Monday, August 17 - Friday, August 21

VolunteerFest is your introduction or reconnection to volunteering and community service at Brandeis! Explore opportunities to engage in your community through connecting with our many service and activist clubs, while participating in a variety of virtual volunteer and advocacy-based projects throughout the week. Select the projects and experiences that most interest you! The kickoff to the event will be a virtual Service & Activism Club Fair, where you will have the opportunity to meet the different service and activist clubs and Waltham Group programs, and learn how you can get involved during the year. All student participants can log their volunteer hours in the Commitment to Service Award Program.


VolunteerFest Schedule (Schedule is subject to change. New events may be added):


1. VolunteerFest Kickoff and Service & Activism Club Fair
Monday, August 17, 7:00-8:15pm EST
Meet with some of the service and activist clubs at Brandeis and learn how to get involved in your community!


2. Creating Youth Engagement
Tuesday, August 18, 6:00-7:00pm EST
Join the Waltham Group Youth Engagement Team to work on creating educational and social emotional content. Help us create resources for students in the Waltham area and beyond by making worksheets and videos to be posted to our website. We hope you will join us to meet new students who share a passion for working with students and learn about youth engagement.


3. VolunteerFest: Just Being Awesome (JBA): Get to Know Junior Brandeis Achievers
Tuesday, August 18, 7-8pm EST
Junior Brandeis Achievers (JBA) is a club in Waltham Group primarily acting as an after-school program for students at Stanley and Plympton elementary schools where Brandeis students can teach students about topics that they are passionate about! Topics range from cooking, science, arts and crafts, coding, prosthetics and more! Volunteers have the opportunity to customize their own activities and share these with students, exposing them to a variety of interests! During this workshop, get to know JBA and learn about how you can share your passion with others! We will teach you how to be an effective communicator and how to educate elementary school students. Then, you will have the opportunity to work with other Brandeis students to teach us something! There will be the opportunity to add the materials and videos created to our website, which is available for students and families throughout the summer. We are so excited to meet you all and learn about what you are passionate about!

4. VolunteerFest: Voter Rights, Registration, & Education with Waltham Group Advocacy
Tuesday, August 18, 8-9pm EST
The Waltham Group Advocacy group is hosting a session about voting and voter registration, voter suppression, and student rights for people living on their own away from home for the first time. We seek to empower students to know their rights and feel confident to use their voices to advocate for important issues impacting their communities. The advocacy group strives to support Waltham and Brandeis community members in making positive change in our local government and community.


5. VolunteerFest: Cards for Community
Wednesday, August 19th, 7-8pm EST
Join the Waltham Group in an initiative to write letters to people living with dementia and their caregivers. These letters are meant to send good wishes and remind them we are thinking of them. We also invite participants to write letters to a person or cause in your own communities that you care about. This initiative seeks to spread kindness, joy, and social and emotional support to those who need it most. We encourage students to bring any stationary, paper and writing utensils you have on hand, such as plain or colored paper, coloring books, quote books, artwork, pre-made cards, crayons, pen/pencil, markers, etc.

 
6. VolunteerFest: Mask Making Initiative
Thursday, August 20th, 7-8pm EST
Waltham Group is hosting a Mask Making Initiative to provide needed masks to our community. All masks will be donated to The Family Van, a non-profit mobile clinic working to combat and reduce health disparities and inequities in the Boston area by providing free health screenings and resources. These masks will be used to protect residents of the Boston area who lack access to masks and to protect staff of The Family Van while they provide free health services to the Boston community.  We encourage students to bring any materials you have on hand with you to campus, such as cotton fabric or cotton t-shirts, elastic hair ties or other elastic bands/ties. During the workshop and tutorial, there will be both sew and no-sew options for mask making.


7. VolunteerFest: Community, Conversations & Cuisine
Friday, August 21st 12:30-1:30pm EST
An important part of community engagement is centered around building connections with others. Grab some food, hop onto Zoom and join the Department of Community Service staff and peers for a casual conversation about community service. We'll engage participants in reflection on their passion and experiences doing community engagement work and hope to build bridges to continue this work at Brandeis. Come as an active listener or storyteller.


*Note: All Zoom Links and event details will be sent in a follow up email prior to the week of VolunteerFest to students who RSVP.


Questions? Contact Colby Sim, Community Service Specialist, at csim@brandeis.edu.