Spring 2017 Community Partners
RELS 143
Abby’s House / Tuesday-Thursday, 10a-3p (for one 2-hour time block) or Friday, 10a-2p (for one 2-hour time block)
African Community Education (ACE) / Monday- Thursday, 3-6pm (for one 2-hour time block)
Assumption Center / Wednesday or Thursday, 2:30-4:45p; Tuesday or Thursday 10a-12p
Center for Nonviolent Solutions / Times vary; most likely Tuesdays 9:30am-11:30am
Dress for Success / Tuesday-Friday, 10a-2p (for one 2-hour time block)
Girl Scouts of Central and Western Massachusetts / Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday (afternoons); or, Saturday mornings
Let’s Get Ready / Monday or Wednesday, 5:30-8:30p
The Mustard Seed / Wednesdays, 4-7p
Nativity School of Worcester / Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday from 3:45p-4:45p or 5:15p to 6:30p; or Wednesday from 3:30-5p
Positive Directions / Monday or Wednesday, 1:45-3:15p or 3:30p-5p
Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC) / Monday-Friday, 10a-4p (for one 2- or 4-hour time block – 2 hours weekly; 4 hours biweekly)
Woodland Academy / Monday-Friday, 8a-2p (for one 2-hour time block)
Worcester East Middle School / Tuesday-Thursday, 7:45a-3p (for one 1.5- or 2-hour time block)
WPS Adult Learning Center / Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday morning, 9-11:30a; or Tuesday or Thursday evening, 5-8p (for one 2- or 2.5-hour time block)
Abby’s House
http://www.abbyshouse.org/
52 High Street Worcester, MA 01609
Staff Contact:
Jean Anger, Volunteer Coordinator
Phone: (508) 756-5486 ext. 27
Organization Description:
Abby’s House was formed at the beginning of the battered women’s movement – there were no paradigms to follow in organizational development. Instead, the volunteers who ran the shelter listened carefully to the needs of the women and responded accordingly. The spirit of empowerment, sisterhood and mutuality embodied by the original volunteer activists continues to inform our program delivery today.
CBL Opportunities:
The Abby's House Thrift Shop continues to be our largest single source of revenue. All of the profits from sales at the Thrift Shop fund our emergency shelter. The Thrift Shop is full of quality clothing, accessories, home goods, and bargain-priced cosmetics. We encourage you to visit the store today, not only to donate clothing and home goods, but to add some great pieces to your wardrobe! Two hours a week is needed within the following time periods: Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday: 10:00am - 3:00pm; Fridays: 10:00am - 2:00pm.
Volunteers needed: 4
Pre-service Requirements: Volunteer Application (http://www.abbyshouse.org/volunteer-application-form)
African Community Education (ACE)
http://www.acechildren.org/
24 Chatham St. Worcester
Staff Contact:
Waitta Vainga
508-799-3653
Organization Description:
The African Community Education Program (ACE) has a mission to assist African refugee and immigrantyouth and families in achieving educational and social stability through access to academicsupport, leadership development, cultural expression, and community outreach in Worcester, MA. ACE focuses its attention on recent refugees and immigrants, especially those coming from countries of conflict. ACE students are English Language Learners with limited or interrupted formal education, are low-income, and adjusting to American educational culture.
CBL Opportunities
After School Program Volunteer:
Our After-School program combines homework tutoring and extracurricular activities to provide students in Grades 5-12 with supportive, structured, enriched learning opportunities during out-of-school hours. The goals of the After School Program: (1) provide a structured environment for students to receive academic support and assistance to complete school & assignments and become independent learners; (2) provide interactive extracurricular and recreational activities that enrich students’ academic, social-emotional, and physical well-being by hosting facilitators from our partners in the Worcester community.
Volunteers commit to at least 2 hours/week for at least 1 semester to serve as tutors and activity assistants. Volunteers assist students with their homework assignments, projects, and academic enrichment and guide them to become independent learners. Volunteers also assist extracurricular, gym, and leadership activities to guide students to engage in learning, demonstrate good sportsmanship, and develop positive leadership skills. Volunteers must be flexible to work with one student or in a small group as needed. Volunteers may state preference for age/grade level and academic subject, which ACE tries to honor.
When: Monday- Thursday, 3:00-6:00pm. September 8, 2014 – June 2015 (closely aligned to the Worcester Public Schools calendar)
Pre-service Requirements:
Volunteer Application, Emergency Contact Form, CORI form & photocopy of photo ID, & attend a 2 Hour New Volunteer Orientation
Volunteers needed: 10-15
Assumption Center
http://www.assumptionsisters.org/
16 Vineyard Street
Worcester, MA 01603
Staff Contacts:
Sr. Catherine Anne Soley, RA
Sr. Mary Ann Azana, R.A.
508-767-1356
Organization Description:
The Assumption Center in Worcester is a ministry of the Religious of the Assumption. In partnership with the parish of St. Peter-St. Andrew in the city’s Main South area, the Center serves the various educational needs of the neighborhood through English as a Second Language classes for adult learners, after-school mentoring and literacy programs, the Kate O’Neill spiritual book library, Girls With DREAMS, GIFT Lecture Series and a Vietnamese summer camp. In addition, the Center also sponsors a Knitting Circle and a community garden which involve many volunteers from around the city. All the programs were founded by the Sisters and are carried out by the Sisters, AMAs and volunteers from Assumption College, Clark University and College of the Holy Cross as well as a good number of adults from the parish and the area.
The headquarters of the Sisters’ lay volunteer program, the Assumption Mission Associates (AMA), is housed at the Assumption Center. A project of the Religious of the Assumption since the 1950s, AMA has been particularly active in the U.S. since the 1980s. Since its move to Worcester in 2001, AMA-USA has sent approximately 100 young people to mission sites both overseas and in this country. Currently the AMAs serve with sisters in Worcester, MA and in Chaparral, NM in the USA and in the Philippines and England, internationally.
In addition to the AMA office, the Center provides housing for the AMAs themselves, who live together in the Cana community along with other young adults who are committed to intentional living. The Cana community shares meals and prayer regularly with the community of Assumption Sisters. The AMAs offer service at Assumption Center, the parish of St. Peter-St. Andrew’s, and other neighborhood organizations that serve the disadvantaged.
CBL Opportunities:
MENTORING
The Assumption Center runs an after-school mentoring program at St. Peter’s Church on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons from 2:30-4:45 p.m. Children, ages 6-15, are paired one on one with college mentors who help with homework, reading, arts and crafts, games and much more. Since 1996 the mentoring program has provided a safe, supportive and fun environment for children to spend their after-school hours.
ESL Tutoring
Assumption Center ESL Classes at St Peter's Church, Tuesday and Thursday, 10a-12p. The program provides instruction in English as a Second Language to approximately 125 adult learners each year. The majority of our students are recent immigrants from all over the world. In joining the learning community, you will gain insight into the struggles of our families to integrate into American society.
Child Care :By providing supervision for their children, you will be facilitating the acquisition of English language skills for our parents. Without this service, they would not be able to attend our classes.The program accepts children ages 2 – 6. The ratio of children to care provider will be 2 – 1.
Teacher:No second language skills are required, training will be provided. You would have three options: to teach a class of approx. 6 - 10 adult learners in our classrooms; to tutor one on one in our classrooms during our class time; or to tutor a student outside of our class space and time.
Pre-Service Requirements: CORI Form and application (for ESL tutors only)
Number of Volunteers Needed: As many as possible
Center for Nonviolent Solutions (CNVS)
http://www.nonviolentsolutions.org/
901 Pleasant Street, Worcester, MA
Staff Contact:
Claire Schaeffer-Duffy
Staff Director
774-239-4022
Organization Description:
Driven by a vision to create a culture of peace within the Worcester community, the founding members of the Center for Nonviolent Solutions (CNVS) began meeting in 2008 to discuss ways to educate Worcester’s residents about the history and efficacy of nonviolence, how to transform conflict, and nonviolent communication skills. With persistence and dedication to achieve its mission, CNVS gained recognition as a nonprofit organization in July 2010 and hired its first part-time Executive Director in May 2011. Soon afterwards the Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers met for an inaugural retreat. At the retreat, CNVS decided to pursue education (youth and adult), establish Community Mediation Services, and host a resource center and speakers’ bureau as the main avenues through which they could build a culture of nonviolence in Worcester. Since inception the Center for Nonviolent Solutions has delivered on it mission to provide education and resources to help the Worcester community to understand nonviolence and peacemaking as a way of life and to reject the use of violence in resolving conflict
CBL Opportunities:
A Holy Cross volunteer is welcome to join the CNVS staff. The volunteer would primarily observe and assist with the programs that CNVS currently runs:
· Peer Mediation Program at Claremont - In the fall, high schoolers at Claremont were trained by CNVS staff to serve as peer mediators (to middle schoolers at Claremont). Each week, CNVS staff meet with the Claremont mediators to discuss the program, trouble shoot with the mediators, and to have lunch.
· Civil Rights Discussion - CNVS is working to complete a grant to implement a Civil Rights Discussion program where there would be public reading of civil rights documents. The hope of the program is to recruit teen girls to do the public readings because the readings are going to feature prominently women involved in the civil rights movement.
· Voices of Peace - The Voices of Peace program is a youth radio project. Youth are being invited to interview people in Worcester who have done peace work. It’s modeled after NPR’s Story Corps.
The CBL volunteer could participate in any of the above activities. The CBL volunteer should note that apart from the Peer Mediation Program (which meets on Tuesdays at Claremont from 10:30am-11:15am), the other programs meet at various times. The CBL volunteer should have a flexible schedule and be open and willing to changing their regular volunteer times throughout the semester. The CBL student will be able to meet the 2-hour per week requirement through assisting with the above programs and attending the weekly staff meeting on Tuesday mornings before the Claremont session.
Pre-Service Requirements: Meeting with staff director
Number of Volunteers Needed: 1
Dress for Success Worcester
http://www.dressforsuccess.org/worcester
484 Main St. Suite 110 Worcester
Staff Contact:
Janet Paskauskas
508-796-5660
Organization Description:
The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life. Founded in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success is an international not-for-profit organization offering services designed to help our clients find jobs and remain employed. Each Dress for Success client receives one suit when she has a job interview and can return for additional professional attire when she finds work.
Dress for Success serves clients by referral only, and women must be actively searching for employment. Our clients come to us from a continually expanding and diverse group of non-profit and government agencies including homeless shelters, immigration services, job training programs, educational institutions and domestic violence shelters, among many other organizations. Almost 4,500 organizations throughout the world send women to Dress for Success for professional apparel and career development services.
CBL opportunities:
CBL students will have an opportunity to work directly with clients as well as support the boutique. Students will each sign up for a weekly two-hour slot when the boutique is open (Tuesday-Friday 10:00am-2:00pm). During this time, students will be scheduled to assist clients with selecting professional attire for their interviews or new jobs. Students will also spend time assisting with sorting and arranging merchandise donations. Students may also have an opportunity to assist with the various workshops Dress for Success provides (note: the workshops occur during hours when the boutique is not open, so students desiring to assist with these workshops must have a flexible schedule and the initiative to seek out this volunteer opportunity).
Pre-service Requirements: None
Volunteers needed: 3-10
Note: This opportunity is only appropriate for female-identified students
Girl Scouts of Central & Western MA
http://www.gscwm.org
81 Gold Star Blvd. Worcester, MA
Staff Contact:
Kerry O’Brien
800.462.9100
Organization Description:
We’re 2.7 million strong—1.9 million girls and 800,000 adult volunteerswho believe girls can change the world. It began over 100 years ago with one woman, Girl Scouts’ founder Juliette Gordon “Daisy” Low, who believed in the power of every girl. She organized the first Girl Scout troop onMarch 12, 1912, inSavannah,Georgia, and every year since, we'vemade her vision a reality,helping girlsdiscover their strengths, passions,and talents.
Today, as yesterday, we continue the Girl Scout mission of building girls of courage, confidence, and character who make the world a better place. We’re the preeminent leadership development organization for girls. And with programs for girls from coast to coast and across the globe, Girl Scouts offers every girl a chance to do something amazing.
CBL Opportunities:
Troop Leaders: Use our fun program resources to guide a group of girls for a regularly scheduled Girl Scout Troop meeting in the community. Meet with your group periodically – weekly, bi-weekly or monthly. With our training and support, and your 10-12 hours a month during the school year, you will act as an instructor and mentor to each individual, as well as to the group, as a whole. You will experience life-changing moments that will make a difference in the lives of your girls, as well as your own.
Please note: this is a much bigger time commitment than other sites and requires a full year commitment.
Community-Based Program Leader: Act as a leader during a 6 or 8-week program (with pre- and post-trainings), reaching out to girls that might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience Girl Scouts and all that it can offer. Use our fun curriculum and resources to give girls accessible, flexible opportunities that will expand their knowledge and experiences. With our training, you will help girls build lasting leadership skills and friendships. The time commitment is about 2.5 hours a week after school for anywhere from 4-10 weeks, depending on the program location. The girls will have fun learning as you spend time sharing your talents and experience with them, acting as a mentor and trusted instructor.