Global Days of Service 2018: A Preview
The Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) and Boston University as a whole has a long-standing dedication to community service and philanthropy. In pursuit of that mission, the Global Days of Service (GDS) is an annual program put on by the University aimed to inspire students, residents, faculty, and staff to give back to our local and international communities. This year, Global Days of Service will run from late March to April 30, giving everyone in the GSDM ample opportunity to volunteer.
Spearheaded by the Office of Global & Population Health and the Office of Alumni Relations, all service events are intended for students, faculty, staff, alumni, and their families and friends. To register for any of the following volunteer opportunities, please visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/60b084aaba82ca2fa7-global .
Events
Details on all events can be found here: https://www.bu.edu/dental/about/offices/global-population-health/global-days-of-service/
Greater Boston Food Bank
April 5, 12, 18, 19, 25, and 26, 2018
Hours vary by date
The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB) is the largest hunger relief organization in New England and among the largest food banks in the country. Last year, GBFB distributed more than 60.7 million pounds of nutritious food to people who struggle to have enough to eat. They are committed to increasing their food distribution to provide at least one meal a day to every person in need in eastern Massachusetts, while supporting healthy lives and healthy communities. The Greater Boston Food Bank is a member of Feeding America, the nation’s largest hunger-relief organization.
Groups who volunteer receive a customized, educational and team-building experience, while sorting and packing food for those in need. Most volunteers work in the GBFB warehouse inspecting, sorting, and packing food and grocery products. While a few tasks require the ability to lift a 30-pound box, most tasks require the ability to stand and inspect products for 2 to 3 hours.
Giving Day
April 11, 2018
Midnight to midnight
You make a huge difference when you give to BU. For 24 hours on Giving Day, your gift can do even more, thanks to a group of generous donors who will match your contribution! Together with your fellow BU alumni, students, parents, and friends, you can contribute to the cause(s) at BU that matters most to you and help decide which areas of the University get a share of the funds raised. Your impact will be felt in the laboratory, in the classroom and in the community. In other words: every gift makes an even bigger impact.
Ricesticks and Tea Asian Food Pantry
April 14, 2018
7:30 am – 10:00 am
Volunteers are needed to help sort and bag food and make the monthly food distribution process run smoothly. Volunteer responsibilities include set-up, preparing food for bagging, bagging food for distribution, assisting clients with transporting food, general labor, and clean-up. There is some heavy lifting, so some of the volunteers in the group should be able to do this.
Pine Street Inn
April 17, 2018
9:00 am – 12:00 pm
Founded in 1969, Pine Street Inn serves more than 1,900 homeless individuals daily and nearly 9,000 annually, providing the full spectrum of services to help men and women reach their highest level of independence and get back to a place they can call home. Their mission is to partner with homeless individuals to help them move from the streets and shelter to a home and assist formerly homeless individuals in retaining housing. Pine Street Inn provides street outreach, emergency services, supportive housing, job training and connections to employment, and tirelessly advocates for collaborative solutions to end homelessness.
We will be participating in Learn and Serve, a half-day opportunity that combines hands-on service with an educational tour of the Inn to provide us with a deeper understanding of the issues of homelessness, poverty and Boston’s lack of affordable housing. First, we will work in the kitchen to assist in preparing some of the more than 2,000 meals that are made at the Pine Street Inn each day. Following this activity, we will be given a tour of the Inn followed by a free lunch served in the staff cafeteria.
Spring Blood Drive
April 19, 2018
11:00 am – 4:00 pm
At this Blood Drive, you can donate Blood and Power Red. “Whole Blood” is the most common type of donation, during which approximately a pint of “whole blood” is given. A Power Red donation collects the red cells but returns most of the plasma and platelets to the donor. Power Red donors must meet specific eligibility requirements and have A Negative, B Negative, or O blood. Blood donors must be healthy and feeling well, be at least 17 years old, and weigh at least 110 pounds. Blood donors will receive a BU Global Days of Service tee-shirt and your effort will be counted towards the School’s Global Days of Service efforts.
Relay for Life
April 21, 2018
6:00 pm – 6:00 am
The American Cancer Society Relay for Life movement symbolizes hope and our shared goal to end a disease that threatens the lives of so many people we love. This is our opportunity to honor cancer survivors, remember those we have lost, and raise funds and awareness to fight back and help end cancer forever. Relay for Life is an organized, overnight community fundraising walk where teams camp out and take turns walking around a track. Food, games and activities provide entertainment and build camaraderie. It is a wonderful family-friendly environment for the entire community. Since this is a team event, individual participants are not required to be there the entire time; but because it’s so much fun, you’ll find it hard to leave! You can join an existing team or volunteer to be a Team Captain. Team BU DENTAL, sponsored by ASDA, is forming now.
Cradles to Crayons
April 26, 2018
1:30 pm – 3:30 pm
Cradles to Crayons provides children from birth through age 12, living in homeless or low-income situations, with the essential items they need to thrive – at home, at school and at play. They supply these items free of charge by engaging and connecting communities that have with communities that need. Cradles to Crayons collects new and nearly new children’s items through grassroots community drives and corporate donations.
Volunteers help to process and package donations that are distributed to disadvantaged children across the state through a collaborative network of social service agencies and school partners.
Collection for Cradles to Crayons
Entire Month of April
We will have a collection box at the following locations:
- Global & Population Health, 560 Harrison Avenue, 3rd Floor
- 100 East Newton Street, Dean’s Office, 3rd Floor
- Solomon Carter Fuller – 10th Floor
- 930 Commonwealth Avenue (Dental Health Center)
Cradles to Crayons accepts a wide variety of items, but they have asked us to focus on hygiene supplies, including baby wipes, brushes/combs, baby wash, toothbrushes/paste, and especially baby lotion and baby shampoo.
Cradles to Crayons creates KidPacks that are hand-selected with care to meet a local boy or girl’s specific needs and wants. We accept a wide range of new and gently-used items for children ages newborn to 12.