For Individual Volunteers, NOT Groups
Prepare & Share Traditional Thanksgiving Meal with Lonely, Formerly Homeless Elders
WHEN
- Sunday 11/24/2024, 9:30-4:30 cook,1-4pm music, (2:15-4:30pie+cleanup)
-
Sign up by 11/19/2024
~10 volunteers are still needed.
WHAT
and/or
Make this event festive by playing a keyboard or another acoustic musical instrument (that you bring) in the afternoon
and/or
Bake a Homemade Pie - We need Eight!
This will be the 25th year that PMD volunteers will be preparing and sharing donated roast turkey, mashed potatoes, collards, dressings, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, gravy, rolls, traditional condiments, and festive appetizers, plus homemade pies for the grateful residents.
Donate $15 or more to help us purchase the $350+ groceries needed.
There is a financial hardship option in the registration process, so please do not let an inability to donate deter you from signing up to help.
WHERE
Boston's South End
Note: PMD only shares specific directions, maps, and other details with registered volunteers since we cannot accommodate any walk-ins, i.e., unregistered volunteers simply showing up.WHY
People on fixed incomes cannot afford much fresh or healthy food. And these formerly homeless, frail elders (who are now permanently housed) need and welcome friendly visitors with whom they can share their stories, opinions, and holiday traditions.
Since 1997, PMD volunteers have been making and sharing home-style meals with isolated, frail, formerly homeless elders now permanently housed by Hearth, purchasing all of the groceries and organizing and staffing every aspect. PMD volunteers particularly enjoy socializing with the elders.
HEARTH advocates on behalf of homeless elders, reaching out to, identifying, and assisting homeless elders in Boston, providing housing and services for this often neglected, vulnerable population.
Volunteer labor, donations for the groceries, and donation of roasted turkeys by neighbor Mike's City Diner make this project possible.
Regardless of whether one volunteers on 11/24, anyone can help underwrite the cost of groceries by donating using any method listed at https://www.pmd.org/donate - Please remember to designate your gift for "Thanksgiving"
HOW
Volunteers age 18 and older must also authorize a criminal history record by (1) completing PMD's official authorization form AND (2) providing a high-res image/scan of current, government-issued photo ID to PMD by 11/19.
PMD canNOT accept any UNregistered, walk-in volunteers.
If this popular project reaches maximum capacity, then interested volunteers can join the backup list, since we anticipate (and promote) cancellations in case of illness and covid-19 exposures.
For volunteers ages 16-17, a parent/guardian must also co-sign printouts of both PMD's waiver/release and PMD's Health Reporting Form.
Call PMD if you cannot register online using qualtrics.
CALL THE PMD OFFICE at
After you register successfully, you will see a confirmation screen and receive a confirmation email message, so be sure to save the date and times on your calendars AND add [email protected] to your address/white/allow list.
Then a few days before this project, PMD will email specific details in a PDF, including directions to the project site by public transit and by car*, what to wear/expect, checklist, map, and release form for minors that a parent/guardian must co-sign and provide at at check-in on 11/24 -- Volunteers age 18+ provide their consent when registering online, to minimize paperwork.
*We discourage folks from driving since it is difficult to find affordable, legal parking closer than public transit.
There is virtually no visitor parking available.
Expensive, garage parking at the hospital, or private, spothero-like parking may be available, but cannot be guaranteed or subsidized.
WHO
This project requires being in excellent health (and living with others who are also).There is only space for 15 volunteers, so complete registrations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis. (As always, only individuals may sign themselves up to participate.)
We strongly prefer reliable volunteers who have participated in at least one other PMD service project during the past year, OR who have formal food preparation experience and/or training since this is a physically demanding, fast-paced volunteer opportunity until we sit down and eat/visit with the elders.
Volunteers must be age 16 or older since this is a fast-paced project inappropriate for younger volunteers since we will be working in a commercial kitchen.
The above criteria do not apply to musical volunteers signing up to play music/create ambiance on a keyboard or acoustic instrument that they bring. Musicians will play shifts with breaks, 1-4pm.
Volunteers must be able to follow recipes and instructions to prepare, cook, and reheat ingredients safely, as well as to collect meal requests and to serve and clean up, while standing most of the time in a hot kitchen, and like all PMD projects, participation for an entire project span.
This is a fragrance-free event, meaning that participants must not wear perfume or cologne, or scented skin, hair, facial, or clothing/laundry products.
Note: At the request of the elders, who often can only consume small quantities and may need to maximize the protein and calories in every bite, most of the dishes we will prepare will contain eggs, milk, butter, and/or chicken/turkey stock. So if you cannot consume these ingredients, PMD suggests you bring your own meal to consume when you sit and visit with the elders.
For 31+ years, public charity People Making a Difference (PMD) has promoted informed and responsible volunteerism by involving people in tangible work that meets local needs and by assisting companies in building successful community involvement programs that:
- Produce appreciable results while conserving recipients' limited resources.
- Educate volunteers about broader issues.
- Bring people together to make a difference.
"If you are really thankful, what do you do? You share."
-W. Clement Stone
"Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgiving, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings."
-William Arthur Ward