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 About Us 

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 Cambridge Volunteers 

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DCR Universal Access Recreation Programs MA

 Mission 

Cambridge Volunteers strengthens civic engagement and supports the nonprofit sector by recruiting an effective and inclusive volunteer corps for agencies serving residents of Cambridge, MA.

 Passion 

We believe in community as an active verb. We help build it, one relationship at a time. Volunteerism offers an opportunity for people to embed trust into these relationships across diverse social realities, a two-way process that can change both participants.  Working together we can unlock the transformative potential of civic engagement.

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 Waltham Fields Community Farm 

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Community Learning Center

 Vision 

We envision a Cambridge – and a world – whose community members expect the best for each other, and show up for each other with mutual respect, especially in times of need.

 History 

Cambridge Volunteers was founded in 1994 as Cambridge Senior Volunteer Clearinghouse by retired headmaster and dedicated community volunteer Robert S. Hurlbut, and adult education researcher Dr. Beverly Cassara, under the fiscal sponsorship of the Cambridge Community Foundation. At this time, CSVC provided individualized guidance to local retirees, and published a Yellow Pages of local nonprofit agencies.

 

In 2017, we diversified and expanded our services, dropped the word “Senior” from our name, and moved our information online with a continuously updated “Needed Now” list of local volunteer opportunities. We launched free Find Your Mission workshops that attracted more than 250 individuals annually.

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2020, during the COVID pandemic, was another turning point. We led a coalition of 12 nonprofits to ensure that every resident of Cambridge felt equally safe from the virus. Partnering with the City and with the help of 100+ volunteers, we procured and distributed critical PPE including 50,000 specially produced masks. When volunteerism reopened in 2021, a massive attrition of pre-COVID volunteers created a vacuum that demanded thousands of new recruits. It was against that backdrop that we moved our Find Your Mission workshops online and introduced one of the country's first remote Volunteer Fairs, which continue through today. 

 

Over the ensuing years we re-branded as Cambridge Volunteers, launched our comprehensive volunteer jobs database featuring 175+ local organizations, added thousands of newsletter subscribers and website users, and developed a year-round schedule of events for volunteers and volunteer engagement staff.

 

Since October 2025, we have been fiscally sponsored by the Nonprofit Organization for Philanthropic Initiatives, or NOPI. 

 

The rest, as they say, will be history!

 Who uses our services? 

First-time volunteers. Seasoned volunteers. Individuals. Groups. People who know Cambridge like the back of their hand. People who just moved here. People with lots of time. People with little bits of time.

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Small agencies. Large agencies. Private nonprofits. Public programs. Agencies looking for 50 people to pack groceries once, or one administrative assistant to stay at least forever.

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Cambridge Volunteers

Several adult volunteers gather around a stack of cardboard boxes in a Food For Free facility

Food For Free

A group of Community Art Center volunteers wearing face masks and all black pose for a portrait

Community Art Center

 Our Impact 

  • Our outreach helps to fill an estimated 350+ critical volunteer openings annually.

  • Each year, thousands of local residents and employees are introduced to Cambridge’s rich volunteering landscape through our monthly Volunteer In Cambridge: Find Your Mission workshops and annual Volunteer Fairs.

  • Our database offers easy access to searchable, continuously updated information about local volunteer opportunities. Our guarantee: we provide 100% human-sourced information.

  • Residents have a supportive space to consider first-time nonprofit leadership roles through our Board Member Basics workshop series.

  • We foster connections across organizations, bringing together Nonprofit Directors and Volunteer Managers to share challenges and best practices, building relationships throughout the Cambridge community.

  • Businesses advised by Cambridge Volunteers put the community first when fulfilling their civic engagement agendas.

 Who We Are 

Staff

Laurie Rothstein, Executive Director

Alexis Rabkin, Communications Manager and Operations Coordinator

Board of Directors

Kavish Gandhi, Co-Chair

Katinka Hakuta, Co-Chair

Electra Hui

Bob Hurlbut, Co-Founder

Sinclair Meggitt

Our board of directors steers strategy, builds connections, and works on special projects.  Learn more.

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For board-related inquiries, please email Co-Chair Kavish Gandhi at kmbrgandhi@gmail.com.

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