Community Coalition held Malden Volunteer Fair

On a warm Saturday afternoon this past April 19, the Malden Community Coalition held its first Malden Volunteer Fair at the Salemwood School Fieldhouse. Local nonprofit and community organizations made exemplary use of the space, building bridges with members of the Malden community who have a shared passion for using their talents to keep Malden a wonderful place to live. The space was filled with lively conversation and the exchange of valuable information.

These nonprofit and community organizations included Urban Media Arts (UMA), Engage Malden, Alray Scholars Program, The Bridge Recovery Center, Safe Routes to School, Chinese Culture Connection, Zonta Club of Malden, Friends of Roosevelt Park, OnStage Dance Company, Malden Pride Coalition, Maplewood Main Streets of Malden, Mass Senior Action Council, Friends of the Middlesex Fells, Junior Aid of Malden, Friends of the Malden Public Library, Cooperative for Human Services, Malden Juneteenth, Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA), Malden Grows, Bread of Life, The Immigration Learning Center, Blueprints of Love, Malden Safe Streets, Bike to the Sea, Malden Warming Center, Malden Porchfest and ABCD Housing and Homelessness Prevention Department. Organizations that did not have representatives available to attend that Saturday were still able to establish a presence at the fair via the space specifically dedicated for such groups seeking to recruit volunteers: Candorful, Community Cooks, Tufts Medicine Care at Home, and Mystic Valley Elder Services.

The Malden Volunteer Fair was cosponsored by Councillor-at-Large Karen Colón-Hayes, who remarked, “When community members and organizations work together with volunteers, it allows resources, skills, and efforts to be pooled, leading to more effective and sustainable outcomes. That is why it was important to me to help make sure this event was a success.”

MyRWA Climate Organizing Manager Marissa Zampino commented, “It was really great to have so many organizations represented at the fair! I loved being able to chat with folks about their orgs and figure out ways we can work together.”

Jennifer Truong of Malden Grows spoke of the fair and her work: “Myself, Stephanie H., and Sharon H. had a great time at the fair meeting people who are interested in plants and gardening. We gave away free seedlings, some native, and some vegetables that were started from seed in addition to many veggie seedlings. Many of the seeds were donated by local neighbors and Mahoney’s Garden Center. We welcome the opportunity for new friends to learn more about gardening and planting in the local community. We are helping with a plant swap along with FOOGI and Malden Pride taking place on Saturday, May 3rd, starting at 10:30am in Coytemore Lea Park. Hope to see some new and old friends in the park!”

During the fair, Malden Community Coalition steering committee member Shane Landrum conducted interviews with the participating organizations regarding their mission, their latest campaigns and their volunteer opportunities. These interviews will be released on UMA as well as on Malden Community Coalition’s social media pages and YouTube channel, through Malden Community Coalition’s partnership with UMA, so keep an eye out for those in the coming weeks!

Malden Community Coalition’s steering committee would like to thank the City of Malden and Malden Public Schools for providing the group with the use of the Fieldhouse, Councillor-at-Large Karen Colón-Hayes for cosponsoring the event, and all the members of the Malden community for coming together to make this fair a success.

The Malden Community Coalition will continue to have its monthly Community Conversations at UMA in Malden Center. For updates on dates and topics for future conversations, visit social media pages or their website at maldencommunitycoalition.neocities.org, which will also include updates on events they will be planning in the near future. Lastly, the Malden Community Coalition is working on a free, fully searchable and filterable online directory of the nonprofit and community groups serving Malden, which residents will be able to use as a quick and easy resource to locate the help they might need. If you’d like to submit your nonprofit or community group to this directory, please reach out to Malden Community Coalition at ma**********************@***il.com.