Each week, we'll feature a posting by a guest blogger about their Semester of Service projects. This week's Guest Blog is by Karen Boss - Director of Programs, Boston Cares.
We are Boston Cares (http://www.bostoncares.org/). We organize and lead team-oriented volunteer opportunities and services in and around Boston that have a positive impact on individuals and communities. We are a proud member of the Hands On Network. Our Semester of Service project this year is a Youth Council. This is our pilot year, and we’re engaging 3 young people from Martin Luther King Day through Global Youth Service Day and into June.
We decided to implement a Semester of Service component to our BOOYAH! (Boston’s Young Active Hands) program in order to engage more youth in informing our programming. Our Youth and Family Coordinator is a Massachusetts Promise Fellow (a part of the America’s Promise program). She wrote the curriculum and planned the program, marketed to our youth, and gained commitment from 3 young women to participate this year. (In addition, we have a youth intern who has been working each week with us for 2 years, but he is participating in our Civic Leadership Institute as the youngest participant ever, so he opted out of this role.)
The Youth Council began at Martin Luther King Day, at our project which engaged 357 volunteers overall. Of those, 203 were youth aged 25 or under. Of those 25 or under, 144 were under 18. All three of the Youth Council members participated. They will meet twice a month for regular meetings, plan their own volunteer projects in their community in order to reach the 70 hour commitment, and participate in Teen TeamWorks, our week-long workshop/service program over February Vacation with 15 teens. They will participate in Global Youth Service Day and in our other BOOYAH! projects throughout the spring. Their experience will culminate with a graduation ceremony with the entire Boston Cares staff in June.
The three participants are diverse in terms of race and geography. One travels from Lexington, a suburb of Boston and is moving soon to Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston. One is from Cambridge, Boston’s sister city across the Charles River. One is from Brockton, a large city about 45 minutes south of Boston. They have gotten along exceedingly well so far and will act as a cohesive first group for this new endeavor for Boston Cares. Scheduling has been a bit challenging, but that will work itself out over time.
These participants will help with the planning of GYSD and will make the BOOYAH! program of Boston Cares stronger and more relevant to the youth users. We hope that by messages coming from youth to youth, more will be interested in participating in the future. We believe that youth are knowledgeable, hard workers, and largely untapped. This is one way we at Boston Cares are working to engage more youth in more meaningful ways.
We are Boston Cares (http://www.bostoncares.org/). We organize and lead team-oriented volunteer opportunities and services in and around Boston that have a positive impact on individuals and communities. We are a proud member of the Hands On Network. Our Semester of Service project this year is a Youth Council. This is our pilot year, and we’re engaging 3 young people from Martin Luther King Day through Global Youth Service Day and into June.
We decided to implement a Semester of Service component to our BOOYAH! (Boston’s Young Active Hands) program in order to engage more youth in informing our programming. Our Youth and Family Coordinator is a Massachusetts Promise Fellow (a part of the America’s Promise program). She wrote the curriculum and planned the program, marketed to our youth, and gained commitment from 3 young women to participate this year. (In addition, we have a youth intern who has been working each week with us for 2 years, but he is participating in our Civic Leadership Institute as the youngest participant ever, so he opted out of this role.)The Youth Council began at Martin Luther King Day, at our project which engaged 357 volunteers overall. Of those, 203 were youth aged 25 or under. Of those 25 or under, 144 were under 18. All three of the Youth Council members participated. They will meet twice a month for regular meetings, plan their own volunteer projects in their community in order to reach the 70 hour commitment, and participate in Teen TeamWorks, our week-long workshop/service program over February Vacation with 15 teens. They will participate in Global Youth Service Day and in our other BOOYAH! projects throughout the spring. Their experience will culminate with a graduation ceremony with the entire Boston Cares staff in June.
The three participants are diverse in terms of race and geography. One travels from Lexington, a suburb of Boston and is moving soon to Dorchester, a neighborhood of Boston. One is from Cambridge, Boston’s sister city across the Charles River. One is from Brockton, a large city about 45 minutes south of Boston. They have gotten along exceedingly well so far and will act as a cohesive first group for this new endeavor for Boston Cares. Scheduling has been a bit challenging, but that will work itself out over time.
These participants will help with the planning of GYSD and will make the BOOYAH! program of Boston Cares stronger and more relevant to the youth users. We hope that by messages coming from youth to youth, more will be interested in participating in the future. We believe that youth are knowledgeable, hard workers, and largely untapped. This is one way we at Boston Cares are working to engage more youth in more meaningful ways.
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