MAMAS Next Steps

#wg-hotline + #rapid-response 

• We really need more hotliners! If you’d like to connect neighbors with the resources they need, consider becoming a hotliner! Fill out this interest form, and we'll connect with you.

• Help us manage the Hotline Call spreadsheet or answer messages.

• Update the resource hub, or become a hotline admin.

Resources:

• MAMAS Resource Hub

• Know Your Rights Resources

• Request Support

#free-store

• Our big, November Free Store is coming up fast, and we really need volunteers! Sign up here to volunteer at our Free Store! There's a variety of tasks and shift times to choose from! 

• Thanks to our beautiful community, we have so many clothes for our next Free Store, and no longer need donations. Check out details below to help us sort them! 

• Look out for opportunities to deliver bins of clothing donations to partner orgs in #free-store.

Free Store Events:

• [In-person] Free Store Donation Drop-Off + Sorting: Bring clean, gently used clothes to Connexion on the first Saturday of the month! The next drop off is Sat., Dec. 6th, 1-4PM. 

• The next Free Store will be held in April 2026. 

Meetings:

• [Virtual] Free Store Check-in Meeting: Mon., Dec. 1st, 7-7:45PM.  Check in via email (mamasfreestore@gmail.com) or slack for more info!

#mending-skillshare

• Attend our next Mending Skillshare! Whether you have a mending skill to teach, tools or materials to share, or just want to learn something new, all are welcome! Details posted below as they're announced. 

Mending Events:

• Mend with MAMAS:  Learn to darn, patch, and repair clothing—no experience needed. Bring your own projects to work on or mend clothing for the free store. Masking is required for skillshare events. 

• [In-person] Medford meetup: Sun., Dec. 14th, 1:30-4:30PM at 144 North St.

• [In-person] Somerville meetup: Sun., Dec. 28th, 1:30-3:30PM at Connexion.

Meetings:

• [Virtual] Mending Skillshare Planning Meetings: second Monday of the month from 7-8PM. Ask in slack for an invite!

#wg-delivery

• Donate to MAMAS! We're looking to raise more money to clear our grocery assistance wait list. If you're able to provide recurring, monthly assistance to a neighbor, check out the link below! 

• Become a Grocery Pair! Support a neighbor and build community by delivering a gift card or groceries to them each month! Many grocery pairs are fully reimbursed by MAMAS, while others are sponsored by delivery person (usually $100–$300/mo). If you're interested in becoming a pair or funding a pair, let us know and we can connect you! 

• Participate in the next Supermarket Sweep Day! Every other month, we meet up and distribute $5,000 in grocery giftcards to households that requested support. These events let us provide food assistance to more households than we can support through the grocery pair program. More info about Sweeps is here.

• Look out for opportunities to deliver giftcards + other resources to neighbors! They're posted in the slack channel (above) as they arise.

Events: 

• [In-person] Next Supermarket Sweep: Sun., Dec. 14th, 1PM. Email askyourmamas if you'd like to deliver!

Grocery team meetings:

• [Virtual] Coordinators Meetings: weekly on Thursday evenings. If you're not already a coordinator, check in via email/slack with questions.

Food Resources: 

• Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline

• Greater Boston Food Bank Locator

• Community Fridges and Pantries

• MAMAS Food Resource Hub spreadsheet

#wg-gardening-collective

Next steps:

• Check out our webpage for info about the group, including a map of garden locations.

• Fill out our interest form to indicate what you're interested in helping with (we'll send you a follow-up email and add you to our email list).

Events: 

• [In-person] Visit MAMAS' Somerville gardens any time! Harvest free vegetables/herbs and say hi to any gardeners. Locations include Area 52 (52 Elm Street), 15 Albion Street, and 36 Sewall Street. More gardens are on Trull Street and Conwell Ave - just look for the MAMAS signs!

Gardening Collective meetings (on Zoom):

• [Virtual] Second Tuesday of every month (next one is Tues., Dec. 9th, 6:30-8PM)

• Email us at mamasgardeningcollective@gmail.com or check #wg-gardening-collective for the link!

#wg-communications

#communications-requests

Next steps:

• Create graphics for socials by looking for requests in #communications-requests. If you introduce yourself in #wg-communications, we can tag you when requests come in!

• Review translations of posts, text, and forms in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole so our events and information are accessible to more neighbors!

• Draft or edit the monthly newsletter.

• Keep this page updated!

• Become a coordinator to post to instagram or bluesky, and respond to DMs.

Comms Team meeting: 

• [Virtual] Mon., Dec. 15th, 6PM, Zoom

• Email askyourmamas@gmail.com (Subject: "Comms help") or check in #wg-communications for the link!

#wg-money + #money-in

• Cash Assistance + Direct Aid: Help MAMAS redistribute wealth and support our community members!

  • Contributing cash allows us to address our neighbors’ urgent needs like rent and emergency expenses, regardless of access to banking or e-payment apps. If you can't make it to one of our Cash Days (below), please reach out in slack or email mamasmoneyteam@gmail.com .

• Fund grocery assistance and free store events by contributing via Common Good, our fiscal sponsor! Recurring contributions are incredibly helpful, but every one-time gift helps too. For more information on setting up contributions via Common Good, please see this guide. Ask us in slack if you have any questions!

Money Team meeting: 

• [Virtual] Wed., Dec. 10th, 7:30 - 8:30pm on Zoom. Let us know in #wg-money if you want to join.

#wg-tech

• Find more people familiar with Notion (or excited to learn!), so we can update the website more regularly.

• Review + improve our cybersecurity protocols to protect the privacy of people we work with.

• Help us figure out how to handle bots that crash our website.

• Attend a co-working session (details below)

Tech Team meeting:

• [Virtual] Tech Team meets on Mondays biweekly for Sync and Co-working sessions. While we work on upgrading some of our systems, the meetings will be internally focused. The next open meeting is Dec. 8th, 5PM, but we'd love to meet you on slack!

• Check in #wg-tech or email askyourmamas@gmail.com for the link! 

#wg-parents-caregivers

• Fill out our Hand-Me-Down Exchange form if you're interested in contributing to or receiving children's clothes hand-me-downs, as a way of addressing excess clothes and limited space for growing kids.

• Build out our resource list for parents and caregivers.

• Plan in-person meet-ups and play times so you can get to know your neighbors with kids!

• Foster trust and inter-community reliance on one another for things like childcare and building a more communal way of raising children

• Brainstorm other ways to connect parents and caregivers, build community, pool resources, and more! 

Parents & Caregivers meeting: 

• [Virtual] TBA