B-SAFE, the summer enrichment program in the diocese that serves more than 500 children and employs 140 teens in Boston’s neighborhoods, is heading into its 16th year larger and wider in scope than ever before. The program relies upon volunteers from its partner parishes and organizations to prepare and serve lunch, and to plan and lead weekly field trips. On March 1, new and longtime volunteers from parishes across the diocese will gather at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill to plan for the summer ahead (event information here).
“We’ll have lunch together, have some fellowship time and build relationships between all these people,” said Betsy Walsh, partner organizer for youth programs at St. Stephen’s Church in Boston, where B-SAFE originates. “Volunteers sort of work in a silo—you have your week, your church, your day—the partners don’t necessarily meet each other as part of that. So this is a nice time for partners to meet each other and share their experiences.”
In 2014 there were 50 to 55 partner organizations (most but not all Episcopal churches) that volunteered to support B-SAFE. There are always opportunities for new partner organizations to get involved: Some parishes have been working with B-SAFE for almost the whole life of the program, while others are just getting started; some parishes take a full week of lunches and a field trip while others commit to preparing and serving one lunch. Walsh said that parishes of all sizes and commitment levels can get involved.
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A volunteer serves lunch at the Epiphany School B-SAFE site.
B-SAFE (short for Bishop's Summer Academic Fun Enrichment) serves children at six Episcopal church and school sites: St. Stephen’s Church, Boston; the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin, Roxbury; St. Mary’s Church, Dorchester; the Church of the Holy Spirit, Mattapan; St. Luke’s-San Lucas Church, Chelsea; and Epiphany School in Dorchester. The partner organizations come from throughout the diocese, and include many suburban parishes of varying size.
“It’s tremendously important to bring others into the city and start to build those relationships,” said Walsh. “That’s something that’s very important to me personally, building those relationships across borders of geography and race and socioeconomic status. I think it’s a great model for all of us coming together to do that work together that is needed in the cities, and that [volunteering] offers a really easy on-ramp for both suburban and urban parishes.”
Serving lunch takes 4-6 volunteers at a single site (Epiphany School and St. Stephen’s also have middle school programs and are considered “double sites” because they have two feedings. These sites require 8-10 volunteers.) Financially, partner organizations are asked to cover the cost of the lunch, which parishes accomplish in a range of ways. Some partners make B-SAFE an item in their budget, while others fundraise throughout the year, or have members of the church bring in the food.
“It’s extremely important to our bottom line, not having to pay for all the food and the Friday field trips with the bus transportation. [Volunteer involvement] enriches our programming and provides things we couldn’t do on our own,” Walsh said.
Emily Sugg, minister of children and youth at St. John’s Church in Westwood, has been leading groups of B-SAFE volunteers from her parish for six years. Volunteers from St. John’s serve lunch 3-4 times and lead a field trip for children at the Church of the Holy Spirit in Mattapan. The church’s involvement with B-SAFE is just one facet of a 20-year partner parish relationship with the Church of the Holy Spirit.
“We’ve absolutely loved it,” Sugg said. “There’s something special about having extra time at our partner parish. There are always folks from Church of the Holy Spirit around whom we know, and I bring high school kids through the school year to tutor at CHS’s after school program, so we see some of the same kids."
Sugg said that she generally brings about six volunteers to serve lunch for B-SAFE at the Church of the Holy Spirit, and that the group usually includes some high school and college age students. She said that the longer they’ve been involved, the richer the experience has become.
“It’s really important to build those relationships with the staff and site directors, and when people are coming more consistently and they get to know folks it’s more comfortable and more fun. It’s about people, not programs. The more you do it, the more people you get to know when you’re volunteering and you’re just happy to see people again."
“Out in the suburbs you can forget that there are little kids who don’t get to go swimming very often, don’t have the opportunities kids in the suburbs have. It’s good for us to be in these neighborhoods that are only 25 minutes away but are very different from our own. Ministries like these are all about bringing people together from different communities,” Sugg said.
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Sharing lunch at Church of the Holy Spirit, Mattapan.
In addition to strengthening the partnership with the Church of the Holy Spirit, B-SAFE helps to strengthen the St. John’s community, she said.
“We try to pull in parishioners in as many small ways as possible,” Sugg said. “It can be a challenge finding people who can volunteer in the middle of the week, but people from the parish do things like bring in fruit, paper plates and juice boxes. We even get the kids to get involved in small ways–one Sunday the parents paid a few bucks [for the B-SAFE funds] so the little kids could wear their pajamas to church.”
The natural fellowship of volunteering can be a welcome opportunity for parishioners to spend time together. Walsh said that part of the fun of volunteering with B-SAFE is the opportunity to spend a whole day with a few fellow parishioners, a span of time to get to know each other that is not necessarily offered by weekly coffee hour.
Sugg also stressed the importance of volunteering as an intergenerational activity. “I think it’s always nice to provide outreach opportunities for families, in today’s busy world,” she said. “Kids may not initially get excited about volunteering with their parents, but once they’re there they have fun, and it’s really sweet to watch. And the parents are thrilled for the opportunity to volunteer side-by-side with their kids."
And, she said, volunteering with B-SAFE is simply a lot of fun. "Particularly as a parent, as your kids get older, you don’t always have time with little folks," Sugg said. "And it’s just so fun to go to the zoo with little kids!"
Trinity Church in Woburn was a first-time B-SAFE partner in 2014. The Rev. John Conn, Rector of Trinity, had discussed volunteering with the Rev. Tim Crellin, the vicar of St. Stephen’s Church in Boston and founder of B-SAFE, and brought the question of volunteering to the vestry and members. He found that the parishioners were ready and willing to try serving a lunch at B-SAFE.
The program proved to be an excellent fit for the talents of Trinity parishioners. Conn said that there are many teachers among the church’s members. “We’re also very fortunate in that we have a woman in the parish who graduated from Johnson and Wales culinary school, so she put together the menu and got all the food,” Conn said.
Trinity had a group of 13 volunteers in all, including four young people. They prepared and served lunch to a group of kids at the B-SAFE site in Chelsea. “People just had a great time, especially just sitting down and talking with the kids,” Conn said.
Conn said that as a first-time partner organization, one lunch was a good starting point. “For the first time I thought it made sense to do a day, let everyone get their feet wet,” he said. “We’ll take a look and see when people would like to go next summer, but I know people will want to do at least one day, without a doubt.”
“Giving kids the experience of B-SAFE is something they will always carry with them, and that’s something of rich value to our parish,” Conn said. “And I think being part of that, even just feeding [the kids], is really what the church should be about.”
Parishes that are interested in becoming B-SAFE partners should begin by reaching out to Betsy Walsh, and consider attending the March 1 meeting at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill.
“We’ll start by gathering in a large group to bring everyone together–new partners, new leaders, ongoing partner organizations—and get everyone up to speed on B-SAFE and what B-SAFE 2015 is going to look like this year: sites, staff, if there were any changes last year,” Walsh said.
Later, volunteers will have break-out sessions. Walsh said that past topics have included moving from charity of justice, creating healthy, hearty menus and planning field trips. This year she is planning to group volunteers by site, so that all of the parish partners from a given B-SAFE site can do some collaborative planning together.
“I’m excited that B-SAFE is offering this opportunity, so that we can all get ideas from each other and hopefully encourage some churches that have not been as involved to try doing even one lunch,” said Emily Sugg.
Sugg also emphasized that there are ways for parishes of all sizes to get involved, and that even people who can’t commit to serving lunch can support B-SAFE. “It’s a little daunting sometimes, lunch for 85. I think all smallish-size churches can struggle with getting the volunteers,” she said.
She said that St. John’s has met the needs of B-SAFE by collaborating with nearby churches and rallying the support of everyone in the parish, including those who can’t commit to volunteering. “It doesn’t need to be taking a weekday off—it can be as simple as bringing us a crate of oranges!” she said.
Walsh urged any parishes or organizations that may be interested in volunteering to reach out to her.
“I’m happy to work with any organization to find out what they’re able to do, and to help assess where they are. Some parishes are most interested in feeding children, others are into education, recreation…I’m here to steer them in the right direction for both their people and their fundraising.”
-- Ellen Stuart Kittle
Betsy Walsh, partner organizer for St. Stephen’s Youth Programs, can be reached at betsy@ststephensbos.org.