Volunteer

Want a rewarding, meaningful volunteer experience unlike any other? Give the invaluable gift of your friendship today. Apply now

Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Boston (JBBBS) aims to transform lives through friendship. We introduce children and teens in need of adult mentors and match adults with disabilities to new friends in their communities.

JBBBS could not have the impact it does without the countless volunteers who give their time, energy and passion to our clients. Each year, more than 600 volunteers give their time to one of JBBBS’ programs. Volunteers are Jewish and non-Jewish students, professionals, parents and grandparents as diverse as the individuals we serve.

At JBBBS, volunteers may get involved in Programs for Children, College Mentoring for Teens or Programs for Adults with Disabilities.

Volunteer Requirements

To be considered for a match in JBBBS’ programs, prospective volunteers must be:

  • Age 21+ and living or working in Greater Boston
  • Capable of making, at minimum, a year’s commitment
  • In Children’s Program and College Mentoring -Capable of meeting with your Little or Mentee twice a month, mostly on weekends
  • In Friend 2 Friend-Capable of meeting with your Friend once a month
  • Capable of using a personal vehicle or mass transit to transport their Little to and from activities (in our Community Program) or to meet the Friend for an outing at a designated place and time
  • Willing to submit to volunteer screening process including an in-depth in-person interview, multiple legal background and driving record checks, and to participate in required online training

Keep in mind that these are the basic requirements to volunteer. Among other factors, clinical match specialists consider the prospective volunteer’s motivations, life experiences, personal/professional goals, and medical and mental health history in order to make a determination about whether they are the right fit for one of our programs.

Sound like this might be a fit? Apply now!

Process

All interested JBBBS volunteers must go through a similar process to make sure this is the best fit for everyone.

Step 1: The Application

Complete our short Volunteer Application Form. It takes only about five minutes. After that, a member of the JBBBS Outreach team will be in touch via e-mail – in most cases within two business days – to schedule a call.

Step 2: The Call

Outreach staff are poised to answer prospective volunteers’ questions, to ascertain whether prospective volunteers meet basic requirements to be considered and, if so, to advise around next steps. 

Step 3: The Interview

The prospective volunteer meets virtually with JBBBS staff to explore, on a more personal level, their qualifications and motivation to volunteer. At the same time, the prospective volunteer will be asked to submit references and consent to background and driving record checks. The purpose of the background check is to screen for child safety concerns. This meeting typically lasts about an hour and can be arranged at the prospective volunteer’s convenience including in the morning, during the evening hours or on Sunday.

Step 4: The Decision

Taking into account motivation, hobbies, interests and availability, as well as the results of references, background and driving record checks, JBBBS staff render a case-by-case decision about whether a prospective volunteer is a right fit to be matched with a Little, college-bound mentee or an adult with disabilities on the program roster. The prospective volunteer is notified, one way or another, by phone or e-mail.

Step 5: Match Meeting

Once a volunteer is qualified, staff present the volunteer with a basic profile of a waiting Little, Mentee, or Friend from the Friend 2 Friend program. The volunteer can then decide whether to move forward with a match meeting (or not). The meeting brings together the volunteer, the participant, and the Clinical Match Specialist (CMS). If all parties are in agreement, the match relationship commences. JBBBS CMS support the match from its inception, conducting monthly phone and e-mail check-ins. They remain available to help volunteers brainstorm activities, and to field questions and concerns as they arise. Ready to do something Big? Apply now. Or, contact our Outreach team. “I was interested in volunteering to help a child, but in the end, I got just as much out of the experience as my Little did.”

Volunteer Now!

Corporate Volunteerism

 

If you’re an employer – or if you work for an employer – who takes service as seriously as we do, let’s talk. Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters has partnered with local businesses to on-board new volunteers from among their ranks.

It works something like this: A corporation hosts a volunteer information session. JBBBS staff meet your people over coffee or pizza. We talk volunteering and answer questions. Maybe we even bring a current Big Brother or Sister along for the ride.

Afterwards, you encourage your workforce to consider a community service opportunity. (“Hey, you’d make a great mentor!”) Some of our business partners tout volunteering as a benefit to employment. Others incentivize it (think: casual Fridays for mentors). To explore how you might support our work through yours, contact our Outreach team.

Bar and Bat Mitzvah Projects

 

We are happy to speak to bar and bat mitzvah candidates around service projects to support Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters’ work. We encourage candidates to speak to us before embarking on a service project. Our needs (and the ways the bar or bat mitzvah could be most supportive to the agency and the families we serve) will vary from time to time.

 

Past projects have included a children’s book drive, backpack and school supplies drive,  and a toy drive timed to Chanukah.

For more information, contact our Development team.