Volunteers will help ‘Boston Shine’ this weekend

Comcast Cares Day volunteers painted inspirational quotes on the gym wall at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Dorchester last Saturday as part of a large volunteer effort at the site. Photo by Bill Brett)

The city of Boston’s coordinated spring clean-up will stretch out over three weekends this year— with Dorchester and Mattapan’s “Boston Shines” weekend set for May 2-3. The citywide effort, now in its 12th year, engages thousands of volunteers in targeted cleaning projects.

This year’s effort will include four service areas: physical service, university engagement, youth development, and creating opportunities to help unite neighbors and communities. The Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services will coordinate efforts and brooms, shovels, and other tools will be provided distributed.

Included among the targeted locations locally are:
• Fields Corner— Residents, merchants and community leaders will meet Saturday at 9 a.m. at either ADSL's Field House on Town Field (1565 Dorchester Ave.) or the Vietnamese American Community Center (42 Charles St.) to clean the Dorchester Avenue business district, the residential streets around the Fields Corner T station as well as the Dorchester Gardenlands vacant lot on Geneva Ave. across from the T station. There will be a cook-out afterwards at 11:30 at the Vietnamese American Community Center. For more information, contact Evelyn Darling at 617-822-3717 x26 or evelyn@vietaid.org

• Polish Triangle/McCormack Civic— Meet at Sharon's Park (Columbia Rd.) at 10 a.m. on Saturday. Coffee and pastries will be available. Immediate concentration areas include Sharon’s Park and Paul’s Triangle.

• Mattapan — The Mattapan Patriots usually focus on Almont Park, but since the park is undergoing construction, the league will join forces with Mattapan Square community from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. Other sites in Mattapan will include the site of a community garden on Woolson Street and the Woodhaven/Culbert/Regis neighborhood.

• Bowdoin-Geneva — Meet at 9 a.m. to help pick up trash, mulching, planting flowers, and sweeping sidewalks. Volunteers will gather outside the Family Nurturing Center at 200 Bowdoin Street, but drop by anytime before noon to help out for as long as you can. All volunteers are welcomed to join in afterwards as the Catholic Charities Teen Center hosts a cookout for participants at 278 Bowdoin Street from 12-5 p.m. Call 617-436-9980 or email bowdoingenevamainstreets@gmail.com to RSVP.

• Neponset area— In Adams Corner, meet at 9 a.m. at the clock on Adams Street. • Hemenway Park (Adams Street)— Lisa Jackson is organizing the Hemey Park clean-up beginning at 9 a.m.; Mary O'Brien will coordinate Martin Tot Lot on Hilltop Street; Tom Leahy is point person for King Street and the Leahy~Holloran Community Center will be handling Garvey Park. Bostonian Nursing Care & Rehabilitation will assist with a cookout/gathering at Garvey Park after everyone is done working around noon.
Go to the city’s website to sign up as a volunteer or call Alec Bonelli in the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services at 617-635-3485.

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