Opportunity Details
Help us rescue fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be plowed under! Boston Area Gleaners organizes volunteer trips to eastern Massachusetts farms throughout the year, on weekdays and weekends; we then distribute the freshly harvested produce to food pantries serving low-income individuals. Gleaning is a great way to get in touch with the food system, get outdoors, and give back to people in need.
Opportunity Details
As a reuse organization we accept a variety of donated items...including the kitchen sink! We receive donations of cabinetry, appliances, doors, windows, hardware, flooring, plumbing, furniture and more. With donations arriving daily, we need a little extra help with organization including moving and sorting inventory, keeping aisles and shelves straightened and creating product displays.If you're looking for an opportunity to get your hands a little dirty and learn about a unique reuse organization, this is for you!
Opportunity Details
Each and every week Stardust collects out of season, slightly damaged, returned or opened items from large local retailers to distribute through our Gifts In Kind program. It's similar to a food bank but instead of food, we distribute essential products such as household items, toiletries, office supplies, building materials and more to nonprofit organizations. Helping them to serve their clients and the community!Volunteers can help in a variety of ways from sorting and organizing to assisting case managers and organization representatives with their donations.
Volunteers hours at Gifts In Kind are Monday - Friday from 8 am to 3 pm.
Opportunity Details
We're looking for volunteers who have skills in carpentry, welding, woodworking or construction and enjoy creating, making and building! As a reuse organization, we have a variety of salvaged and reclaimed building materials that volunteers will use to make displays and projects that will inspire the community to reuse and repurpose!
Opportunity Details
Our Protect and Preserve Luncheon is one of the biggest donor relations events for the Cibolo Nature Center & Farm. This year's guest speaker will be Catalina Trail, who discovered the wintering site for the Monarch butterflies in Mexico. Volunteers will help us serve beverages, keep the grounds tidy and assist guests as needed.Available Shifts
| Shift Name | Signup Max | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 30 | n/a | n/a |
Opportunity Details
Volunteer positions: make advocacy visits to Capitol Hill, join a socialjustice issue team, provide pro-bono professional legal or technical
assistance, provide deep background counsel on policy, politics or
government affairs. We invite queries to become a working Board member.
Lend your talents. Together we can be heard and make a positive
difference.
Opportunity Details
Have the Apple team bringing iPads to provide an area where children can create stories, drawings, or videos on their zoo experience! Then we could save their stories to a zip drive and they could take them home with them. The event is Nov. 13, 2016 from 3-6 pmAvailable Shifts
| Shift Name | Signup Max | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | no limit | n/a | n/a |
Opportunity Details
THE FRUIT TREE PLANTING FOUNDATION (FTPF) IS AN AWARD WINNINGINTERNATIONAL NON-PROFIT dedicated to planting fruit trees to alleviate world hunger, combat climate change, strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water. FTPF’s Na Piko nursery & eco-retreat center unites the raw power of Hawaii’s natural beauty with a mission to plant fruit trees for local families. Volunteers work and live at the facility, alongside FTPF staff, to grow thousands of trees and assist in the implementation of programs with local schools, state lands for reforestation, and low-income families to ensure they have access to perennial nutrition in their backyards—along with the proper training in their care.
NA PIKO IS LOCATED ON 14 ACRES OF NATURAL JUNGLE IN KAPOHO, 20 minutes from the town of Pahoa, on the Big Island of Hawaii. Set among towering ancient mango trees and nestled against the Nanawale Forest Reserve, this unique land provides a peaceful space for an awakening volunteer experience. With nurtured paths, meadows, and fruit tree nurseries, Na Piko holds six cabins, a house and a custom built two-story lodge built out of trees harvested from the land. Each cabin comfortably houses two people while an abundance of lawn space offers perfect sites for tents.
NA PIKO WAS DESIGNED WITH HARMONY IN MIND. Completely off the grid, we use solar power and pure, filtered rain water. Three kitchens, five bathrooms and internet access ensure home comforts in an environment that supports simplicity and connection with nature. A wonderful open-aired lodge provides the perfect setting for interaction. Minutes away, enjoy world-class reef snorkeling, beach-side volcanically heated swimming holes and steam vents, the world’s most active volcano, state parks, fresh exotic fruits and cuisine, outdoor markets most days of the week, and an eclectic collection of progressive communities.
VOLUNTEER, LEARN & LIVE AT NA PIKO. Na Piko will be home to several fruit tree nurseries as well as the volunteers who help maintain them. These nurseries supply our orchard-planting programs in Hawaii. At least three hours of work per day (five days a week) is required for all volunteers, along with a monthly contribution of $750, which includes a living space, access to shared bathrooms and kitchens, four daylong plant identification and propagation courses taught by our botany professor, ongoing arboricultural training with FTPF staff arborists, and Sunday yoga in the lodge with a vegan group meal provided in the evening. The grounds and kitchen have a vegetarian foods only policy. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis and space is very limited. Contact Cem Akin at napiko@ftpf.org for more info on experiencing the magic of Na Piko!
Opportunity Details
THE FRUIT TREE PLANTING FOUNDATION (FTPF) IS AN AWARD WINNING INTERNATIONAL NONPROFIT dedicated to planting fruit trees to alleviate world hunger, combat climate change, strengthen communities, and improve the surrounding air, soil, and water. Our mission is to strategically donate orchards where the need is greatest and the harvest will best serve communities for generations. One such place is Uganda, a country facing the staggering problems of food insecurity, climate change, and poverty, where children have scarce access to fresh food. Fruit trees offer a sustainable, healthy solution. Families often lack the resources to gain horticultural training and our programs offer both the trees and training to ensure a fruitful future.SINCE 2014, FTPF HAS HELPED PAVE THE WAY TOWARDS A HEALTHIER FUTURE FOR UGANDANS by planting orchards throughout the country, including with households, schools, farmer cooperatives, women’s groups, health clinics, and orphanages. The Prime Minister’s Office supports our efforts, stating that “FTPF has greatly contributed to the effort to promote fruit tree planting that will generate additional food supplies and increase food security … On behalf of the Office of the Prime Minister … we expect and hope that you will expand the scope of your activities in the coming years, so that families can become healthier and more financially secure.” To this end, we are launching a partner nursery that will grow 25,000 fruit trees for use in our 2016 programs.
WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US by volunteering for a week-long fruit tree planting and safari eco-adventure in April, 2016. Activities include planting trees with schools, orphanages, and communities along with our partner NGO, Africa Partnership on Climate Change Coalition. You will interact with countless families and students along the way, and have a chance to receive training from FTPF staff to advance your own tree planting skills. Afterwards, we will reflect on the experience during a group safari to visit chimps, elephants, and giraffes on the Nile River! To embark on this unforgettable, life-changing experience, apply via the form at the following website: www.ftpf.org/uganda.htm. If selected, a contribution of $1800 secures your spot, including the events listed below, as well as accommodations, local transport, and the safari! Airfare, meals, and all other costs are the volunteer’s responsibility.
Available Shifts
| Shift Name | Signup Max | Start | End |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | no limit | n/a | n/a |
Opportunity Details
Get Involved!The Friends welcomes your unique skill set—your time and talents can help make our shared goals a reality! Join our volunteers, including people of all ages and walks of life, as they provide the passion and the ‘elbow grease’ necessary to bring our projects to fruition. Volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization; their importance cannot be overstated, nor can they be thanked enough!
Volunteer Workdays
Be a part of transforming and preserving our Park! Since October, 2010, over 1,500 volunteers have labored to suppress invasive exotic species and helped to ensure the establishment of native plantings in Fort Williams Park.
Jump in with your garden tools, gloves, and grubby clothes to clear invasive plants, weed, plant or mulch at the Ecology Project sites. A trained horticultural ‘captain’ will help oversee your work. S/he will be able to focus efforts and answer questions. Just show up at the appointed time and you can participate in this most hands-on of efforts!
Please note: to ensure that your volunteer activities in the Park are effective, fun, and safe, we must limit the size of any group to 25 people. For more information, contact Andrea Southworth at asouthworth@fortwilliams.org
Adopt-A-Plot
Prefer to set your own schedule and care for your own piece of paradise? Meet in the Park with Adopt-A-Plot Volunteer Coordinator Tom Atwell at tomatwell@me.com, to adopt a small section of an Ecology Project landscape. Then come and go at your convenience to keep weeds and invasive species in check so new plantings can be established.
Weeding and mulching can be fun when done in such a beautiful location!
Corporate Workdays
We have had the good fortune to partner with various businesses which have sought a meaningful outdoor venue for their employee community service and team-building activities. The Park offers the most gorgeous of venues in which to engage mind and body, foster team building, while giving back to the community through a corporate workday experience.
Please note: to ensure that your volunteer activities in the Park are effective, fun, and safe, we must limit the size of any group to 25 people. We welcome your organization to learn, work and play here! For more information, contact Andrea Southworth, asouthworth@fortwilliams.org.
Office Help
The office staff would welcome your assistance with preparing mailings, data mining, taking photographs, posting to social media, designing & distributing fliers, ads and temporary informative signage, and other tasks. Contact Jennifer Scarpitti-Nelson at jscarpitti@fortwilliams.org
As you can see, our needs are many and diverse. They are more intense when we are preparing for a major event. For more information on general volunteer needs, contact Jennifer Scarpitti-Nelson at jscarpitti@fortwilliams.org.
Committees
We welcome you to contribute your expertise by serving on our committees:
Ecology Project Committee: The Friends’ primary horticultural and ecological initiative is the Ecology Project, which provides the structure within which we work to restore biodiversity and improve wildlife habitat by creating sustainable native landscapes. This committee is responsible for the implementation and refinement of the Ecology Project Master Plan. For more information, contact Ecology Project Director, Andrea Southworth at asouthworth@fortwilliams.org.
Education Committee: Our Park is a treasure trove of learning opportunities! The Foundation is in the process of developing educational initiatives around the Arboretum sites. Our goal is to foster lifelong learning about stewardship of our environment and how we can all have a positive impact on it. Our Education Committee is actively seeking new members—no teaching experience required. If interested in learning more, please contact Andrea Southworth at asouthworth@fortwilliams.org.
Marketing: Would you like to help the Friends promote its work? Do you have skills in marketing, graphic design, merchandising or public relations? We would love to put your talents to work on the Marketing Committee. Contact Marketing Chair, Rod Harmon at rodharmonpr@gmail.com , to get involved.
Events: Each year, the Friends puts on the Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour. This fabulous celebration of all things garden takes months to plan and requires over 100 volunteers on the day of the Tour. Planning begins in the fall previous to this early summer event. Get involved by contacting Lynn Shaffer at lynxshaf@gmail.com.