Rebuild Together Boston is both our largest and longest-standing community service event, with 2024 marking our 29th year of participation.
"The service you do for others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth."
— Muhammed Ali
While September 11 is recognized as a "Day of Service" throughout the United States, participating in community service is a year-round pursuit for associates at our Boston headquarters. Each month offers multiple opportunities to give back to worthy organizations close to home. Some teams choose to participate together for a bonding experience outside the office, while larger events help associates get to know each other beyond their respective departments—all while creating meaningful change in our community.
So far in 2024, 224 associates have volunteered 790 hours toward 20 community service events. Here are just a few highlights:
Rebuild Together Boston
Rebuild Together is a national organization whose mission is to "Repair homes, revitalize communities, and rebuild lives." Each year, communities nationwide come together to repair houses and renovate nonprofits on National Rebuild Day, Saturday, April 20th.
This year, which was our 29th year participating, 60 associates spent the day giving a facelift to the Blackstone Community Center in Boston’s Roxbury neighborhood. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life for Boston's residents by supporting children, youth, and families through a wide range of programs and services.
Our teams focused on painting, landscaping, and doing general repairs. Despite some heavy early morning rain, the excitement was palpable throughout the corridors of the center. Around lunchtime, the rain stopped, allowing landscaping projects to begin. As it turned out, the weather was no match for the motivation of this team, who completed their goals 90 minutes ahead of schedule.
New England Center and Home for Veterans
The mission of the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECHV) is to equip veterans who are facing or at-risk of homelessness with the tools for economic self-sufficiency and to provide them a path to achieve successful and dignified independent living.
A service and care provider for former military service men and women, the NECHV offers a broad array of programs and services that enable success, reintegration, meaningful employment and independent living.
Once per month, associates from our Boston headquarters serve dinner and provide desserts to honor these veterans.
Christopher’s Haven
Christopher’s Haven is a non-profit organization which acts as a beacon of support and comfort for families with children undergoing cancer treatment in Boston and Atlanta. In Boston, they manage nine fully furnished apartments and two welcoming community spaces (The Lofts), which serve as a crucial source of stability and connection during a challenging time.
So far this year, we have participated in two events at Christopher’s Haven. Most recently, in August, our volunteers witnessed two young residents "Ring the Bell" to celebrate the completion of their cancer treatment.
In addition to the symbolic bell ringing, Narjes (6) and Caleb (14) placed a painted palm print on the cancer-free tree. Residents, families, staff, and volunteers were in attendance to show their support. Our three associates brought and served dinner, gave Caleb and Narjes gifts for their hard work, and socialized with the kids and their families staying at Christopher's Haven.
Community Servings
The mission of Community Servings is to actively engage the community to provide medically tailored, nutritious, scratch-made meals to chronically and critically ill individuals and their families. "We commit, in all our programs and business practices, to prioritize racial and economic justice and health equity."
Since their founding in 1990, they have provided more than 13 million medically tailored meals to clients across Massachusetts who are living with severe critical and chronic illnesses such as HIV, cancer, diabetes, and kidney disease.
Our team of associates volunteered on the morning shift, during which they sorted food donations and then headed into the kitchen to prep lunch and dinner for that day.
Rosie’s Place
Rosie's Place was founded in 1974 as the first women’s shelter in the United States. Their mission is to provide a safe and nurturing environment that helps poor and homeless women maintain their dignity, seek opportunity, and find security in their lives. In addition to offering women emergency shelter and meals, this multi-purpose community center also provides women with a food pantry, ESOL classes, legal assistance, wellness care, one-on-one support, housing and job search services, and community outreach.
In March, our volunteers celebrated International Women’s Day at Rosie’s Place. The group delivered almost 400 pairs of winter hats and gloves donated by Grand Circle, and helped prepare and serve dinner to more than 150 women to brighten their day.
