Another opportunity for non working seniors to volunteer to do something positive in their community. thanks for this article.

Americorp is a great organization, and the mentoring program is so important to so many young people who might not have a mentor in their lives.

For every person or group that says something is good, there later comes along a person or group that says it is bad. There are two sides to every story, or theory. Take the best from both sides and use them to your advantage. I don't think there is anything wrong with brainstorming.

Me too.

GREAT article!

Glad you posted this. I have much distrust of big churches like this.

Glad you posted this. I didn't know about this organization, but it's important to have places like this for people to turn to.

Although they work in the 3 state region of Appalachia, they work to provide low cost construction loans and mortgages to low income families and to help build affordable housing in rural Appalachia.

www.fahe.org/about-fahe/

It sounds like a great program. I just hope that the most vulnerable youth will attend. That's not always the case.

Rosie's place is so important in Boston. I don't know of any other shelter that does so much for homeless women in Boston.

....and to fight for what you believe is right.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMwP7GbqPjY#t=73

This website has helped to promote change in communities across the globe. It allows you to help bring about change with a simple mouse click.

https://www.change.org/

Glad to see that cities are still investing in libraries.

Great article. California really has it together in regards to environmental issues.

At least one of the Boston Mayoral candidates is actively seeking civic engagement from residents, and will be sponsoring workshops and seminars to seek out community leaders. I don't know that I have ever heard of a candidate taking this approach. I know that candidates have actively encouraged input and feedback from community members, but I don't know if I can recall one that is attempting to encourage community leadership like this.

From his website:
COLLABORATION. As Mayor, Marty will not go it alone. Rather, he will look to cultivate leaders across the city that can bring their perspectives to City Hall and his administration.
* Neighborhood Summits - hold an annual one-day event with programming and grassroots ideas exchanged on issues identified by residents and city officials
* Civic Academies - establish an 8- to 12-week course for residents who wish to learn more about city government, providing community leaders with tools, training and support to make their exercise of civic involvement more effective
Eliminate Jurisdictional Confusion - include city councilors and state agencies in conversations about city-controlled and state-controlled parks and other land within the city of Boston
In keeping with his administration's goal of transparency and collaboration, Marty Walsh will establish a Civic Academy to educate Boston residents looking to be more engaged in various levels of civic life. The Civic Academy will be a neighborhood summit consisting of workshops and trainings and will occur twice a year. This initiative can best be understood as a highly-localized "civics course" for Bostonians interested in how their city government operates and how city services directly affect their lives, and the lives of their neighbors. It will also allow residents to directly network with their neighbors and strengthen their sense of community.
Each session will begin with a general training around the meaning of overall civic engagement and will then branch off to trainings specific to individuals' interests. A few of the specific topics that will be included are:
* What a civic association is, and how to start one
* How to best access permits (building, events, etc.)
* How an ordinance is passed
* How to start a little league
* How to market civic groups
* How to start and coordinate a neighborhood watch
Modeled on a successful program in El Paso, Texas, Boston's Civic Academy will produce graduates that are highly motivated and educated. Enrollment will be free-of-charge to Boston residents and will consist of 5-7 days of events. In addition to civic workshops, this summit will also include guest speakers, fun activities for children, and live entertainment.
Upon completion of the course, graduates will become "Certified Civic Leaders" and will obtain credentials that are recognized by the mayor and City Council. This certification will allow graduates streamlined access to city services and will serve as a springboard for individuals looking to take more active leadership roles in their communities.
This initiative would especially focus on recruiting women, who are underrepresented in Boston's municipal government. Marty Walsh envisions civic leaders that are truly representative of the rich diversity of talent in Boston, and the Civic Academy is one way to bridge divides in order to fully realize that vision.

http://www.bbbsmb.org/site/c.9gKMJZMxF7LUG/b.8453071/k.A45A/Boston_Mentoring.htm

I think that this is one of the most important social organizations, not only in Boston, but across the country. The need for male and female mentors to single parent children couldn't be greater, and offering just a few days a month can help keep a kid on a positive path in life.

I posted this a week ago, but it never made it to the site(that I could see), so I'm posting it again.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/09/24/atlanta-couple-donates-daughter-canceled-wedding-reception-dinner-to-200/

Even though this was a one time donation to help the homeless, this family has chosen to make this an annual event. They are going to try to add an educational segment to the event, so that it has a lasting helpful effect, rather than just being a one time event.

http://bostonfoundation.org/Content.aspx?ID=9398

Street Safe Boston, an initiative sponsored by The Boston Foundation, aims to help reduce street violence through direct interventions in the cities most violent neighborhoods. They do this through direct engagement of affected youth with a team of trained Streetworkers, establishing relationships in an effort to mediate and resolve conflicts, and encouraging at risk youth to take advantage of pro-social programs and services. StreetSafe Boston provides intensive case-management and wrap around support through direct service with Program Coordinators as well as immediate access to vital community-based services and programs for gang involved youth. In addition to education, legal services, housing services, family services, re-entry, mental health services and recreation, StreetSafe Boston offers an in-house transitional employment program providing each participant with the opportunity to experience on the job training with an intentional focus on building life skills.
The Boston Foundation, founded in 1915, is one of the oldest and largest community foundations in the nation. Serving the Greater Boston area, it is made up of some 900 separate charitable funds established by thousands of donors over more than 90 years. Funds are set up either for the general benefit of the community or for special purposes, such as supporting individual nonprofit organizations in perpetuity. Today the Foundation is the oldest and largest community foundation in New England, making more than $88 million in grants in 2012. Since 2001, the Boston Foundation has also served as a civic leader by commissioning and publishing research and providing a platform for discussion and progress related to a wide range of challenges facing Boston and the region. As Greater Boston's community foundation since 1915, the Boston Foundation devotes its resources to building and sustaining a vital, prosperous city and region, where justice and opportunity are extended to everyone. It fulfills this mission in three principal ways:
* Making grants to nonprofit organizations and designing special funding initiatives to address this community's critical challenges;
* Working in partnership with donors to achieve high-impact philanthropy; and
* Serving as a civic hub and center of information, where ideas are shared, levers for change are identified, and common agendas for the future are developed.

Gary Oberstein, a labor and employment attorney, has recently founded a charity with his wife Martha,based at Norwood airport, called "Above The Clouds". The charity is committed to spreading joy and hope through the wonder of small aircraft flight. Above the clouds has two programs, Dream Flyers and Cadet Flyers. The Dream Flyers program pairs volunteer pilots who donate their time and their aircraft to provide seriously ill, disabled and underprivileged children a day of fun. "It's all about making a really exciting day for kids who may not otherwise have too much fun in their lives" said one volunteer.
Every weekend during the spring, summer and fall, Above the Clouds gives seriously, disabled and underprivileged kids a chance to soar high above their problems. Dream pilots fly over the child's home and significant landmarks before passing over the controls and giving the child the opportunity to fly the plane. After landing, it's off to the pilots lounge where refreshments are served, photos taken, and the dream flyer is presented their own personalized flight jacket and aviator sunglasses.
In addition to the Dream Flyers program, Above the Clouds runs the Cadet Flyers program, in which underprivileged youth have the opportunity to learn to fly. Cadet flyers are teamed up with a volunteer flight instructor in a challenging journey that can culminate with their first solo flight. The Cadet Flyers Program is a direct response to the growing number of young people who are either falling through the cracks at school or are involved with social service agencies due to poverty issues or difficult home situations. The drop-out rate in the Boston Public Schools, for example, is 34.1%. Schools and social service agencies have been searching, often without success, for that elusive motivational tool that will serve as the conduit to encourage these teens to apply themselves, stay in school, achieve and follow a path toward a better future. Above the Clouds steps in to provide that missing motivational tool - the "coolness" of flight and the allure of learning to fly an airplane. Above the Clouds uniquely provides this programing on a cost-free basis for teens in need. It Inspires a sense of hope in the future by expanding the perspective of young people to make them aware of life's possibilities.
It builds a sense of responsibility by establishing goals and following through on commitments. It teaches the value of education as a means to achieve a goal, and develops discipline, integrity and self-esteem.
Founder Gary Oberstein is the managing partner of Nixon Peabody LLP's Boston office and an instrument-rated private pilot. As a practicing labor and employment attorney for 24 years, he has been legal counsel to dozens of charitable organizations. He sits on the boards of several charities that serve the needs of children. He also sits on the board of IMC Club, International, an organization serving instrument-rated Pilots. Gary has lived in the Boston area since 1986 and has had the joy and privilege of flying out of Norwood Memorial Airport for the past eight years. He has volunteered his piloting skills to provide free airplane rides in his Piper Saratoga (6-seater) through charity auctions and events for the past several years. Above the Clouds was born out of his desire to pair his passion for aviation with his wish to help seriously ill, disabled and underprivileged youth. A growing squadron of volunteer pilots is thrilled to volunteer their time, along with Gary, to provide airplane rides for Above the Clouds.