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Service Learning can provide an inspiring context for nature exploration and the outdoors. In our Western Massachusetts communities, there are many ways at home and with local organizations that you can engage in service learning while spending time outside and learning more about our environment and the species with whom we share it.

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

Cheri Hardy, Children’s Librarian at the Hatfield Public Library writes: Youth Action Committee (YAC), the youth subcommittee of the Friends of the Hatfield Public Library, is recruiting new members. YAC gets together for an hour on the 2nd and 3rd Saturdays of every month at 11am at the Hatfield Public Library to have fun together and to plan and carry out action projects pertaining to the library. An action project could be… Read More

News & Information on Service Learning, Community Service, & Family Volunteering Opportunities Around Thanksgiving Day Looking for ways to give back to your community during the holidays. Here are 10 ideas we’ve shared this week on the Hilltown Families Facebook Page.  Ideas range from volunteering with your family for a single evening to hosting an elderly person in your home, and span the four counties of Western MA. There’s also information to… Read More

Source-to-Sea Clean-Up in Hampden County Sunday, Sept. 30th The Trustees of Reservations (The Trustees), United Water, and Holyoke Friends of the River have joined forces this fall to organize a river clean-up volunteer day on the banks of the Connecticut River. On Sunday, September 30th, from 9am-Noon, folks of all ages and abilities are invited to meet at the American Legion next to Pulaski Park (50 St. Kolbe Dr., Holyoke, MA) to… Read More

Community Service: Gleaning with Rachel’s Table When food is grown, often a significant amount is left behind in fields after the harvest.  Families can help to harvest food and contribute to local efforts to combat hunger by volunteering with Rachel’s Table Gleaning Project!  The project organizes community members to visit local farms and glean fields once farmers have finished their harvest. Over the past five years, Rachel’s Table has offered over $100,000… Read More

Families Can Volunteer at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum Help to preserve local history and an important part of the evolution of transportation by volunteering at the Shelburne Falls Trolley Museum! The museum is home to trolleys, a pump car, and information and memorabilia related to local history and the history of train and trolley transportation. Volunteers at the museum can help with many different tasks, depending on skills, interest, and age…. Read More

Volunteer Training for Teens with Horizons for Homeless Children Did you know that one in every fifty children in the United States lives without a permanent home?  Horizons for Homeless Children helps children living in shelters across Western Massachusetts by providing play spaces in shelters (places often not child-friendly and devoid of home-like aspects) and offering volunteers to spend time with kids, playing, reading, etc., in the play areas. Due to the… Read More

Community Service and Theater Highlights: April 28th & 29th, 2012 Participate in community service this weekend with your family, then head out to one of the many theater opportunities! COMMUNITY SERVICE Families can spend a day volunteering with Mass Audubon! The organization’s annual Statewide Volunteer Day will take place from 9am-12noon at Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary (Easthampton), Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary (Pittsfield) & Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary (Hampden)! Volunteers can help to clean… Read More

Work for Wildlife Mass Audubon 6th Annual Statewide Volunteer Day Saturday, April 28th, 2012 Spend a day volunteering with Mass Audubon! The organization’s annual Statewide Volunteer Day will take place on Saturday, April 28th from 9am-12noon in locations across the state. In Western MA, families can volunteer at one of three sanctuaries: Canoe Meadows in Pittsfield; Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary in Easthampton; or Laughing Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Hampden. Volunteers can help to… Read More

Community Service: Volunteering as a Family During the holiday season there was much discussion about community service opportunities families could participate in together. Now that spring has arrived, many parks are getting ready for the season with spring clean ups, an excellent time of the year for families to participate in community service together, while enjoying the outdoors. This past Saturday, April 7th, 2012 Greenfield Energy Park had their spring clean up,… Read More

Hancock Shaker Village Offers Volunteer Opportunities for Families There is a unique volunteer opportunity available for families with older children happening at one of our living museums! Hancock Shaker Village in Pittsfield, MA offers families with children ages 13 and older the chance to volunteer at the village, and there are many different activities to help out with! During the spring, volunteers are needed to help with Baby Animals on the Shaker… Read More

Volunteer Opportunity: First Night Northampton First Night is a Northampton tradition enjoyed by the community every year- families love all of the fun events that take place all day (especially the fireworks!) and it’s a wonderful way to wrap up the holidays. However, all of the fun couldn’t happen without the help of volunteers! The Northampton Center for the Arts, which the event benefits, is seeking volunteers to help out during First… Read More

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