At The Second Step, we rely on our community to help survivors of domestic violence reach safety, stability, and well-being. Your contribution to this effort is critical. Scroll down to learn about opportunities to make an impact in the lives of those around you.
Your gift in any amount has tremendous impact on the life-changing work we do at The Second Step. Your generosity will help move the over 800 adults and children we serve each year from lives of abuse to safety, stability, and well-being.
Contributions from individuals like you are critical to the success of our programs and the survivors they serve. Your gift supports a range of needs, from staffing of critical programs, to providing food for survivors, to helping just to keep the lights and heat on.
Each year, over 450 volunteers collectively donate over 5,200 hours of their time by helping with childcare, yard cleanup, cooking meals, mentoring survivors, answering phones at our office, serving on event committees, organizing drives, and so much more.
To volunteer at The Second Step or to learn more about any of the opportunities above, please call our volunteer coordinator at 617-965-3999 or email volunteer@thesecondstep.org. You can also download and fill out our volunteer form and CORI form and send them to us.
You can hold a drive at your school or place of business, or host a fundraising event or dinner. You can also serve on a committee to help plan our major fundraising and celebration events. Have an idea of your own for an event you’d like to hold? Let’s hear from you!
Volunteers help us to organize backpack and holiday gift drives, cook meals for client support groups, and help us maintain our residences.
Volunteers help us to organize backpack and holiday gift drives, cook meals for client support groups, and help us maintain our residences. We also need ongoing help with office support services, answering phones, and welcoming clients and their families to our offices and residences.
Want to support survivors directly? We have opportunities to mentor adult as well as youth survivors, and are always excited to meet new tutors, children’s playspace leaders, and outdoor and fitness activity leaders.
Have a special skill? We LOVE volunteer staff with legal, therapeutic, or other specialized training who would like to donate their time and expertise to our survivors.
Survivors are often forced to leave everything behind to seek safety for themselves and their children. You can help them ease the transition to safety and stability by providing some of these key items.
Families come to our residences with very few possessions, and we always need items to help them get settled. Clients in our Community Programs also often lack the resources to provide for their children as they work to stabilize. And the children and adolescents in our Youth Programs have needs ranging from after-school supplies to health and fitness equipment.
To make a donation please call us at 617-965-3999 or email volunteer@thesecondstep.org to learn drop-off locations and times and to make certain your items fit our current needs. Storage is very limited, so we cannot accept all donations at all times. Thank you for your kind understanding.
Please click here for a downloadable “shopping list” of our current most pressing needs.