1966-1979 1966 30 students showed up for the first Waltham Group meeting Volunteers: 74 Budget: $1,800
Children Tutored & Mentored: 90
1968
A Companions to Elders Volunteer Playing Guitar, 1978
Waltham Group became the largest club on campus Volunteers: 200 Children Tutored & Mentored: 225
1971 Waltham Group charity auction began
1973
Original 1966 Waltham Group Charter
Summer Genesis began Volunteers: 200 Budget: $23,750
Programs: 6
Waltham Group Meeting, 1968
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
1980-1989 1982 Big Siblings had 150 matches Prospect Hill enrolled 60 children 1987 Coordinators With Director Peter Joyce
1985 Language and Cultural Enrichment (LaCE) founded
Volunteers: 300 Budget: $50,190
Hours of Service: 12,000
Summer Genesis, 1983
1986 “Beyond the Peripheral Road� first published First Volunteer Orientation and Training Day 1982 Student Leaders in the Usdan Waltham Group Office
1987 Charity Week raised $21,000
Brandeis Dance Marathon, 1987
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
1990-1999
1990 Bristol Lodge changed its name to Hunger and Homelessness
1991 Waltham Group celebrated its 25th anniversary 1999 Waltham Group Coordinators at Charity Auction
1995 Volunteers: 400
Coordinators: 35
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Hours of Service: 14,000
Programs: 14
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Waltham Group Coordinator Meeting Notes, 1991
Volunteer Vacations program founded First Community Service Day with 800 volunteers
1997 Waltham Reads program founded
1998
1995 Waltham Group Coordinators With President Jehuda Reinharz
End of Year Coordinator Party With Director Diane Hannan, 1996
Best Buddies program founded
Faculty Talent Show raised $553 Waltham Group Talent Show, 1990
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
2000-2010
2000 Waltham Group received secured SAF funding by eight votes
2001 Community Service Day morphed into a Community Service Fair Volunteers With Waltham Group Van
2008 First Waltham Group bone marrow registry Junior Brandeis Achievers, Brandeis Buddies, WATCH Clinic Translators and Hospital Helpers Programs founded 2008 Waltham Group Coordinators at Team Day Volunteers: 800
Coordinators: 39
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Programs: 12
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2009 Volunteer Waivers implemented Educational outreach (advocacy programs) became a formal responsibility of Waltham Group Coordinators
Volunteer Vacations Trip to Gulfport, Miss., After Hurricane Katrina, 2006
Current Waltham Group Logo Created by Mollie Greenberg ’10, Waltham Group AE Coordinator, in Fall 2008
2010 First annual Celebration of Service event instituted 2004 Waltham Group Coordinators With Director Diane Hannan and Department Coordinator Michelle Ercoline
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
2011-2016 2012 SPECTRUM joined Waltham Group Waltham Group Brandeis Buddies received Jane Z. Kirsch Community Service Award from the Greater Waltham ARC
Waltham Group Office Selfie
2014 Budget & Steering title changed to Waltham Group Co-Presidents 2010 Coordinators Volunteer at Drumlin Farms at Team Day With Director Lucas Malo and Department Coordinator Kelly Whiffen
2015 Symbiosis program founded Waltham Group two-credit practicum approved
2016 Volunteer Vacations changed name to Service Without Borders Waltham Group’s SPECTRUM was awarded the Kelly Beaumont-Mazzarini Inclusion Award from the Waltham Special Education Parent Advisory Council Volunteers: 1,250
Coordinators: 75
Budget: $61,000
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2015 Coordinators With Adviser Brian Quigley
Waltham Group Kickball Team Bonding
Programs: 20
Community Partner Sites: 40
C Waltham Group Deis Day Parade Float
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
Blood Drive 1986 Waltham Group Blood Drive set the record for number of pints collected in one day in the Boston area; the previous record was 177 — this drive collected 193
1995 Since this date, there have been 12,400 pints — or 37,200 lives saved — from Waltham Group Blood Drives
Blood Drive Donation Sign-Up, 2001
Boston Strong Memorial Blood Drive, 2014
2008 Bone marrow registries instituted
2012 Waltham Group Blood Drive received Massachusetts College Sponsor of the Year from the American Red Cross
Blood Drive Flyer Created by Heather Gitler ’17
Waltham Group Selfie at the Blood Drive
2000 American Red Cross Statistics: 5% of all potential donors give blood; 10% of potential donors would have to donate to meet current demand; 21% of total donations come from college and high school students; 50% of the population will need a blood transfusion at some point in their lives
Blood Drive Donor, 1983
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
1966-67
Prospect Hill
School Year: 40 kids tutored at Prospect Hill
1974 Leadership of Prospect Terrace Children’s Center transferred from Waltham Group to Prospect Terrace parents as a results of years of strategic foundation building
1981 Bilingual volunteers were added to the Toddler Playgroup to support growing Hispanic populations in the community
Prospect Hill Statistics Toddler Playgroup at Prospect Hill
2006 Waltham Kid’s Club took a field trip to Fenway Park and a Boston Duck Tour
2013
Adult Participants and Volunteers in the Waltham Group’s Language Empowering Action Project
A new partnership was forged with Bentley University, Waltham Police, Waltham Housing Authority and the City of Waltham to renovate, open and staff the Prospect Hill Community Center
2014 Community Center opened Kaboom playground constructed with New England Patriots, United Health Care and New England Revolution Daily children’s after-school program, weekly teen mentoring program and weekly English language classes for adults were implemented; over 100 community members served with the support of more than 100 college volunteers from Brandeis and Bentley
Prospect Hill Grand Opening With President Frederick Lawrence and Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy
Prospect Hill Volunteer
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
Charity Auction 1971 First charity auction
2012 After a short break, the auction resurfaced The auction raises between $2,000-$28,000 each year
1981 Auctioneers
Sampling of auction items over the years -
Large cans of pickles (1974) Dinner for two at The Chateau (1974) 20 pounds of sirloin strip (1974) Electric letter opener (1974) Huffy bike (1974) Singing telegram (1983) One semester of free rent from Residence Life (1983) - Used manual typewriter (1983) - 100 pounds of clay (1988) - Larry Bird jersey (1988) - Gift certificate for four hours of word processing (1994) - Sony Portable Discman (1994) - Public speaking lesson (1994) - Student Events Super Pass (1994) - Lunch with Mayor McCarthy (2012) - Lizzy’s Ice Cream gift card (2012)
How much did these auction items go for?
1993 Auction Volunteers
27th Annual Auction Flyer
12K Newspaper Article
- 10 pages of typing sold for $6.50 (1978) - Page in The Justice sold for $70 (2000) - 10 tickets to Commencement sold for $400 (2000) - Kaplan prep course sold for $525 (2000) - All-campus parking pass sold for $515 (2000)
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
1990 Record-breaking high of 7,000 cans collected
Halloween for the Hungry
2012 The Sock and Clothing Drive was instituted and was similar to Halloween for the Hungry except students collected new socks and clothing Final Can Collection Count
2014 The Sock and Clothing Drive morphed into the Wellness Drive, collecting toiletry items Volunteers Sorting Cans Volunteers Per Year: 150
Waltham Streets: 150+
Active Years: 30
Halloween for the Hungry Volunteers
Items Collected Each Year: 3,000
+ Volunteers After Loading the Truck With Donations
Total Items Collected: 90,000
Halloween for the Hungry Volunteers
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
Waltham Group Current Programs
AFTERNOON ENRICHMENT: Waltham middleschool students are paired with Brandeis student volunteers for an after-school enrichment and tutorial program. The program meets on Thursday afternoons from 3-5 p.m. for eight sessions each semester at Brandeis. Transportation is provided to and from the middle schools. BIG SIBLINGS: This program offers one-to-one mentoring to children in kindergarten through sixth grade. Brandeis students are paired with a child at Stanley Elementary School and they visit the child weekly during lunch period. Children are matched with their big siblings through a partnership with Jewish Big Brother Big Sister. Other one-time events are also coordinated by this student group. BLOOD DRIVE: Red Cross blood drives are held on campus three times a year with assistance from student volunteers. Donors and volunteers are needed for the drives. Each April, a blood drive is partnered with awareness events and a fundraiser. BRANDEIS BUDDIES: This program reaches out to developmentally disabled adults at Greater Waltham ARC by connecting them with Brandeis student volunteers. Recreation activities both on and off campus provide a fun atmosphere for volunteers and participants alike to build friendships. COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS: This referral and resource service matches Brandeis students with volunteer opportunities in the Greater Boston area. It also plans the annual Social Impact Job, Volunteer and Internship Fair and one-time events such as volunteering at Cradles to Crayons, Waltham Fields Community Farms and other local nonprofit organizations.
COMPANIONS TO ELDERS: At two local nursing homes, student volunteers are matched as weekly friendly visitors with elder residents. Additionally, in partnership with Jewish Family and Children Services, students volunteer monthly at the Memory CafĂŠ, an event that provides adults with memory disorders a safe space to converse and enjoy entertainment. Small groups also provide one-time activities and/or entertainment at senior centers and assisted-living facilities. GENERAL TUTORING: This program provides children (first grade through senior year of high school) with one-to-one tutoring for one hour a week at Brandeis University at a mutually agreed upon time. SAT Prep/ESL tutors are available. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY: This campus chapter of the national organization works to educate about affordable housing issues and assists in building homes and raising funds for the work of Habitat. It organizes one alternative break trip each year. Habitat also supports local requests for basic community beautification projects, and members volunteer at the local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and Household Goods. HOSPITAL HELPERS: This program places Brandeis students at local hospitals to assist with customer service satisfaction, waiting room childcare and other administrative work. In addition, once a month volunteers educate youth through a public health Veggie Buddies program in the Waltham public schools. HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS: Student volunteers address poverty issues through service and advocacy by assisting at the Community Day Center of Waltham and organizing the Halloween for the Hungry food drive and Spring Wellness drive. Volunteers also collect guest meal donations and prepare meals as part of Food for Thought.
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
Waltham Group Current Programs
JUNIOR BRANDEIS ACHIEVERS: JBA offers weekly after-school club programming for children at local elementary schools for a sixto-eight-week period. Past clubs have included music, journalism, dance, science, creative writing, creative arts and many others. The clubs are implemented with the help of students from Waltham High School. KIDS CONNECTION: This student volunteer referral and resource service places students in nonprofit children’s agencies such as the Boys & Girls Club and YMCA. Kids Connection also runs a weekly teen mentoring program at the Prospect Hill Community Center. A variety of programs and times are available. LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL ENRICHMENT (LACE): Waltham Middle School students who are English language learners are paired with Brandeis students for an after-school enrichment and tutorial program. The program meets on Thursday afternoons for eight sessions each semester at Brandeis. Transportation is provided to and from the middle schools. LANGUAGE EMPOWERING ACTION PROJECT (LEAP): Volunteers work in local nonprofits that may require occasional or ongoing services to non-native English speakers. In partnership with English at Large, the Prospect Hill Community Center and the Waltham Family School, volunteers provide weekly English lessons to local community members and new Latino mothers. Opportunities are not limited to direct translation services, but cover a wide scope of activities aimed at supporting local residents and the missions of the Waltham Group’s community partners.
PROSPECT HILL KIDS CLUB: Volunteers run an after-school program for elementary and middle school children at the Prospect Hill Community Center. The program provides educational and social enrichment every weekday afternoon from 3-5:30 p.m. and is organized in partnership with volunteers from Bentley University. Children who attend are residents of the Prospect Hill Terrace low-income housing neighborhood. SERVICE WITHOUT BORDERS: Service Without Borders organizes and sends Brandeis students to alternative spring break volunteer programs. Locations and projects vary yearly, but recently have included environmental sustainability, youth empowerment, poverty, natural disaster relief, and health and wellness trips. SPECTRUM: SPECTRUM is a disability awareness group that works to build relationships and connections between the families of children with disabilities and Brandeis students. Through dance, movement, songs, games and other social and recreational activities, Brandeis students form bonds with the children and their families while reaching out to the whole Brandeis community and the Waltham community. Volunteers also provide tutoring services to children with disabilities. SYMBIOSIS: Symbiosis seeks to connect Brandeis students with local environmental volunteering opportunities. The club has one-time events, educational community gardens, farm work and recurring events such as volunteering with animal shelters. TUTORING IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS (T.I.P.S.): Student volunteers assist teachers and staff with students and are placed in local schools during school hours in Waltham schools. They also run an early literacy program at the Whitemore Elementary School.
Brandeis University | Waltham Group
50 Years of Waltham Group Programs
Afternoon Enrichment (AE) Best Buddies Big Brother/Big Sister Big Siblings
Language Empowering Action Project (LEAP) Prospect Hill Kids Club Prospect Hill Summer Recreation
Blood Drive
Prospect Terrace After-School Program
Boys Club
Prospect Terrace Recreation
Brandeis Buddies
Public Relations
Bristol Lodge
Red Cross Blood Drive
Community Connections
Service Without Borders
Community Health
SPECTRUM
Community Placement
Summer Genesis
Companion Elder Outreach
Summer Youth Employment and Training Program
Companion Program Companions to Elders Fundraising and Development General Tutoring (GT) Habitat for Humanity Hispanic Liaison Program Hospital Helpers Hunger and Homelessness Junior Brandeis Achievers (JBA) Kids Connection Kids to College Language and Cultural Enrichment (LaCE)
Symbiosis Tenant’s Association The New Program Toddler Playgroup Tutoring Tutoring in Public Schools (T.I.P.S) Volunteer Vacations Waltham Kids Club Waltham Reads Waltham Translators WATCH Translators
Brandeis University | Waltham Group