Boston Cares offers a wide array of programs and opportunities that make it easy for you to volunteer no matter how busy your schedule is. Each month we manage more than 200 direct service volunteer projects through our Calendar program.  These projects include:

- planting community gardens,
- serving meals to the homeless,
- cleaning parks,
- painting community centers,
- tutoring children,
- caring for sheltered animals,
- ushering at cultural performances,
- and much, much more.

Boston Cares offers several specialized programs.  For corporate citizenship, our Hands at Work program provides comprehensive project planning to ensure meaningful service for employees.  For young people, we offered both BOOYAH! and Campus Initiative programs. BOOYAH! (Boston Young Active Hands) provides volunteer projects that school-age kids can enjoy as a group or with their families. Campus Initiative engages college students in service.  For volunteers looking to delve deeper into current events and issues affecting the community, we offer Citizen Academy. We also offer a wide range of long-term and specialized volunteer opportunities through our Community Grapevine & Skills Bank.

Boston Cares is the largest organization in New England dedicated to team oriented volunteering on a flexible basis. In 2009, more than 23,000 Boston Cares volunteers contributed 64,000 hours to 180 non-profits in the Greater Boston area.

Boston Cares is a member of the HandsOn Network and Points of Light Institute, an international organization which inspires, equips, and mobilizes people to take action that changes the world. At the center of the network are 250 affiliates serving 83% of the American population and 12 international communities.