December 7, 2017
Elected officials are the program’s first “Honorary Angels.” From left: Councillor-elect Ed Flynn, Rep. Nick Collins, Councillor Annissa Essaibi-George, Laboure Center director Jacob Bombard, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Debbie Rambo, president of Catholic Charities of Boston and Boy Scout Thomas Connolly. Photo courtesy Catholic Charities of Boston.
The Laboure Center of South Boston has launched the Boston Snow Angels, a program that will pair volunteers from the neighborhood with elderly and disabled residents in order to assist them with snow removal over the winter months.
The program aims to help those who might be otherwise trapped and isolated by a heavy fall, and to protect them from the threat of injury if they try to shovel snow themselves.
The Center will provide the volunteers with shovels and snowmelt in the event of a forecast of three inches or more.
“This program is in direct response to the Mayor’s Commission on Affairs of the Elderly as part of a plan to help make Boston more age-friendly,” explained center director Jacob Bombard. “One of the themes of this plan is that the city partner with faith-based organizations to help out at-risk elders.”
He added, “The goal is to get at least one or two volunteers per block per senior. It’s ambitious, but we want it to be ambitious so that we’re overly prepared, for those times when volunteers are out of town or otherwise unavailable. That way another volunteer can take their place.” The center is hoping to recruit 70 volunteers for this upcoming winter.
The Laboure Center on West Broadway is the South Boston branch of the Catholic Charities, an organization that offers more than 90 programs and services in the greater Boston area. The Center hosts a number of these programs, including Early Childhood Care, Youth Mentoring and Tutoring, and Basic Needs services through which the center collaborates with local food pantries to serve families in need.
The Center is also home to the Refugee and Immigration Services division, which assists over 17,000 refugees and immigrants each year through legal assistance, interpreter services, refugee resettlement, and ESOL classes.
The center was founded by the Knights of Columbus in 1907 as a nursery for newly arrived immigrant families struggling to provide for their children. For over a century the center has continued to grow and expand its wide array of programs and services. It now serves over 5,000 people annually in the South Boston community and beyond.
To sign up as a volunteer, call the Laboure Center at 617-464-8500 or visit their website at ccab.org/volunteer.
