Mission

Neighbors United for a Better East Boston (NUBE) is an organization explicitly of and for low-income people, people of color, immigrants and allies that uses issue and electoral organizing to build political power. We are building a direct action organization that can hold public institutions accountable through grassroots organizing.

Model

We believe that members take the lead and direct the work of the organization by choosing the issues the organization works on. This ensures that the organization is relevant, motivational and democratic.

Vision

We envision an informed and civically engaged community, where immigrants, people of color and low-income residents actively participate, organize and advocate for an inclusive democratic process and just public policies. Our community seeks to achieve quality education, health and social services, safe and clean streets, affordable and well-maintained housing and a thriving local economy.

Values

Our work is guided by the struggle for social justice, dignity and equality for our community. We uphold education, hard work, persistence, and willpower as the principles that have made our community put down roots in East Boston. We also recognize that our work is based on key values we have learned from our community, such as the importance of family, love, responsibility, honesty, and acting ethically and morally. NUBE strives to achieve its mission by following standards of justice, loyalty, inclusiveness, integrity, generosity and collaboration.

Check the Link
http://nubeastboston.org/

The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts

For nine decades, the Urban League has been a vital resource to the African American community of Greater Boston.

The early years of the Boston Urban League, now known as Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM), and the National Urban League meant fighting for the rights of African Americans and demanding opportunities.

http://www.ulem.org/our-legacy

The Hyams Foundation



The development of grassroots leaders and activists of color, including immigrants and teens, who are actively engaged in civic and electoral processes and in elected and appointed public office, ensures that low-income communities play a vital role in identifying issues, working toward solutions and reducing disparities. Community-based organizations that involve and support their constituents in decision-making roles are crucial to promoting civic engagement and leadership development of community members. Organizations that are run by and serve people of color and immigrants play a particularly critical role in supporting and developing leaders and activists.

Colleges across the nation are providing civic engagement opportunities for their students, in effort to develop more well rounded individuals. Here was is what NYU is doing for their surrounding community.
Students, faculty and alumni at New York University are dedicated to making a difference in their community. We are guided by a key NYU tradition: being "a private university in the public service."
The NYU Office of Civic Engagement (OCE) coordinates three types of programs to serve the community, outside of the many clinical and outreach programs conducted by NYU's leading professional schools.
STUDENT SERVICE PROGRAM
OCE creates opportunities for students to enrich the lives of their fellow New Yorkers by serving with local non-profit organizations, public schools, city government, and civic groups. Learn about our volunteer, work-study, and paid employment programs »

SUPPORTING NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS
OCE awards grants to local organizations, with programs that encourage civic participation amongst the NYU community and channel valuable support to our non-profit neighbors. Learn more about our grants and funding opportunities »

TO READ MORE CLICK LINK BELOW
http://www.nyu.edu/community/nyu-in-nyc/giving-back-to-the-community.html

The mission of the IUPUI Center for Service and Learning (http://csl.iupui.edu) is to involve students, faculty, and staff in service activities that mutually benefit the campus and community.

Programs are designed based upon the following program goals:
To support the development of service learning classes.
To increase campus participation in community service
activities. To strengthen campus-community partnerships.
To advance the scholarship of service.
To promote civic engagement in higher education

I came across this great company who is promoting excellent civic engagement opportunities. Here is some information about what I came across:

The Alliance is a membership association that provides a variety of services to private nonprofit human service organizations throughout the United States and Canada. Alliance members are organizations dedicated to serving and advocating for children, families, older adults, and communities.

In carrying out its mission, the Alliance for Children and Families helps its members master the commitments of high-impact organizations. The Alliance developed this set of commitments to serve as a blueprint for achieving meaningful, lasting-results in nonprofit-human-serving organizations.

Ive come across volunteer opportunities if anyone is interested.

Here is a background

Rosie's Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women, offers emergency and long-term assistance to women who have nowhere else to turn. Founded in 1974, Rosie's Place welcomes each guest with respect and unconditional love. Rosie's Place accepts no government funds, and relies instead on committed volunteers and private supporters to accomplish its effective and innovative work.

http://www.rosiesplace.org/home

I recently came across this facility that offers civic engagement opportunities as well as takes an initiative to better the lives of aspiring young professionals on their way to college. Here is a little information aout them and the link to review their website.
Our Commitment: To help young people achieve self-sufficiency and put them on the path to upward social mobility through:
*Elevating their academic performance,
*Coaching them to persist and succeed in college in order to attain better career options,
*Providing civic engagement training and projects.
* Engaging parents and the entire community in supporting educational excellence.

About the Organization:
2012, the Freedom House Board established a new direction for the organization to scale our programs to serve more young people and work towards doubling the college graduation rate. We connect our historic legacy of success in the civil rights movement and first mover status in college access and success programming to the critical 21st century view of the need to graduate more young people from college particularly those from immigrant, minority or low income backgrounds. Freedom House is clear that a high quality high school education coupled with a college degree are worthwhile investments and pathways to opportunity and upward social mobility. Closing the opportunity divide and eliminating disparities in educational attainment are community development challenges that Freedom House is uniquely poised to address.

Our Mission: To transform the economic and cultural fabric of high-need communities through education and leadership development.

check the link: http://www.freedomhouse.com/about.html

The NAACP has been at the forefront protecting, defending, and fighting for our civil rights and human rights for over a century. If you care about fighting the racial disparities that are still too prevalent in America, the NAACP is the place where you can make a difference.

Read about the organizations mission:
The mission of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination.

To view more info and/or sign up for a membership select the link below

http://www.naacp.org/

I have always been a suppporter of the City Year Organization. Im sure this is something that we are all familiar with but if not here is a short bio of the company and a link to the website to read more about it.


City Year's mission is to build democracy through citizen service, civic leadership and social entrepreneurship. It is through service that we can demonstrate the power and idealism of young people, engage citizens to benefit the common good, and develop young leaders of the next generation.

City Year is wholly focused on fighting the national dropout crisis. We have committed to leverage the talent, energy and idealism of corps members to serve as tutors, mentors and role models in schools to help students stay on track - and get back on track - to graduate.

Our corps members do this by focusing on three early warning indicators that have been defined through research: attendance, behavior and course performance in math and English.

City Year's In School & On Track initiative is designed to bring City Year corps members to 50% of all of the students falling off track in City Year's 24 U.S. locations, which will require expanding the number of corps members to 6,000 and engaging school districts, the private sector and the federal government through AmeriCorps as partners.


http://www.cityyear.org/home-WhatWeDo.aspx

Score4More Inc., established in 2009, was formed to create, organize, promote, and advocate for programs and services to support and serve the needs of Massachusetts student athletes ages 9 to 19, with a focus on developing strong work habits, enforcing self-accountability and establishing a foundation for life after sports, with programs that may include mentoring, counseling, job and skills training, tutoring, education and athletics.

For more Infromation please visit

http://www.score4more.org/

http://www.valeriestephens.com/index.html

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Valerie Stephens afer viewing a play she starred in called "Neighbors".

http://www.broadwayworld.com/boston/article/Company-One-Wants-You-to-Meet-the-Neighbors-20110117


Here is a short bio of Mrs. Stephens
a Valerie Stephens, a native Bostonian, has performed professionally both nationally and internationally. She is an award winning actor, storyteller, vocalist/bandleader, producer, writer and educator with a passion for history. Valerie has received the 2011 NAACP's Image Award, 2007 Urban Music Award in Blues and is a nominee for a 2011 Urban Music Award in Jazz.

Valerie toured nationally for seven years, as a lead actor with the award winning Underground Railway Theatre and after 15 years, returned to the stage to perform in Company One's controversial production of NEIGHBORS in the character role of "Mammy Crow". She is currently working on a solo performance called the Mammy Diaries premiering in 2014.

As a storyteller, Valerie Stephens has performed throughout New England for two generations of audiences and been contracted to research, present and /or perform productions on historical events for Boston's Children's Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Science and Springfield Art Musuem and Cambridge Cultural Council. While working as Director of Cultural Programming and Community Partnerships for the International House of Blues Foundation, Valerie created and directed "The Blues Schoolhouse: History of the Blues", an in house educational production for children which was performed in Boston and Los Angeles. She also created a touring production company for the Boston area. She has served as Artist Consultant to the CitiCenter for the Arts' youth programming, training young artists to be community storytellers and researching the history of Boston's diverse neighborhoods.