MLK Day (coming up soon on Monday, January 20!) is unique among American holidays. With its motto "A Day ON, not a Day OFF", it is the only American holiday dedicated to personal, practical, hands-on service of our neighbors and communities. We encourage you to love your neighbors through volunteering this MLK Day. There are projects ideal for families with kids, teens, adults, and Ohanas! See below for many of the opportunities in Brookline, Boston and Cambridge.

 

Brookline’s MLK Day Celebration January 20, 3 p.m. at Coolidge Corner Theater

 

"Roxbury to Brookline: One Family's Experience"

This year's program will feature Keynote Speaker, Ruth Ellen Fitch. The program includes poetry, music and the inspirational words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Also featuring: poet/performer Regie Gibson, the Brookline High School Testostatones, the Brookline High School Glee Club, and Brookline Poet Laureate Zvi A. Sesling.

This event is free but to guarantee a seat you must reserve a ticket beforehand.  Reserved tickets are available here until Friday, January 17th: 

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/84936835361

 

Brookline MLK Day of Service Project

 

MORE THAN WORDS BOOKSTORE AND CAFE, book, CD, DVD, and video game drive

More Than Words is a non-profit that has served at-risk youth in the greater Boston area since 2004. With locations in South Boston and Waltham, they provide in-store job training in a challenging but supportive environment to young people who are out of school, homeless, in the foster care system, or in the criminal justice system.

We will be accepting books in good condition, both paperback and hardbound, CDs, DVDs, and video games in good condition, suitable for resale. If you are interested in volunteering at the collection, need packing boxes, require assistance or have general questions about the drive, please contact Chobee Hoy at homeahoy@chobeehoy.com.

Find out more about More Than Words at: mtwyouth.org.

Donation drop-off location: Brookline Booksmith, lower level, at 279 Harvard Street (Coolidge Corner), from 11 am to 2 pm.

 

Brookline MLK Day of Service Project

 

Inspo: Expo Presents Welcome Blanket "Knit In"

The Town of Brookline's MLK Celebration Committee invites you to come learn how to knit, crochet, or quilt a Welcome Blanket (www.welcomeblanket.org)

Your blankets will be displayed in March as part of HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat and then gifted to local resettlement agencies to our newest neighbors. All crafting abilities and all ages welcome to this free event!

Located at Kehillath Israel, 384 Harvard Street from 1PM to 3PM.

For more information, email Hadassah Margolis at inspoexpo.brookline@gmail.com

 

Boston MLK Day of Service Project

 

Boston: A Day ON, not a Day OFF with Boston Cares at Boston Latin School Monday, January 20 from 10 am - 1 pm https://www.bostoncares.org/opportunity/a0C1J00000HNAJE

Since 2006, Boston Cares has organized A Day ON, Not a Day OFF projects for MLK Day that have collectively engaged 6,750 individuals of all ages from Boston’s neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

On January 20, 2020 Boston Cares will organize 600 volunteers at the Boston Latin School, to support local Boston adults and teens by creating workforce development learning tools for community organizations and schools throughout the city of Boston. Volunteers will create career workbooks, padfolios, mock interview flashcards, and more for organizations supporting adults and teens entering the workforce.

MLK Day is always kid-friendly and open to youth 5+. No orientation is required. Volunteers will select an activity station based on age and interest when they arrive at MLK Day.

Please note: If you are registering a group, we must limit groups to 25 members per organization. This is to ensure that MLK Day is available and accessible to everyone who wants to participate.   

 

Cambridge MLK Day of Service Projects

 

The 10th Annual Cambridge Day of Service organized by Many Helping Hands 365 to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The event is FREE and open to the public. Doors to all the locations will open at 2pm!

Locations include: City Hall, Senior Center, YWCA, Possible Project and St. Peter’s Church

All ages are welcome to help with projects that benefit children, teens and adults in need. Join us for an afternoon of hands-on service projects! Make fleece scarves and blankets for homeless children and adults. Make Valentines for elders and veterans. Sort food, winter clothing, books and toiletries for people in need and more!

Come spend an afternoon making a difference in the lives of others.

Don’t come empty handed! Please bring a can of food to help stock our city food pantries, gently used winter clothing to donate or a children’s book for someone in need.

We need everyone’s helping hands!

Many people. Many needs. Many Helping Hands.

Find out more and register here.

 

Boston area Family Volunteering Projects

 

Welcome Blanket Knit-In with Inspo:Expo
For families with children age 2 and up.
Time: 1-3:00pm
Location: Congregation Kehillath Israel

Put your knitting skills to the test at this Welcome Blanket Knit-In! Each blanket will be displayed in a pop‐up exhibit (March 20‐21) at KI, as part of HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat, and then sent to local resettlement agencies to be delivered to our newest neighbors.

No knitting skills required! There will be volunteers on site to help field knitting questions. There will also be no-sew fleece blanket making available as well.

 

St. Stephen's Youth Programs at the Blackstone Elementary School
For families with children ages 4 and up.
Time: 9:30-12:00 volunteering, followed by an optional lunch and learning at noon.
Location: Blackstone Elementary School in the South End
Volunteers will be working on beatification and revitalization projects throughout the elementary school. After volunteering, there will be a lunch and discussion about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr and why this day has become a day of volunteering. 

 

Chelsea Jewish Lifecare
For families with children 5-15.
Time: 10:30-11:30am 
Partner: Epstein Hillel School
Gather at the Shapiro-Rudolph Adult Day Health Center at the Chelsea Jewish Lifecare in Peabody for an engaging intergenerational program.  Individuals of all ages will work together in small groups to create an art collage reflective of the values of MLK. A group sing-along will conclude the program.

Feeding Boston Through Action
For families with children ages 2-12.
Time: 10:30am-12:00pm
Partner and location: Vilna Shul
Join the Vilna to make sandwiches for Pine Street Inn. Pine Street Inn partners with homeless individuals to help them move from the streets and shelter to a home and assists formerly homeless individuals in retaining housing. They provide street outreach, emergency services, supportive housing, job training and connections to employment. Pine Street Inn provides over 150 sandwiches daily to those in need across the city.

 

Birthday Wishes
For families with children 3-9, siblings welcome.
Time: 10:00am-1:30pm
Partner and location: JCC of Greater Boston
Join JCC Greater Boston as we make birthday wishes come true for children experiencing homelessness and their families. We will be decorating handmade cards and packing up Birthdays-in-a-Box filled with all of the supplies a family would need to celebrate their child’s birthday with joy.

 

PJ Library MLK Day Peace Mural Project
Time: 10:00am-12:00pm
Partner: JCC
Location: Ready Set Kids in Arlington
What does peace look like? Participate in a special artist-led peace mural project based on kids' visions of peace. Honor Martin Luther King by coming together to spread a peace-loving message through the power of art.  For more information or weather-related updates, check the JCC Metro North Family Connection on Facebook or contact metronorth@jccgb.org or 617-841-8009.

 

Many Helping Hands 365
For families with children 5-15.
Time: 2:00-4:00pm
Partner: The Rashi School
Location: Cambridge City Hall
Join The Rashi School families and volunteers of all ages and backgrounds to work on projects including creating personal care kits with toiletries for homeless teens and adults, creating activity kits for children waiting in hospital emergency rooms, and making Valentine’s Day cards for elderly and homebound adults.

 

Little Hands, Big Hearts
For Families with children 3-9, siblings welcome
Time: 12:00-3:00pm
Partner: MetroWest Jewish Day School
Location: Temple Shir Tikva Wayland
Get your hands dirty with friends from MetroWest Jewish Day School as we engage in service-oriented craft projects designed to spread kindness and compassion to the greater MetroWest community.

 

Boston area Teen Volunteering Projects

 

Rebuilding Together Boston
Shift One: 9:00am-12:00pm
Shift Two: 1:00-4:00pm  (Volunteers can work both shifts.)
Location: Catholic Charities/Haitian Multiservice Center, 185 Columbia Road in Dorchester
Open to teens ages 12-14 with adult supervision and teens ages 15-17 without adult supervision. Volunteers will be painting and  making interior upgrades to a community center. No construction skills required.

Making and Baking with the Jewish Teen Initiative
Open to MetroWest pre/teens in 6th -12th grades
Time: 12:00pm-3:00pm
Location: Temple Shir Tikva Wayland
Partner: Jewish Teen Initiative
Get cooking and help stock the food supplies of Metrowest food pantries and shelters by making dozens of lasagnas and breads for those in need. No previous cooking experience or synagogue affiliation are required. Participants will also have the opportunity to paint “Stars of Hope” –  painted wooden stars with messages of hope and love –  to help communities heal through the power of art and unity. This project is a collaboration between JCRC and the Jewish Teen Initiative (JTI) with support from CJP’s Metrowest Planning Committee.

 

 

Boston area Adult Volunteering Projects

 

St. Francis Soup Kitchen
Location: 39 Boylston Street, Copley Square, Boston
Shift one: 9:00-11:00am
Shift two: 11:00am-1:30pm-FULL
The first shift will be helping to prepare the lunchtime meal and get the soup kitchen ready for lunch service. The second shift will be serving the meal to clients. St. Francis is a day shelter in Back Bay that serves between 300-350 people daily.

Hebrew SeniorLife
Location: Hebrew SeniorLife in Coolidge Corner
Time: 2:00-4:00pm
Join residents and volunteers to support the Safe Communities Act. We will be sharing our own immigration stories and writing letters to our congress people in support of the Safe Communities Act.

 

Rebuilding Together Boston
Shift One: 9:00am-12:00pm
Shift Two: 1:00pm-4:00pm  (Volunteers can work both shifts.)
Location: Catholic Charities/Haitian Multiservice Center, 185 Columbia Road in Dorchester
Volunteers will be painting and  making interior upgrades to a community center. No construction skills required.

 

Welcome Blanket Knit-In with Inspo:Expo
Time: 1-3:00pm
Location: Congregation Kehillath Israel

Put your knitting skills to the test at this Welcome Blanket Knit-In! Each blanket will be displayed in a pop‐up exhibit (March 20‐21) at KI, as part of HIAS's National Refugee Shabbat, and then sent to local resettlement agencies to be delivered to our newest neighbors.

No knitting skills required! There will be volunteers on site to help field knitting questions. There will also be no-sew fleece blanket making available as well.