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When community-based learning works, it REALLY works. The diversity of educational programs run by Just Roots Community Farm in Franklin County provides experiential learning for youth of all ages. There are also volunteer workdays that invites families to take ownership of impact that fosters greater youth collaboration, and ultimately building a stronger community!
Engaging your family in community service teaches kids positive values while opening up channels of communication between parent and child, and can increase their participation as future volunteers. Join Hilltown Families for an evening of community service art-making on Friday, June 6th from 4-7pm at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls, MA, for “We (heart) the Deerfield River,” the final community-service through art event in a series of five free family community service nights!
Families can participate together in community service at one of the many spring clean ups happening in the region. Here are five featured community service opportunities happening this Saturday…
Global Youth Service Day, designed to promote community service and to draw in youth as volunteers to support a wide variety of causes, takes place this week: April 11-13. Families interested in participating in community service can use Global Youth Service Day as an opportunity to choose a cause and begin donating their time and efforts to it.
Spring Diaper Drive in Franklin County to Support Community! Host a Diaper Drive this spring in your place of work, faith community, neighborhood, school, civic organization, or any group you belong to. It is easy and a positive way to support families and a great way to incorporate service-based learning with your children. Find out more…
Community-service opportunities, like Land Monitors for the Hilltown Land Trust, are ways older students can participate in service-based learning while supporting natural resources they have grown to care about. On Saturday, March 15, the Hilltown Land Trust and the Kestrel Trust will hold a Volunteer Stewardship Training Workshop at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton…
The Children’s Garden Project started in 2013 with two college students, a hodgepodge collection of garden tools and a goal: to connect urban children with nature and basic agricultural concepts through a specially designed educational curriculum…
Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Night at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls, MA DIY Mittens & Scarves for Families in Transition Friday, January 17th, 2014 from 4-7pm What better gift to receive in the winter than a warm pair of handmade mittens or cozy handmade scarf; and what better gift to give to someone in your community than something you have lovingly made? On Friday, January 17th from 4-7pm, Hilltown Families… Read More
Volunteering together with your children teaches positive values, like kindness, empathy and tolerance, while opening up channels of communication. Thanks to Birthday Wishes, a nonprofit organization serving much of New England and New York, children living in homeless shelters are able to celebrate their birthdays with games, cake, and gifts – and there are lots of ways that families can help to support the organization’s efforts…
What better gift to receive in the winter than a warm pair of handmade mittens or cozy handmade scarf; and what better gift to give to someone in your community than something you have lovingly made? .. Join us for an evening of community service art-making on Friday, Jan. 17th from 4-7pm at The Art Garden in Shelburne Falls, MA, for “DIY Mittens & Scarves for Families in Transition,” the second in a series of five free family community service nights…
Volunteering with The Food Bank is great way for kids to give a unique gift to families struggling with food security throughout the holiday season and winter months. During the school vacation week, the Food Bank will host a children’s volunteer morning in Hatfield…
Hands-on volunteering experiences can sometimes be hard to find for families with younger children. There are many terrific of organizations within our community that need volunteers to help with a variety of jobs, but often these jobs are skill-specific or take place in environments that may not be welcoming to young children. However, there are lots of community service projects that kids can do at home that make just as large an impact as in-person volunteering…
This coming Friday evening… Hilltown Families and The Art Garden will be collaborating again this year in a series of Free Family Community Service Nights! The first in the series will be on Friday, December 13th from 4-7pm: “A Serving of Art.” Join us in Shelburne Falls for an evening of art and community service, making reusable handmade canvas placemats and collecting nonperishable foods to donate to Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, MA. Families will also be invited to make a special canvas placemat to take and give to an elder in their life or a home-bound senior in their community…
Spread the spirit of giving and build community this holiday season by organizing a collection drive to support Socks for Seniors! The organization has been collecting socks all over the country for more than ten years! The socks collected in each drive are then given to elderly community members in order to keep their toes nice and warm throughout the winter and share some of the holiday spirit that inspired the project in the first place…
Hilltown Families and The Art Garden will be collaborating again this year in a series of Free Family Community Service Nights! The first in the series will be on Friday, December 13th from 4-7pm: “A Serving of Art.” Join us in Shelburne Falls for an evening of art and community service, making reusable handmade canvas placemats and collecting nonperishable foods to donate to Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield, MA. Families will also be invited to make a special canvas placemat to take and give to an elder in their life or a home-bound senior in their community…
The Stone Soup Cafe in Greenfield brings together community, serving fresh, homemade food to neighbors of all ages and backgrounds. Volunteer opportunities ranging from cooking, serving, performing and cleaning are available — or just bring your family and enjoy a community meal that is inclusive and diverse…
Food drives are just one of the many ways to help support those in need within your community, and food banks and survival centers are generally so easy to support and access that even teens and tweens can facilitate food drives at their schools or in their neighborhoods. Learn how you can host a food drive in your community…
This past Saturday at Atlas Farm in Deerfield, Hilltown Families collaborated with Whole Foods Market and brought families together in the fields for a day of community service, gleaning organic kale, collards, chard and broccoli leftover from a recent harvest to donate to the Food Bank of Western MA…
This September, Hilltown Families has another community service event for families… Kids’ Day of Community Service! In collaboration with Whole Foods Market in Hadley, this will be an opportunity to glean organic vegetables for The Food Bank of Western MA at Atlas Farm in Deerfield. Join us in this service learning opportunity giving kids a hands-on look at how their food is grown while supporting local food security efforts…
Get involved! Service -Learning Opportunities in Western MA How better to participate and learn through your community than a service-learning project? Service-learning projects can help youth connect with others while learning about their world. Since just about anything can be a learning experience, this list will include both opportunities where the learning is obvious, along with opportunities where the learning is more subtle. While there are lots of “Projects,” and opportunities for… Read More
Best Buddies E-Buddies E-Mail Pen-Pal Program Best Buddies, an organization that works to provide individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities with inclusive opportunities, offers a unique program for teens and tweens. E-Buddies is an e-mail penpal program, where teens and tweens from all over the country are matched with a buddy with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to begin regular penpal style communication via the internet. By participating in the program,… Read More
Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event Gives Back! This past Saturday, May 4th, was the second Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event, a one of a kind event for families to volunteer together at seven different community service stations in a single morning! From teens to tots to grandparents, together families were able to generate 450 hours of community service at this intergenerational event for different non-profit and community organizations in our… Read More
Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event Saturday, May 4th from 10am-1pm Leeds Elementary School in Northampton, MA Join Hilltown Families for a Saturday morning of volunteering together with your family during our spring Family Community Service Event on Saturday, May 4th from 10am-1pm in Northampton, MA! This past fall at our inaugural Family Community Service Night we focused on human service organizations and families had a great time working together in support… Read More
Park Clean Ups & Community Service Activities for Families this Spring in Western MA As spring warms the landscape across western Massachusetts, opportunities for outdoor adventures increase exponentially. What would have been a snowshoe trek and bark inspection a month ago has become a woods hike where families can identify plants, trees, and wildlife of all shapes and sizes. However, as the ground awakes from its snow-covered slumber, trails and parks are… Read More
Support Neighbors in Transition Volunteer with Gray House in Springfield Looking for community service opportunities to do as a family? Whether you’re hoping to fill a few free afternoons with an engaging activity or are planning to make a long-term commitment to lending a hand with a community organization, opportunities for service learning abound at The Gray House! Located in Springfield’s North End, The Gray House offers a thrift shop and food… Read More
Click here to find out how this wonderful community-service event went: Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event Generates 450 Hours of Community Service in a Single Morning… and a whole lotta fun! Hilltown Families’ Family Community Service Event Saturday, May 4, 2013 from 10am-1pm Leeds Elementary School in Northampton, MA Join Hilltown Families for a Saturday morning of volunteering together with your family during our spring Family Community Service Event on Saturday, May… Read More
Practicing Consideration of Others on Martin Luther King Day of Service… and Everyday! It’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service! If you’re looking for a way your family can participate in this day of service, it can be as big as joining a community celebration with service and learning opportunities (check out our post, Ways to Observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in Western MA), and it can be as small… Read More
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Opportunities and Celebrations in Western MA Monday, January 21, 2013 Honoring Martin Luther King, Jr.’s life and dedication to creating change in our country can be done in many ways. The day will be celebrated in Western MA at concerts, lectures, worship services, and ceremonies throughout the region. Mass Audubon is offering a unique way for families to spend the special holiday this year –… Read More
Hilltown Families event at Bridge Street School links community service and family fun By Barbara Solow, Daily Hampshire Gazette NORTHAMPTON (Dec 3, 2012) — City resident Margaret Martin said she brought her two granddaughters, 9 and 6, to a community event at Bridge Street School last Friday to “get them out and about and helping people.” Victoria Worth of Ashfield was there with her 9-year-old daughter to learn more about the work… Read More
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