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How YOU Can Help!

Choose Your Own Adventure!

Volunteers are essential to Nashoba Neighbors! As a volunteer, you can provide direct assistance to members, help organize or host social and learning events, or help with behind-the scenes organizational tasks. You choose the activities that are best for you!

 

Direct Service to Members  

We always need drivers!

Do you enjoy driving around the local area? You choose when you can offer a ride! We need drivers to be available every day and early evening, as well as on the weekends, so there are lots of openings for drivers! Our volunteers drive members to appointments, stores, the post office, banks, cultural and sporting events, and social get-togethers. Although most driving is local, occasionally these trips can be up to an hour away. 

 

Help with outdoor home and yard care.

Do you enjoy gardening? Are you comfortable doing chores around the yard? These chores may include planting flowers or shrubs, raking or blowing leaves, light weeding, and watering the garden. In winter, chores may include removing snow from paths and porches or sanding walkways.

Enjoy friendly visits and wellness checks.

Do you enjoy social visits and getting to know people? Many members just enjoy a friendly drop in and chat over a cup of coffee or tea (and sometimes requests for help come up during these visits). Some people enjoy having the paper or a book read to them. Others enjoy a pastime like a game of cribbage or a card game, maybe join them in making a puzzle.

Sometimes a member enjoys a visitor when a family caregiver needs a break or can't stop by due to other commitments. And some members just would like a phone call now and then. Members also enjoy having a walking buddy, someone to chat with while walking their own street or while exploring new places to walk.

Come to the rescue with short-term emergency help.

Are you good at checking homes and tending to plants and pets while someone is away? Volunteers check on members' homes if they need to have surgery or end up in the emergency room unexpectedly. This may involve taking care of a loved pet or two, watering the house plants, making sure the mail is brought in, and the house is locked.


Organize or Host Social      & Learning Events

Do you enjoy getting together with others? Do you like to plan events?

We always need volunteers to organize online and in-person events that are suggested by our members.

Nashoba Neighbors aims to offer a variety of engaging interest groups like cribbage nights, a painting group, a writing group, walking buddies, an international cooking group - so many fun ideas!

Educational, cultural, and sporting events might include organizing and/or hosting:

  • an ongoing book group or a singing or poetry event
  • a presentation by a local historian, artist, author, or an experienced traveler
  • a trip to the Worcester Art Museum or Tower Hill Botanic Garden
  • an outing to a baseball game in Worcester
  • a trip to a theatrical or sporting event at Tahanto or Nashoba Regional High School
  • a trip to a concert at Worcester's Mechanics Hall or Groton's Indian Hill Music Center
  • a berry picking excursion at a local farm
  • a crafting, woodworking, or music demonstration or workshop

 

 

Assist with change of season chores.

Are you up for some physical work? When the seasons change, members need help putting away or setting up yard furniture and planters, installing screen or storm doors, installing or removing small air conditioners and fans, stacking or bringing in fire wood, putting away or taking out yard hoses, and taking out the old fireplace ashes.

 

Help with tasks around the home.

Are you handy with repairs and willing to take on a variety of odd jobs around the home? We help members with occasional cleaning tasks (doing the wash, changing the sheets, sweeping the porch, cleaning up spills or broken glass, cleaning out the fridge). We also take on light moving tasks or reorganizing closets or moving furniture in a room. We make simple repairs and help with organizing recycling and delivering trash and recycling to the local transfer station when town policies allow us to.

Provide technology support.

Are you comfortable troubleshooting technology challenges? Do you enjoy teaching? Technology assistance can involve working alone to install new software or hardware, replace ink cartridges, or troubleshoot a problem. It can also involved calling and working over the phone with a company, like the cable company, to solve a problem. Volunteers often work directly with members to help them learn how to use common programs, like Zoom or email, and how to make simple "crib sheets" to recall how to use these when the volunteer leaves.

 

Help take care of household paperwork and scheduling.

Are you an organizer by nature? Do you like to check things off your To Do list? Members sometimes need help sorting through a backlog of mail, or making calls to schedule appointments or finding licensed home repair help. Staying on top of these tasks is important, but sometimes overwhelming! Volunteers can assist with all of these tasks, as well as filling out forms, making and filing copies of documents, conducting business or making orders online, or preparing materials for bill payment.


Behind the Scenes Organizational Help

Maybe you like the flexibility of working mostly alone from home?

Nashoba Neighbors has volunteer jobs for you, too! We need remote office help, which might involve making phone calls, following-up on correspondence, outreach or marketing support, or updating our members community calendar with activities and events occurring in the area. Tasks might also include:

  • Conducting membership interest polls and reporting results back to the Board
  • Sending thank you notes to patrons or birthday cards to members and volunteers

Would you like to meet and work with other Nashoba Neighbors volunteers?

You could train to be a Call Manager, then help to match up volunteers to members' requests for help. Or you could work on one of our committees, such as our Volunteer or Membership Committees, or our Marketing and Outreach Committees. This is a great way to know more about who is working to improve Nashoba Neighbors and provides a way to get more involved. Maybe you would even like to serve on the Board of Directors!


All Are Welcome

We value your membership and volunteer contributions!

Nashoba Neighbors does not discriminate on the grounds of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression and identity, physical appearance, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, political affiliation, socio-economic background, or military status in any of its activities or operations.