Service Opportunities Overview

"Christ has no body now on earth but yours; no hands but yours; no feet but yours.  Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world.  Yours are the feet with which He is to go about doing good.  Yours are the hands with which He is to bless His people."
-- St. Teresa of Avila

Our Catholic faith calls us to serve, to be the hands and feet of Christ in the world, offering works of mercy to our brothers and sisters within our homes, our parish, our community and our world.

Our Lady of Sorrows offers various opportunities to learn and grow through service.  From volunteering on a summer mission trip, to getting involved with the Christian Services Commission, to taking part in a one-day service opportunity, there are many places for YOU to use your gifts to bring Christ to others and to encounter Christ in the world.    

Check out our service opportunities below, and consider signing up for one or more.  This list will be updated throughout the year as dates and times are determined, and as more service opportunities are available.

Links to electronic permission slips can be found on the Sign Up Genius page (linked below with each service opportunity).  Please sign up on the Sign Up Genius first, and then have a parent/guardian of the participant complete a permission slip.  (Permission slips are only required for opportunities that take place off OLOS's campus).  

If you are interested in taking a leadership role and facilitating one of the opportunities, or if you have any questions, please contact Monica LaFond, at 781-784-2265 or at mlafond@olossharon.org.

If you are a Confirmation student, you should complete a Service Reflection Form in order to reflect upon your experience and receive credit for having taken part in it.

Notice re the COVID-19 Pandemic
Due to the need to slow the spread of the COVID-19 virus, our usual in-person service opportunities are not happening.  However, there are other ways you can help others in our community during this time of great need.

Continental Breakfast Item Donations Needed for MainSpring House
We are collecting continental breakfast items for donation to the MainSpring House in Brockton, which provides shelter and meals to homeless men, women and children. We need muffins, bagels, cereal in individual serving containers, yogurt in single servings, bread and juice.  Donations should be dropped off in the Bullock Center anytime Tuesday, July 28 or before noon on Wednesday, July 29. Please click here to sign up.

Voting Rights Project
As Catholics, we affirm the dignity of every human life. We recognize that society is a balance of rights and responsibilities and that our Catholic faith calls upon us to promote just relationships among all people, within and across families, communities and nations. For as the U.S. Bishops recently reaffirmed in “Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship,” their reflection on Catholic teaching and political life: “In the Catholic tradition, responsible citizenship is a virtue, and participation in political life is a moral obligation.”

One right essential to participation in our government is the right to vote. OLOS parishioners Olivia Nau (Youth Commission member), Sonya Townsend (Youth Commission member) and Lisa Uebelacker have volunteered to spearhead a partnership between OLOS and the Center for Common Ground, a 501(c)(3) organization, in its non-partisan Reclaim Our Vote campaign. Volunteers are needed to write postcards to people who have been removed from their state voter rolls, letting them know of their removal and sharing information about how to re-register to vote. This service project is compatible with social distancing and suitable for individuals as well as families. For more information about the Center for Common Ground’s Reclaim Our Vote campaign and its efforts to combat voter suppression, please click here. 

This service project is open to members of the OLOS community, as well as their families, neighbors and friends. Please spread the word about our project.  Interested volunteers are asked to contact Monica LaFond at mlafond@olossharon.org by July 15.

OLOS seeks volunteers for help with setting up for outdoor masses 
Weather permitting, OLOS will be offering outdoor, in-person Masses at 4 p.m. on Saturdays throughout the summer. Visit the homepage of the parish website for more information and for guidelines about attending one of these masses. Many volunteers are needed to set up and tear down from these masses. To learn more, contact OLOS's office manager, Lynn Jacobs.

Town of Sharon Seeking Volunteers to Help During COVID-19 Crisis
The town of Sharon is seeking volunteers (with or without medical experience) to join the Medical Reserve Corps.  Training in CPR, first aid, narcan and other emergency and mental health services will be provided free of charge to Medical Reserve Corp members throughout the year.  To join, please fill out this application. 

Volunteers are also needed to assist with picking up groceries and prescriptions for homebound residents. Volunteers with knowledge in the area of human resources or unemployment benefits are sought to give advice to residents in need.

All volunteers should fill out a CORI form and bring it to the Sharon Town Hall for ID verification.  For more information about how to sign up to volunteer, or to submit a Medical Reserve Corp application form and/or CORI, please contact Linda Callan at lcallan@townofsharon.org or 781-784-1500, ext. 1143.

Face Masks and Surgical Caps for Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton
Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton is seeking donations of homemade face masks and surgical caps for use by medical personnel and staff. Materials needed include tight-weave quilting cotton (bought within the last year) and rope elastic or bias tape (either 1/2" or 7/8" wide).  Masks should be made according to the Vanderbilt medical-approved pattern or the Million Mask pattern.  Helpful videos explaining how to sew the masks can be found here (for the Vanderbilt medical-approved pattern) or here (for the Million mask pattern).  A video explaining how to make surgical caps can be found here, and the cap pattern is here.  

For more information about how to sew the masks and caps and how to deliver donations to Good Samaritan Hospital, please contact Monica LaFond at mlafond@olossharon.org. Please also contact Monica if you have fabric, elastic or bias tape you would like to donate to others sewing masks and caps.


My Brother’s Keeper
What: My Brother’s Keeper delivers furniture, household items, and food free of charge to those who seek assistance. Since 1991, MBK has supported families in need during Christmas time, by providing them with gifts and food.  Volunteers will wrap Christmas gifts for families in need.  
Who: This service opportunity is open to adults and students grades 6 and up.
Where: MBK is located in Easton, MA.  Volunteers will meet in the OLOS Parking Lot to carpool.
When: Date TBD from 3:30-6:30 pm.

Click here to sign up.

The Table
What: The Table at Father Bill’s and Mainspring House in Brockton, MA is a “soup kitchen” that prepares and serves meals to approximately 150 homeless men and women daily. We will prepare, cook and serve the luncheon meal for that day.  
Who: This service opportunity is open to adults and students age 16 and up.
Where: The Table is in Brockton, MA.  Volunteers will meet in the OLOS Parking Lot to carpool.
When: Date TBD from 9:30 am -2:45 pm 

Click here to sign up.

Pine Street Inn
What: Pine Street Inn partners with homeless individuals to help them move from the streets and shelter to a home, and assists formerly homeless individuals in retaining housing. Spend the morning assisting with food preparation and kitchen support, followed by a tour of  the shelter.
Who: This service opportunity is open to adults and students ages 15 and up.
Where: Pine Street Inn is located in Boston, MA.  Volunteers will meet in the OLOS Parking Lot to carpool.
When: Date TBD from 8:15AM-1:45PM

Advent Workshop in O’Connell Hall
What: Volunteers will offer a variety of Advent activities at our annual Workshop.  Activities include selling Advent wreaths, helping to create the wreaths, face painting, and various craft projects.  
Who: Adult volunteers and student volunteers in grades 6, 7 and 8
Where: O’Connell Hall
When: Date TBD from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.  

Click here to sign up.

Bagged Lunch Brigade
What: Mainspring House, a homeless shelter in Brockton, depends on bagged lunches to serve to hungry men, women and children who are unable to make it to specific meal times at The Table, the soup kitchen within the shelter.  Volunteers will pack bagged lunches and deliver them to Mainspring House.  All volunteers are asked to sign up to bring items needed to make the lunches. More food items will be needed to make the lunches than volunteers will be able to donate.  If you would like to donate groceries but not make lunches, you also can sign up using the link below.

Use the sign up link below to sign up to donate items or volunteer.  All donations are due by noon of the Friday before the service opportunity and should be placed in the kitchen in the Bullock Center, clearly marked "Bagged Lunch Brigade."

Who: This service opportunity is open to children as well as teens and adults.
Where: The Bullock Center
When: TBD

Click here to volunteer or donate items.

Christmas in the City
What: Christmas in the City is a non-profit, 100% volunteer organization. Their mission is to support and mentor homeless families in the Greater Boston area. Their Christmas party is the largest Christmas party in MA serving approximately 3,000 homeless children.  When we volunteer at Christmas in the City, we will serve as “Santa’s Helpers.”  We will serve food, distribute Christmas gifts to the children, and care for the children at “Winter Wonderland,” an event filled with fun activities.  Each volunteer is asked to bring an unwrapped Christmas gift to donate to CITC.
Who: This service opportunity is open to any person age sixteen and older.
Where: CITC takes place in the Boston Convention Center.  Volunteers will meet in the Bullock Center to carpool.
When: Date TBD, 8:40 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 

Click here to sign up.

Church Spring Cleaning
What: Spring clean the church and the church's buildings to prepare for Easter. Bring your gloves, broom, dusters, rags and your elbow grease and let's brighten things up!!  Lunch will be provided!
Who: All are welcome
Where: The Church and O'Connell Hall
When: TBD

Click here to sign up.

Cradles to Crayons
What: Cradles to Crayons is an organization that provides, free of charge, the basic essentials needed to be safe, warm, ready to learn, and valued to low-income and homeless children from birth to pre-teen. When we visit Cradles to Crayons we will sort through new and used items for children in need and decide if those items are good enough to be given away. We may also clean and package items as well.  
Who: This service opportunity is open to children as well as teens and adults.  All students who are not yet in Middle School must be accompanied by a parent.
Where: The Cradles to Crayons Giving Factory: 155 N Beacon St, Brighton, MA 02135.  Volunteers will meet in the OLOS parking lot to carpool.
When:  TBD

Click here to sign up.

Decorating the Church for Christmas
What: Prepare the church and O'Connell Hall for our Christmas services by cleaning and decorating.
Who: All are welcome
Where: The Church and O'Connell Hall
When: TBD
For more information please contact Lynn Jacobs at ljacobs@olossharon.org or 781-784-2265.

Decorating the Church for Easter
What: Prepare the church and O'Connell Hall for our Christmas services by cleaning and decorating.
Who: All are welcome
Where: The Church and O'Connell Hall
When: TBD
For more information please contact Lynn Jacobs at ljacobs@olossharon.org or 781-784-2265.

The Special Olympics
What: Volunteers will assist with the Track & Field competition of the Special Olympics at Milton Academy in Milton, MA.  Our tasks for the day will include: assisting competitors with lining up for their events, distributing medals, timing events, and/or assisting the event coordinators with distributing water and food to the competitors.  
Who: This service opportunity is open to adults and students grades 9 and up.
Where: The Special Olympics of MA take place at Milton Academy.  Volunteers will meet in the OLOS Parking Lot to carpool.
When: TBD

Click here to sign up.