My First Boston Cares Volunteering Event

So this morning I biked down through Dorchester to The Bridge Home for my very first Boston Cares volunteer event. Now I have to tell you, the Boston Cares program is great and absolutely perfect for a busy girl like me... you can volunteer for single one-time events so there's no weekly commitment that you have a problem keeping. I really recommend if you're looking for volunteer opportunities to sign-up, attend an orientation (its only $20 to register)... they have events of every sort including a lot of great farming and outdoor events in the summer... they also have organizations in NYC, DC, Chicago, and probably more. My next event is Beep Baseball where I'll be helping blind children play a game of baseball!

Today's event was also up my alley — for two hours I had Arts & Crafts time with the children at The Bridge Home. The Bridge Home is an emergency residential program for children up to age 12 who have been removed from abusive or neglectful homes. With the exception of one little boy who wouldn't behave and was removed from the room (it was so sad... ) the kids were lovely. Some were quiet and self-sufficient, others were talkative and social, but they were all very sweet. We made totem-poles out of paper towel cardboard cores and construction paper. One little boy who didn't say much and seemed a little unmotivated and lost, had a spiderman toy with him. So once I made him a spiderman face for his totem-pole, he started warming up and coming out of his shell... he had me make spidermen faces in two different colors, a pair of wings, some fire coming out of the top, the whole works. He eventually started talking a little at the end and as I was leaving even asked, "will I see you soon?" It broke my heart but also made me feel so good — the next and only other session listed is already full with volunteers (there's a max of only 6 for this program) but I will keep a close eye on it to see if anyone backs out because I had such a great time with the children.