Boston Cares

CONTACT:

190 High Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
617-422-0910 x201
www.bostoncares.org

Patrice Keegan, Executive Director

DESCRIPTION:

This is a great idea: a systemic approach to volunteering, in all fields of philanthropy. Originating in New York in 1986, the idea has spread to 41 cities across the U.S. & internationally Boston Cares was founded (by volunteers, of course) in 1991.

BC's purpose is to help meet the ever-growing needs of the community by mobilizing the community's most powerful resource: its citizens. It does this by helping volunteers match their interests and availability with volunteer opportunities. This translates directly into increased productivity for 130 charities and schools, contributed by over 5,000 volunteers of all ages, some of them from 60 corporate partners, providing 32,000 hours of skilled help at no cost to the beneficiary institutions. The volunteers unanimously testify that their quality of life has been improved as well.

Joining BC is simple: attend an orientation meeting and sign up for, and participate in, projects listed in a monthly calendar. By offering a variety of projects, at many different times, many of which require no ongoing commitment, BC enables first-time volunteers to make volunteering a regular part of their lives. It's a great way to meet great people.

For charities needing volunteers, BC saves them the time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly recruiting and managing of individual volunteers, and provides a reliable source of volunteer help, to accomplish a multitude of projects, at no cost.

(1997: PROMOTING PHILANTHROPY: Charities Helping Charities)