The following information was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:
Would you like to join your neighbors and give back to Watertown? With the support of local company sponsors, their employees, the City of Watertown, and people who live all over Watertown, the Watertown Community Foundation is organizing Watertown Helps Out for the 11th year. During a month of community service all through May, the Watertown Community Foundation will connect hundreds of volunteers to projects our local non-profits need help getting done.
“Watertown Helps Out, affectionately called WHO, began in 2014 to bring the Watertown community together after the trauma of the Marathon bombing and the aftermath here in Watertown. What started as a single day of community service has become a month-long event involving hundreds of community and corporate volunteers who work together to help Watertown,” said Tia Tilson, Executive Director of the Watertown Community Foundation.
With the support of sponsors, ButcherBox, C4 Therapeutics, Enanta Pharmaceuticals, Kymera Therapeutics, Life Sciences at Arsenal Yards, and Watertown Savings Bank, WHO kicks-off on Thursday, May 1 and runs until May 31. If you would like to volunteer, you can start May 1. Opportunities include:
Thursday, May 1: Perkins School for the Blind Taste of Perkins Event, 4:30pm – 8:00pm, 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Saturday, May 3: Perkins School Event Support, 7:30am – 1:00pm and 12:30pm – 6:00 pm
Wednesday, May 7: Perkins School Plant Sale, 6:00am – 8:00am, 8:00am – 10:00am
Saturday, May 10: Charles River Cannalonga Park Clean-Up, 10am- 12pm
Watertown Community Gardens Invasive Plant Removal: 1pm – 3:00pm
Monday, May 12: Sculpture Walk Path Clean Up, 10am – 11:30pm
Distributing Posters to Area Stores, 10am- 11:00am
Paint Wooden Flowers for Watertown Pride, 1:00pm – 3:00pm
May 12 -May 21: City-Wide Food Drive, in collaboration with the City of Watertown and sponsored by ButcherBox. You can find out more information here.
More projects will continue to be added. See the complete list of opportunities and sign up online here.
“During WHO, the Watertown community, the City of Watertown, our local non-profits, and sponsoring partners bring tremendous generosity of spirit and can-do attitude to getting stuff done for Watertown. Our tag line, Together We Can Do So Much, comes alive during Watertown Helps Out,” said Ms. Tilson. “None of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors, the City of Watertown, and you.”
About Watertown Community Foundation
Through the power of transformative giving, the Watertown Community Foundation advances and supports positive change for the people who live and work in Watertown, Massachusetts. We envision a welcoming community where people of all backgrounds can thrive, connect, and contribute to the strength and resilience of our city. Started with funds from the sale of the Arsenal property in 2003 and grown by local giving and grants, the Foundation has awarded more than $3,000,000 in grants to end food insecurity, keep people housed, educate kids, lift-up the arts, sustain the environment, and break down barriers to bring people together. See our list of 2025 grantees here.
WCF Board of Directors
Lauren Coughlin Unsworth and Mary Ann Mulligan, Co-Presidents; Albrik Avanessian; Emily Barclay; Ninos Hanna; Eileen Hsü-Balzer; Nathalie Highland; Heather Leary; Kathryn Madden; Jennifer Nicholson, Anthony Paolillo; Dwayne Parmley; Leah Pennino; Lora Sabin; Robert Shay; David Siegel; and Felicia Sullivan.