Organizations can be transformed to be more reflective of the populations being served racially and ethnically. They can develop a greater respect for and appreciation of cultural, gender, ability, class, religious and orientation differences.

Literacy Volunteers of Massachusetts (LVM) is about bringing people together to make a real difference. LVM trains volunteers who provide free, confidential and individualized tutoring to adults in basic literacy and English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL).

The Mother's Day Walk for Peace began in 1996 for families who had lost their children to violence. On a day that we celebrate mothers and children, the Walk became a place for families and friends to feel support and love with thousands of others who pledge their commitment to peace.

Ed, I have walked a few times in the past. Great agency and I'm not surprised that you've been able to do some work with them...I'm not sure if my family will walk this year as its my wife's first year as a mother and she may opt to do something different. I'm still gonna push her though>>>

Another example of how engagement and advocacy can be created in many different ways

These two links highlight the work of one of my former colleagues and friend Cynthia Loesch. Cynthia has been an advocate for her neighborhood of Codman Square (located in Boston) since her teenage years. She recently built a 100% green home inside her community which she used as a model to allow neighborhood residents to learn how to conduct green retrofitting ideas to be more energy efficient and to save money. http://www.81brent.org

Share your story of rising and broaden your social connections online, in Boston, and around the nation. Boston Rising does great non-profit work organizing against poverty in Grove Hall. This is one of their social media actions...

Civic engagement bonds youth to their communities, inviting them to participate in the power structures and decision-making processes that influence their daily lives. At Sociedad Latina we value and respect youth intelligence, passion, and leadership abilities. We work to combat the trend of disempowered, disengaged youth by creating space in our community for young people to effect meaningful change.

Interesting article in today's Globe about the impact that lobbyists have had on Corporate tax breaks.

This group just had an advocacy day on March 6th at the state house.

This is the website to a great program for those interested in learning more about the legislative process in Massachusetts. Its targeted towards introducing people of color and community workers and best of all it is totally free!

With summer four months away, the Boston-based Youth Jobs Coalition and more than 1,000 teens returned to the State House for an annual demonstration to push for job funding for young people. If you look at the got jobs sign, I am there with the green stripped hat but my head is turned to the side...

Documentary about grassroots community organizing in Roxbury during the late 80's early 90's. These efforts united social service agencies, churches, elected officials, and most importantly, community residents to tackle quality of life issues of the Dudley Street Neighborhood.

I have a strong interest in graffiti, particularly within hip-hop, and the messages that are created exhibiting powerful messages, usually from a youth perspective. While looking for a link to some of these images, I came across this article about how Native Americans took over Alcatraz during the late 60's to send a message and they used graffiti as a medium.