Community Service Opportunities

Grocery Bag Donations at Belmont Food Pantry

Belmont Hill families can donate grocery bags (paper or plastic) to help the Belmont Food Pantry. A collection bin has been set up in the Alumni House (19 Marsh Street) parking lot for people to drop off bags.

Due to the coronavirus and associated economic impacts, the Belmont Food Pantry is serving way more people each week than they usually do and the number of families that need help is only increasing. The Food Pantry needs grocery bags to package the food they deliver to families. They need about 500 bags every 2 weeks.

Belmont Hill families can donate leftover grocery bags (paper or plastic) to help the Belmont Food Pantry. A collection bin has been set up in the Alumni House parking lot for people to drop off their donated bags. Bring your bags to Belmont Hill, and spread the word about this great opportunity to help. Form II student Nick Ascione has volunteered to periodically collect the donated bags and get them to the Food Pantry.

Letter Writing at Boston Medical Center and Hebrew Senior Life

Belmont Hill has connected with two Boston-area medical communities to help support the staff at their facilities, patients, and long-term residents by sending thoughtful messages of support and encouragement.

At the Boston Medical Center, Belmont Hill alum Marquis Jamison-Harris '05 is asking that we send cards and signs of support for the staff who are working so hard to help COVID-19 patients. Any display of gratitude for these workers means so much to them and goes a long way in boosting their morale. Adam Alto made an announcement regarding this effort during the April 24^th Friday Forum.

A similar effort is now underway with Hebrew Senior Life, a large non-profit serving over 3000 seniors in the Boston area, including long-term nursing home residents who are currently isolated and unable to maintain their usual connection with family and friends. Belmont Hill students are encouraged to send letters and cards to residents, offering them some connection and comfort during this difficult time.

These messages are a simple way you can have a profound impact on someone. We would like our community to send as many messages as possible to both BMC and Hebrew Senior Life, so reach out to family members or friends who would be interested in this as well. This is an ongoing project, so keep the letters coming, and we will keep you updated with any other locations we can send the cards to.

For Boston Medical Center, please send letters and cards to:

Shapiro Ambulatory
725 Albany St. 9th Fl, Ste 9C
Boston MA 02118
Attn: Marquis Jamison-Harris

For Hebrew Senior Life, please send letters and cards to:

Daniel Drucker

c/o Hebrew Senior Life

20 Kesseler Way

Chesnut Hill, MA 02467

Pine Street Inn and Food Supplies Drive

To contribute to The Pine Street Inn, please visit their wish list on Amazon. In addition to cereal, oatmeal, and other food items, they are also in need of socks and toothbrushes. Donations will be shipped directly to their warehouse in Jamaica Plain, then sent to their temporary housing units with over 850 tenants. 

Due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, The Pine Street Inn has seen significant drop in the number of donations and contributions to the Inn are needed now more than ever. Fortunately, the Inn created an Amazon wish list to combat their lack of in-person donations.

The wish list is very easy to access and use. Once you have joined the wish list 'group,' you can browse the needs of the Inn and add it to your cart. While checking out, the option to deliver to the Inn's address in JP should pop-up, and you can click that.

During this time, the Inn needs all the help they can get, so any donation is much appreciated. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Brooks Rayment, Mr. George, or myself, Timmy McCormack. Thank you very much!