 |    |
Newsletter - February 2014
"The cultivation of love that is growing as we come alongside our neighbors with Neighbor Brigade has not only transformed me, but many of the volunteers who are recognizing the importance of looking beyond their own lives to help another."
Linda Gagnon, Franklin, MA Chapter Co-Leader
Neighbor Brigade is pleased to announce the appointment of Claire Sheth as Director of Programs. In this newly established role, Claire is responsible for the operational success, quality control and evaluation of our chapter model and service delivery program, while providing training and ongoing support to the chapter leaders. Claire is taking a lead role in planning the growth and increasing visibility of Neighbor Brigade while working with chapter leaders to strengthen their roles in bringing services to those in need. Claire earned a master's degree in Nonprofit Management at the Milano School of Management at the New School for Research in New York City. While there she worked as a Program Manager for New York Cares -- the City's largest volunteer management organization. Claire has since worked as a nonprofit management consultant with the Boston-based firm Technical Development Corporation where she provided strategic business planning and needs/organizational assessment assistance to New England-based nonprofits. She has also served as Deputy Director of Boston-based Generations Incorporated. While there she guided a strategic planning process that resulted in significant growth in the organization's quest to engage volunteers in the literacy needs of Boston Public School children. More recently, Claire has worked as an independent management consultant.
We are incredibly fortunate to have someone with Claire's depth of experience and talent join us at this critical stage to help guide and support our continued growth. We couldn't be more excited to have her join our team.
The call to action that arises when a community confronts sudden tragedy is very apparent and thriving in Franklin, Massachusetts. In January, Neighbor Brigade volunteers in Franklin received a request to help a family after a seven and eight-year old brother and sister died in an accident. Linda Gagnon, Franklin chapter co-leader, was immediately contacted after the tragedy by a mutual friend who requested that Neighbor Brigade operate as the coordinator of centralized services on behalf of the family. Linda and her co-leader, Cheryl Ferri, immediately mobilized to field and manage offers of services from grief counselors, the HOPE Animal-Assisted Crisis Response, and town businesses and residents looking to contribute and deliver food.
Often times, from the depth of tragedy something profound and amazing occurs within a community. This has indeed been the case in Franklin. Within the past month, Franklin chapter membership has doubled to nearly 200 volunteers and continues to rise. Linda said, "Since the tragedy, I totally see (our founder) Pam's vision at work. It is amazing to see the strength and compassion demonstrated by neighbors coming together as one. It is nothing short of incredible."
Often times, from the depth of tragedy something profound and amazing occurs within a community. This has indeed been the case in Franklin. Within the past month, Franklin chapter membership has doubled to nearly 200 volunteers and continues to rise. Linda said, "Since the tragedy, I totally see (our founder) Pam's vision at work. It is amazing to see the strength and compassion demonstrated by neighbors coming together as one. It is nothing short of incredible."
We are pleased to announce a new partnership between Neighbor Brigade and Canary, an innovative and user-friendly service that helps people buy and sell furniture and household items online locally. Canary takes care of photographing items and researching their value, writing and managing listings online, and finding credible buyers. The company, originally launched to serve Massachusetts' South Shore communities, has recently expanded into the MetroWest region. Canary has a dual mission. The first is to help individuals, many of whom are downsizing and may have limited technology know-how, list and sell their unused household items. The second is to support local nonprofits by directing a portion of every sale to a selected group of community-based charitable organizations. "We have chosen Neighbor Brigade to be our newest designated charitable organization due to its vital and important role in providing direct-services to those in need in each of the communities it serves," said Mike Filbey, founder and CEO of Canary. "Neighbor Brigade's commitment to creating a network of volunteers to serve their own neighbors is strongly aligned with our mission to support the community that supports us."
Please share this news of Canary's expansion and partnership with Neighbor Brigade. To learn more and utilize this convenient service while designating Neighbor Brigade your charity of choice, visit gocanary.com.
Neighbor Brigade provides a blueprint for community residents to create and maintain volunteer networks to help their neighbors in crisis. Our proven chapter model is quickly and easily replicated. Neighbor Brigade provides our chapter leaders with established volunteer management systems, online tools, templates and training. We utilize an innovative volunteer management software platform and shoulder the costs related to ongoing support and maintenance. Our staff provides our chapter leaders with valuable training in volunteer management and software utilization, as well as ongoing support, outreach materials and technical resources that are critical to the strength and effectiveness of a chapter.
Neighbor Brigade establishes a safety net within a community, and our organization follows protocols and makes expenditures to ensure the security of our volunteers and service recipients. Our staff allocates time to process CORI checks on volunteers to best protect our recipients. Equally as important, we purchase and carry liability insurance coverage to safeguard our volunteers and recipients.
We are extremely grateful to our donors; it is due to your financial support that we can provide technical resources and assistance to communities.
Neighbor Brigade establishes a safety net within a community, and our organization follows protocols and makes expenditures to ensure the security of our volunteers and service recipients. Our staff allocates time to process CORI checks on volunteers to best protect our recipients. Equally as important, we purchase and carry liability insurance coverage to safeguard our volunteers and recipients.
We are extremely grateful to our donors; it is due to your financial support that we can provide technical resources and assistance to communities.
Please follow us on social media; share ideas and experiences with other members of the Neighbor Brigade networks through Twitter and Facebook. We are more than an organization. We are a movement and our virtual Neighbor Brigade communities are a means by which we can share our stories and encourage participation by others who are waiting to follow our lead.
Do you have any feedback or suggestions for the new year? Please share your thoughts with us by sending an email to info@neighborbrigade.org or phoning us at 781.325.8580. We love to hear from our community members.
Do you have any feedback or suggestions for the new year? Please share your thoughts with us by sending an email to info@neighborbrigade.org or phoning us at 781.325.8580. We love to hear from our community members.
neighbor brigade | p.o. box 248 | lexington, ma 02420 | 781.325.8580
www.neighborbrigade.org | info@neighborbrigade.org
www.neighborbrigade.org | info@neighborbrigade.org
No comments:
Post a Comment