International Development Organizations: Boston College
Animal Alliance (BCAA)
The BCAA is a service group committed to providing much needed assistance to organizations that support the welfare of animals and try to rectify the injustices that have placed these animals in harms way. BCAA will work to provide socialization, support, and aid to these animals by volunteering in small groups on a regular basis at animal shelters in the Boston area. BCAA will also work to raise awareness for animal abuse and negligence as well as hold fundraisers to help support local animal rescue efforts. We hope that the BCAA will provide students an opportunity to work closely on issues that they feel strongly about and offer a safe and comfortable environment to discuss and reflect upon their experiences at the shelters.
Autism Speaks U (Autism U BC)
Launched in 2008, Autism Speaks U is a program designed for college students who host awareness, advocacy and fundraising events. It is an exciting and collaborative way for students to raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks, while supporting their local autism communities. Student-run events take place both on and off campus and range anywhere from hosting a 5k run/3k walk, to organizing a benefit concert, to bringing in a panel that discusses relevant issues on autism. We want to bring a chapter to Boston College and we would be the first chapter in Massachusetts. We already had our first even as a team by participating in the 2011 Walk Now For Autism Speaks on October 2 in Boston. We have an executive board already selected with 20 students expressing interest in joining the club.
Best Buddies (Best Buddies)
Best Buddies of BC is part of an international organization that works to pair college students with employees that work on campus, or live around campus, with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Each college buddy is paired with a buddy to form a one-to-one friendship during their time as a student at BC.
Campus School Volunteers (CSVBC)
The Campus School, located in Campion Hall on the BC campus, serves students ages 3-21 with multiple, severe special needs. As volunteers, our goal is to enhance the experience of the Campus School students. Our work has three general areas: 1) Student-centered work directly in the school. 2) Fundraising to help support the school financially. 3) Advocacy work to increase awareness of special needs-related issues in general.
Circle K (Circle K)
Circle K is an international service club. Here at BC, the club has played an intricate part in performing service in the surrounding community and in the greater Boston area participating in weekly soup kitchens, as well as working with larger service organizations.
Festival of Friendship (Festival of Friendship)
The Festival of Friendship is a 4 hour annual event in April put on by students at Boston College for children ages 4-20 in the greater Boston area with special needs. This year is the 30th annual event so we are hoping to put on a spectacular event! Each year around 200 people show up for the event (including both participants, participants' families, and student volunteers). We have student perfomance groups who volunteer their time to put on a short show for our participants and also give a chance for some of our repeat participants to sing a song which is always a huge hit. We provide a sandwich lunch for everyone.
Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter (BC Habitat)
Our mission is to reach the Boston community by working to build simple, decent, affordable housing for families living in unacceptable living conditions. Our goal as an official Habitat for Humanity College Chapter is also to increase awareness among the Boston College community as to the purpose of Habitat for Humanity.
Height's Boys and Girls Club (HBG)
The Heights Boys and Girls Club has been an institution at Boston College for almost two decades. Our goal is to pair BC students with children from the Commonwealth Tenants Association with the aspiration that the pair forms a lasting relationship throughout and hopefully beyond the students time at BC. The BC student acts as a mentor to the child, often being the only college-aged person in the child’s life. Each month the Height's Boys and Girls take their "CTA buddies" on a field trip as a big group. These monthly trips aid in developing and maintaining the positive relationship between the BC student and CTA child. The locations of the field trips are both fun and educational. They include, but are not limited to, apple picking, The Science Museum, ice skating, gingerbread house making, The Children's Museum, the Franklin Park Zoo, and The Big Apple Circus.
Project Sunshine (PSBC)
Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization that provides free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families. This particular chapter of Project Sunshine is one serving Children's Hospital of Boston by Boston College students. General information about the service organization according to their website: Project Sunshine empowers a dynamic and dedicated corps of over 10,000 volunteers to bring programming - recreational (arts), educational (tutoring and mentoring) and social service (HIV and nutritional counseling) - to over 60,000 children facing medical challenges and their families in 150 major cities across the United States and in five international satellite sites: Canada, China, Israel, Kenya and Puerto Rico. Volunteers selflessly donate their time to create program materials and deliver programs. Working onsite, our volunteers relieve the anxiety of the young patients and in a context of fun and play, foster in them the courage and coping skills necessary to confront procedures that lie ahead. Project Sunshine volunteers spread sunshine, restoring a crucial sense of normalcy to the pediatric healthcare environment.
Project Unum (PU)
Project Unum is a service group that aims to make volunteering fun and easy while introducing the student body to all sorts of old and new non-profit organizations. Each month we choose a different organization to sponsor and run a month long campaign to support their efforts. The campaign will conclude with a one day volunteer activity where students will get introduced to the leaders and culture of the chosen organization and will be given the opportunity to volunteer with them further. The goal is to get students matched up with service they truly enjoy, giving them a chance to test the experience before they commit. Together, we can make the Boston area a better place.
Science Club for Girls (SCFG BC)
Science Club for Girls is a program that brings women scientists and girls together in free after-school science clubs that focus on scientific and technical skills and education. The clubs give young girls an opportunity to get involved in science and engineering activities in a fun, nurturing, interactive environment, an opportunity they might not otherwise receive. SCFG's mission is to increase the self-confidence and literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) of K-12th grade girls belonging to groups that are underrepresented in these fields, through free programs that include hands-on learning, mentorship, and leadership opportunities. Girls work with mentor-scientists who model and foster leadership, affirm college as an expectation, and promote careers in science and technology as goals and options. The Boston College Chapter of SCFG would bring together women undergraduates and place them in the different clubs throughout Boston, while being able to foster the mission of SCFG on campus.
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
Founded in 2001, SIFE BC is a chapter of the international organization and is a group of college students who uses the knowledge gained in the classroom to address real world business and economic issues in their communities. Through our projects on and off campus, we work with members of BC and greater communities to promote entrepreneurship and teach market economics, financial literacy, personal success skills, business ethics and environmental sustainability. SIFE BC aims to use microfinance, volunteer opportunities, non-profit consulting or other strategies to help international communities to make their lives better through business ventures that are sustainable and beneficial for their communities in the long-term. We hope to see students, faculty and the BC community involved in projects that may foster positive business growth for people in the USA and abroad.
The BCAA is a service group committed to providing much needed assistance to organizations that support the welfare of animals and try to rectify the injustices that have placed these animals in harms way. BCAA will work to provide socialization, support, and aid to these animals by volunteering in small groups on a regular basis at animal shelters in the Boston area. BCAA will also work to raise awareness for animal abuse and negligence as well as hold fundraisers to help support local animal rescue efforts. We hope that the BCAA will provide students an opportunity to work closely on issues that they feel strongly about and offer a safe and comfortable environment to discuss and reflect upon their experiences at the shelters.
Autism Speaks U (Autism U BC)
Launched in 2008, Autism Speaks U is a program designed for college students who host awareness, advocacy and fundraising events. It is an exciting and collaborative way for students to raise funds and awareness for Autism Speaks, while supporting their local autism communities. Student-run events take place both on and off campus and range anywhere from hosting a 5k run/3k walk, to organizing a benefit concert, to bringing in a panel that discusses relevant issues on autism. We want to bring a chapter to Boston College and we would be the first chapter in Massachusetts. We already had our first even as a team by participating in the 2011 Walk Now For Autism Speaks on October 2 in Boston. We have an executive board already selected with 20 students expressing interest in joining the club.
Best Buddies (Best Buddies)
Best Buddies of BC is part of an international organization that works to pair college students with employees that work on campus, or live around campus, with intellectual or developmental disabilities. Each college buddy is paired with a buddy to form a one-to-one friendship during their time as a student at BC.
Campus School Volunteers (CSVBC)
The Campus School, located in Campion Hall on the BC campus, serves students ages 3-21 with multiple, severe special needs. As volunteers, our goal is to enhance the experience of the Campus School students. Our work has three general areas: 1) Student-centered work directly in the school. 2) Fundraising to help support the school financially. 3) Advocacy work to increase awareness of special needs-related issues in general.
Circle K (Circle K)
Circle K is an international service club. Here at BC, the club has played an intricate part in performing service in the surrounding community and in the greater Boston area participating in weekly soup kitchens, as well as working with larger service organizations.
Festival of Friendship (Festival of Friendship)
The Festival of Friendship is a 4 hour annual event in April put on by students at Boston College for children ages 4-20 in the greater Boston area with special needs. This year is the 30th annual event so we are hoping to put on a spectacular event! Each year around 200 people show up for the event (including both participants, participants' families, and student volunteers). We have student perfomance groups who volunteer their time to put on a short show for our participants and also give a chance for some of our repeat participants to sing a song which is always a huge hit. We provide a sandwich lunch for everyone.
Habitat for Humanity Campus Chapter (BC Habitat)
Our mission is to reach the Boston community by working to build simple, decent, affordable housing for families living in unacceptable living conditions. Our goal as an official Habitat for Humanity College Chapter is also to increase awareness among the Boston College community as to the purpose of Habitat for Humanity.
Height's Boys and Girls Club (HBG)
The Heights Boys and Girls Club has been an institution at Boston College for almost two decades. Our goal is to pair BC students with children from the Commonwealth Tenants Association with the aspiration that the pair forms a lasting relationship throughout and hopefully beyond the students time at BC. The BC student acts as a mentor to the child, often being the only college-aged person in the child’s life. Each month the Height's Boys and Girls take their "CTA buddies" on a field trip as a big group. These monthly trips aid in developing and maintaining the positive relationship between the BC student and CTA child. The locations of the field trips are both fun and educational. They include, but are not limited to, apple picking, The Science Museum, ice skating, gingerbread house making, The Children's Museum, the Franklin Park Zoo, and The Big Apple Circus.
Project Sunshine (PSBC)
Project Sunshine is a nonprofit organization that provides free educational, recreational, and social programs to children facing medical challenges and their families. This particular chapter of Project Sunshine is one serving Children's Hospital of Boston by Boston College students. General information about the service organization according to their website: Project Sunshine empowers a dynamic and dedicated corps of over 10,000 volunteers to bring programming - recreational (arts), educational (tutoring and mentoring) and social service (HIV and nutritional counseling) - to over 60,000 children facing medical challenges and their families in 150 major cities across the United States and in five international satellite sites: Canada, China, Israel, Kenya and Puerto Rico. Volunteers selflessly donate their time to create program materials and deliver programs. Working onsite, our volunteers relieve the anxiety of the young patients and in a context of fun and play, foster in them the courage and coping skills necessary to confront procedures that lie ahead. Project Sunshine volunteers spread sunshine, restoring a crucial sense of normalcy to the pediatric healthcare environment.
Project Unum (PU)
Project Unum is a service group that aims to make volunteering fun and easy while introducing the student body to all sorts of old and new non-profit organizations. Each month we choose a different organization to sponsor and run a month long campaign to support their efforts. The campaign will conclude with a one day volunteer activity where students will get introduced to the leaders and culture of the chosen organization and will be given the opportunity to volunteer with them further. The goal is to get students matched up with service they truly enjoy, giving them a chance to test the experience before they commit. Together, we can make the Boston area a better place.
Science Club for Girls (SCFG BC)
Science Club for Girls is a program that brings women scientists and girls together in free after-school science clubs that focus on scientific and technical skills and education. The clubs give young girls an opportunity to get involved in science and engineering activities in a fun, nurturing, interactive environment, an opportunity they might not otherwise receive. SCFG's mission is to increase the self-confidence and literacy in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) of K-12th grade girls belonging to groups that are underrepresented in these fields, through free programs that include hands-on learning, mentorship, and leadership opportunities. Girls work with mentor-scientists who model and foster leadership, affirm college as an expectation, and promote careers in science and technology as goals and options. The Boston College Chapter of SCFG would bring together women undergraduates and place them in the different clubs throughout Boston, while being able to foster the mission of SCFG on campus.
Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE)
Founded in 2001, SIFE BC is a chapter of the international organization and is a group of college students who uses the knowledge gained in the classroom to address real world business and economic issues in their communities. Through our projects on and off campus, we work with members of BC and greater communities to promote entrepreneurship and teach market economics, financial literacy, personal success skills, business ethics and environmental sustainability. SIFE BC aims to use microfinance, volunteer opportunities, non-profit consulting or other strategies to help international communities to make their lives better through business ventures that are sustainable and beneficial for their communities in the long-term. We hope to see students, faculty and the BC community involved in projects that may foster positive business growth for people in the USA and abroad.