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Volunteer Newsletter
Winter 2016
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Hello Volunteers,
Happy 2016! We are super excited about 2016 and we have some big things planned for the
Volunteer Program. We hope you have found these updates helpful, and as always, if you have any feedback, suggestions, or ideas, feel free to send them to Kyle at
[email protected].
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Kyle recently speaking to students at Granite Academy in Braintree about volunteerism, running, setting goals, and pushing through challenges
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Annual Volunteer
Appreciation Brunch
As many of you know, every year on the day before the Boston Marathon we host a
Volunteer Appreciation Brunch to celebrate YOU and all of the great work you do throughout the year.
Event information is below - for more information or to RSVP,
visit our website.
Hope to see you there!
Date:
Sunday, April 17, 2016
Time:
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Location:
The Westin Copley Place
Essex South, Third Floor
10 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02116
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New Volunteer Blog:
"Wednesdays With Dean"
Stephanie Ross has just written a wonderful piece for MABVI's Insight blog about volunteering with Dean through our program, forming a bond and learning from a man who has done it all and doesn't let blindness stand in his way.
"While it's only been a few months, my bond with Dean is profound. Two years ago, I left everything familiar in Texas and moved to Boston. I came with zero regrets, however something was missing. As a member of Delta Gamma at the University of North Texas, I was immersed in endless volunteer opportunities for the Service for Sight program. But being away from all of that - my sorority sisters, my family, etc. - I felt empty. I was stuck in the loop of working 9-5 and going home just to do it all over again.
"Until I met Dean."
Read more on our Insight blog.
Want to share your volunteer story? Email Marketing Coordinator Brian Klotz at [email protected].
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Referral Incentive Program
As we've mentioned in previous updates, our One-to-One Volunteer Program continues to grow and improve every month. However, we still have a lengthy list of individuals who are blind/visually impaired (B/VI) who are waiting for a volunteer. Therefore, our top priority continues to remain recruiting and training new volunteers.
Congratulations to
Teresa Herbert for winning the recent "refer a friend" incentive! And thanks to everyone who referred someone to our program - we received over a half dozen referrals, which is incredibly helpful and means that even more individuals will receive the volunteer assistance they need.
For our next Incentive Program, we're going old school! Believe it or not, many new volunteers learn about our Volunteer Program by seeing a
flyer hanging in their community - a local coffee shop, workplace, gym, etc.
So here is what we are going to do - a simple and easy way to earn a chance to win a
$50 CVS gift card:
1. Print out copies of our volunteer flyer - view or download the flyer here
2. Hang the flyer somewhere in your community.
2. Take a picture of the flyer. (If you're feeling fun, you could even make it a selfie!)
3. Post the picture to our Facebook and/or Twitter accounts. Our Facebook is facebook.com/mabvi and our Twitter handle is @TheMABVI. Make sure you tell us where the flyer is! For each location you will receive one entry into the raffle for the $50 CVS gift card, so hanging more flyers equals a greater chance to win!
Don't have Facebook or Twitter? That's okay - just email the picture and location to [email protected].
Also, if your company has an internal website that lists volunteer opportunities, please post MABVI's info and send us a screen shot or picture.
Please note, the best locations are existing community bulletin boards, etc. Please ask a store/company manager's permission if you want to post it somewhere other than an existing bulletin board.
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Boston Marathon Weekend
Volunteers Needed!
For the past 23 years, our
Team With a Vision has participated in the Boston Marathon to raise funds and awareness for MABVI. This is our busiest weekend of the year, as we are coordinating travel and accommodation plans for over 20 runners who are B/VI and their sighted guides in addition to hosting a number of events and activities throughout the weekend.
Therefore, we are always looking for volunteers to help out! There are many different opportunities available, including:
- Purchasing and creating baskets of breakfast and snack foods for the runners
- Driving runners and their families to or from Logan Airport
- Accompanying runners and their families on trips around Boston - museums, landmarks, etc.
- Baking cookies or making pasta or salad for the Team dinner the Saturday before the race
- Purchasing and putting together flower arrangements for the dinner
- Setting up, serving, and cleaning up at the dinner
- Helping with guide transitions - some runners use a different guide for each half of the race, so you would help by driving guides from 200 Ivy St. in Brookline to the halfway point in Wellesley and back.
Please email
Kyle if you would like to help with this. Thanks!
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Change of address? Let us know!
We want to keep in touch with you (and make sure you receive our super cute Valentine's Day card!), so if you have recently moved, please make sure to drop us an email or give a phone call to let us know your new address.
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: (617) 926-4312
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Finally, we love to hear about how things are going with your consumer. Please email Jen at
[email protected] or myself at
[email protected] to let us know what you have been up to.
As always, we are incredibly thankful for your volunteer time and work with our consumers. On behalf of the entire MABVI family, thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Kyle Robidoux
Director of Volunteer and Support Group Services,
Follow us on social media for news and updates:
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Experience. Innovation. MAB Community Services has been creating opportunities for people with disabilities since 1903. Our experience allows us to forge strong community partnerships to meet the pressing need for high quality services and transform lives.
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