Serve with Commonwealth Corps

The mission of Whale & Dolphin Conservation (WDC) is to amaze people with the wonder of whales and dolphins and inspire global action to protect them. WDC will host two full-time Commonwealth Corps members who will serve as Education & Outreach Specialists to educate people of different ages, backgrounds and abilities in Massachusetts. Through their service, members will help increase conservation literacy of marine mammals by increasing our number of individual contacts, seek and build strategic relationships with schools, teachers and community partners, and develop high-quality, inquiry-based lessons and activities that will continue to be utilized for years to come. In addition, they will leverage 50 volunteers that will be engaged in education & outreach.

Project Citizenship's mission is to increase the naturalization rate in Massachusetts, with a focus on the most vulnerable and disadvantaged populations. We do that by providing free legal services to permanent residents seeking U.S. citizenship, from screening for eligibility, assisting them with their citizenship application, providing attorney review and oversight, and submitting their application as their attorney of record. Three full-time Commonwealth Corps members will help build capacity to serve even more clients by conducting eligibility screening, assisting with Project Citizenship’s citizenship workshops, and performing data entry, as well as conducting community mapping and engaging with new community partners to better serve those on the pathway to citizenship in eastern Massachusetts.

The Commonwealth Corps Members will assist in outreach and engagement efforts to grow our food access partnerships and provide local food distribution support. Service members will perform the following: (a) Mobile Market Program Improvement: engage food insecure communities and food access partners in a North Shore Mobile Market Coalition; direct Mobile Market operations; provide nutrition education; and track results to develop an enterprise model for New Entry’s mobile market program in low-income North Shore communities; (b) Food Hub Logistical Support: support food hub warehouse packing and distribution logistics; volunteer training and management; (c) Food Hub and Farm Production Support: alongside farmer trainees and farmer training staff, support educational goals and experiential farm programming in demonstration training plot, support demonstration plot maintenance with Practicum participants and volunteers including planting, weeding, harvesting of crops for food access and food hub markets; (d) Volunteer Engagement: engage and lead volunteers on farm and in food hub; (e) Farm to School Program Development: support planning and programming to improve Farm-to-School connection between New Entry and local schools in our region; (f) Community Event Planning and Support: develop schedule of community engagement events on farm and volunteer roles needed, engage community partners to leverage outreach, and support execution of events and follow up services.

The Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI) supports immigrant families in overcoming systemic barriers to successful integration in the United States through education, workforce development, and advocacy. As part of IFSI’s Children’s Education programs, Commonwealth Corps members will enhance afterschool and summer enrichment initiatives by improving volunteer coordination, managing daily program logistics, and fostering a supportive environment for children. This work will provide meaningful academic support and enrichment opportunities, helping children build confidence and thrive.

The two Commonwealth Corps Student Support Specialists will directly support students to actively engage in the classroom and/or after school activities. They will support students one-on-one, in small groups and at times with whole classes to enhance the student experience at the Hernández. They will also assist with FOH’s Adult Education and Basic Family Needs Programs. Each Specialist will take on one capacity building project to support the wraparound needs of students and families - this could include assisting in the school’s Donation Center or with data management.

Gould Farm, established in 1913, stands as the nation's first residential therapeutic community dedicated to adults with mental health challenges in achieving recovery and independence through community living, meaningful work, and clinical care. Residents, referred to as "guests”, are welcomed into a supportive 700- acre campus environment, where depression, bipolar disorder, schizoaffective disorder, schizophrenia, and other challenges are addressed through a full continuum of services. The wellness program, known as REACH, embraces a holistic approach encompassing recovery, nutrition, exercise, appreciation for the land, and fos- tering healthy relationships. REACH groups, held twice a week, offer various activities such as stress manage- ment, yoga, nutrition, and exercise. With the assistance of Commonwealth Corps members, we seek to en- hance and expand the wellness program to include wellness and nutrition education, nutritional guidelines for food services, individual assessments, and tools for improved outcomes. Members will help Gould Farm build program capacity and contribute to sustained outcomes and ensure a comprehensive and supportive environment aligned with Gould Farm's mental health mission for years to come.

THRIVE’s mission is to empower communities to welcome and support our neighbors transitioning from incarceration. THRIVE seeks to support adults returning from incarceration and to revolutionize the role community members play in their lives upon reentry. Our goals are to disrupt cycles of incarceration, isolation, and social harm among returning citizens and within impacted communities through evidence-based restorative justice models, community building through education, and constituent leadership development. THRIVE’s current programs primarily serve the greater Lowell community. In this Peer-to-Peer project, the Commonwealth Corps members will participate in community outreach about THRIVE and its mission and in volunteer recruitment activities, provide resource and social support to THRIVE members returning to the Lowell community, and work on a capacity-building project that will either enhance THRIVE’s employment partner engagement or increase THRIVE’s Spanish-language resource services.

The Regional Environmental Council, Inc. (REC) is a grassroots, nonprofit, environmental and food justice organization with a 50-year history working for environmental sustainability and social justice in Central Massachusetts. REC is seeking one half-time Commonwealth Corp members to support youth leadership development and food justice programming for our YouthGROW program. The member will work closely with the teen leaders participating in YouthGROW to support urban food production at our YouthGROW Farm Sites, positive youth development and leadership programming, and updating and improving systems for resource referrals for young people.

The Regional Environmental Council, Inc. (REC) is a grassroots, nonprofit, environmental and food justice organization with a 50-year history working for environmental sustainability and social justice in Central Massachusetts. REC is seeking two half-time Commonwealth Corps members to support developing and implementing farm to early childhood programming at daycare and early childhood centers throughout Worcester, as well as providing broad support to the 34 school gardens supported by REC. In addition, they will collaborate with other members to leverage 100+ volunteers that will be engaged in hands-on garden support and maintenance and urban food production for food insecure neighborhoods.