Boston Cares Action Network

The Boston Cares Action Network (BCAN) is a group of Boston Cares members who are interested in the practices of Boston Cares and in having a voice in the programming structure of the organization. There are three action groups: Member-Led Initiatives: The Member-Led Initiatives committee was formed with the desire to empower volunteers to see a local problem and be able to create a solution. The short-term goals were to help Boston Cares members build their own community-based teams and create their own projects. The long term goal is to help the Greater Boston population improve their communities, with the guidance and support of Boston Cares. This group created the fall '07 neighborhood-based TeamWorks and organized a mural workshop to teach participants how to implement their own projects. In 2008-09, the Member-Led group piloted a series of Join Your Neighbors service projects and social events to bring together members sharing a common neighborhood. They also launched neighborhood websites on Big Tent to facilitate communication among members. Social Committee: Several people join Boston Cares in order to meet new, like-minded people, so the Social Committee creates opportunities for connecting people. This committee organizes Join Your Neighbors social functions based on connecting people within the neighborhood teams, Serve & Socialize projects, and “Just for Fun” events each month to contribute to the Boston Cares Calendar. Green Team: The environment is the main focus of this committee, with a purpose to educate members and increase their environmental savvy. This group will also be contributing to the Calendar by creating new environmental volunteer projects, social events based on environmental issues, and researching the “Take the Pledge” initiative each month. Participation in BCAN will ask volunteers to make a six-month commitment to ensure consistency within the action groups. Each group will have two leaders and will meet once a month for approximately one hour. There may be a few extra meetings required within the groups for the organization of large projects.