About Us

Boston Cares was founded in 1991 by seven young adults who were determined to find a way to make community service a part of their busy lives. They worked to find non-profits that could utilize volunteers on a flexible basis, with the goal of creating a calendar of volunteer opportunities to send out to their friends. Starting with a calendar of three service projects, Boston Cares was launched.

Today, our year-round programs & seasonal service events engage 10,000 adults, children, teens & corporate partners who annually serve 65,000+ hours at almost 200 schools and nonprofits primarily in Greater Boston and eastern MA communities. Our volunteer impact areas include hunger relief and basic needs; adult education and ESOL tutoring; and youth success. Boston Cares’ Bed Project volunteers have built 1,500+ beds for kids who don’t have one of their own.

Boston Cares is the largest volunteer agency in New England, an affiliate of the Points of Light Global Network, and an award-winning leader in the volunteer engagement sector. Since 1991, our volunteers have generated over 1.3 million hours of service!