprofit agencies and their respective volunteer opportunities? Volunteer Solutions can help you achieve your mission more effectively with the Internet. Examples include local United Way chapters, University public service centers and town government."

The website lists currently 1041opportunities sponsored by 540 agencies in the Boston area.

I made two tests:

1. Entering my postal code (02143) (zip only), looking for an "on-going" engagement with regard to "diversity/empowerment" gave me seven institutions as result.
2. Entering my postal code (02143) (but this time "within 10 miles" of the zip code (!)), looking for an "on-going" engagement with regard to "gay/lesbian" gave me 55 opportunities as result.

Contact:

phone: 1-877-U-VOLUNTEER

fax: (617) 624-9114

Address: 245 Summer Street, Suite 1401

Boston, MA 02210-1121

Email: volunteers@uwmb.org

1. SERVEnet, the premier website for service and volunteering

www.servenet.org

"SERVEnet.org is the premier website on service and volunteering. Through SERVEnet, users can enter their zip code, city, state, skills, interests, and availability and be matched with organizations needing help. SERVEnet is also a place to search for calendar events, job openings, service news, recommended books, and best practices. YSA's commitment to America's Promise is to have volunteer opportunities on SERVEnet for every zip code in America.

SERVEnet is a program of Youth Service America (YSA), a resource center and the premier alliance of 200+ organizations committed to increasing the quantity and quality of opportunities for young Americans to serve locally, nationally, or globally. YSA's mission is to strengthen the Effectiveness, Sustainability, and Scale of the youth service movement."

I demanded information about all the volunteer possibilities within 10 miles of my zipcode 02143. The research engine offered 74 opportunities, such as "Senior volunteers wanted to coach reading" or "Museum of Science, Discovery Center Volunteer." One can click on this information to get additional facts. These contain the following topics: Opportunity Description, Volunteer Age Range, Causes Served, Populations Served, Related Skills, Location Information, Time Information, Contact Information.

Contact:

Jennifer Roberts, Director of SERVEnet.org

Address: 1101 15th Street, NW Suite 200

Washington, DC 20005

Phone: (202) 296-2992

email: jroberts@ysa.org