Help Us Make Cambridge Volunteers a More Inclusive Organization

We were taken aback several years ago when a public official suggested that Cambridge Volunteer Clearinghouse was elitist. That was before people would just say racist. Us? We're neutral! We're a bulletin board for local agencies seeking volunteers, right?

Well, over time, we have come to believe that "neutral" does not exist. We make choices: which volunteer jobs we focus on, how we advertise, where and when we hold our workshops, what we teach, and to our supporter's point, which volunteers we have publicly recognized as "outstanding". We learned that racism and injustice strongly intersect with volunteerism.

Over time, we have come to believe that "neutral" does not exist...We learned that racism and injustice strongly intersect with volunteerism.

We aim to examine, discover and dismantle our barriers to inclusion in order to better serve our constituents. We aim to support volunteers in approaching their service in an antiracist manner. At the same time, we agree with Cambridge Serves panelist Sue Carter Kahl, who advised us: "Learn and do."

With that in mind ... we invite you to join us in pursuit of learning and doing.

Please share your thoughts. I'm always interested in your feedback and experiences. I hope to see you at any of the events below.

All the best,

Laurie

laurie@cambridgevolunteers.org

PS: Check out this Spring's Volunteer Spotlight below. We love this guy.

PPS: Excited to share thought-provoking blog posts from two of our "Equity in Volunteering" speakers. Especially if you are planning a day of service this year, we think you'll find their ideas timely.