The Belmont Religious Council is pleased to announce that the 11th annual Belmont Serves day of community service will be held on Monday, October 14 (Columbus Day holiday). This event is endorsed by the Belmont Board of Selectmen, Belmont School Department and other community organizations.
Individuals and families will be able to select a project at the start of the day, complete the entire project in one morning of work, and then come together for some pizza and ice cream to celebrate a job well done!
This is a family-friendly event, where all members of the Belmont community are invited to work together for one morning to make our town a better place for all. You can help make a real difference in our town, have some fun, and meet others who share a willingness to serve the community.
This year's projects are still being finalized, but will likely include:
Door-to-door food drive for the Food Pantry
Conservation projects at town properties like Rock Meadow and Lone Tree Hill (former McLean property)
Claypit Pond clean-up and improvements
Elementary School gardening projects
More projects will be added, and are suitable for a wide range of ages and skill levels.
PLEASE NOTE that we need volunteers the week before Belmont Serves day to prepare and distribute grocery bags door-to-door for the Food Pantry food drive. This is an ideal project for youth groups, scout troops, and their adult leaders.
The headquarters for Belmont Serves is First Church Unitarian Universalist (404 Concord Ave), Belmont Center
8:30 am - All volunteers sign-in at First Church UU and enjoy some light breakfast. (Donations to cover food costs are appreciated.)
9:00 am - Service projects begin
12:00 p.m. - Service projects end, return to First Church UU for pizza and ice cream celebration.
1:00 p.m. - Afternoon Service projects begin, once completed, you can head directly home.
Door-to-door collection for the Food Pantry— Teams of volunteers will be assigned to specific routes, collecting bags of groceries left at doorsteps for delivery to the Food Pantry. These grocery bags are distributed door-to-door throughout the town during the week before Belmont Serves day. This project in the past has yielded between 1,500-2,000 of groceries. This year we hope to do even better!
Conservation projects at town properties like Rock Meadow and Lone Tree Hill (former McLean property): Volunteers will help clean trails and brush. Dress accordingly and bring gloves, rakes and shovels with your name on them if you have them.
Claypit Pond clean-up: Volunteers will work on pruning existing shrubs, cutting/removing invasives, and picking up trash and debris.
Elementary School grounds: Help with gardening, and distributing wood chips in garden areas. If you can bring shovels and gardening tools, that would be helpful. Be sure to put your name on the tools you bring.
For all projects (including advance distribution of grocery bags), please use the on-line registration form to register and select your preferred project.
Community service hours can be earned by middle school and high school students.
WHAT TO WEAR: Clothing suitable for outdoor activities. Wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts, with jackets and/or sweatshirts if it gets cold. On the conservation and planting/weeding projects, expect to get dirty and possibly encounter poison ivy. On the painting project, you will most likely get paint on your clothes, so dress appropriately.
WHAT TO BRING: A refillable water bottle. Work gloves (for all outdoor work projects).
We need a few metal rakes, pruning shears, loppers (including those with extendable arms, for cutting off high branches), shovels and gardening trowels. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO PUT YOUR NAME ON ANY TOOLS THAT YOU BRING.