The sixth New England GiveCamp was held on the weekend of Nov 6-8th at BlueMetal Architects in Watertown Square. Microsoft New England is a founding sponsor of this annual event which brings together area non-profit organizations with volunteer developers, designers, and program managers to work on a variety of assets empowering the charities to better serve their constituents. The 2015 edition included 13 New England organizations, among them the Science Club for Girls from Cambridge; the J. W. Foley Legacy Foundation of Rochester, New Hampshire, and Vital Pathways from Houlton, Maine. One of the projects, Books and Balloons, was conceived and executed by a team ranging in age from 10 to 16!
Volunteer-wise, technologists and designers traveled from five states and as much as 200 miles away to spend day (and night) assisting in a variety of tasks including website development, database integration, and logo and newsletter design. About a third of the participants – both volunteers and non-profit representatives – bunked for both nights at the event, as evidenced by a number of tents sprinkled throughout the venue! While on-site, participants are provided meals, snacks, and amply caffeinated beverages solely through the financial and in-kind donations of its sponsors.
As relayed by co-founder Kelley Muir in her TEDx talk from the Spring of 2015, New England GiveCamp has mobilized over 500 volunteers to provide an estimated $750,000 in services to over 100 non-profit organizations in the greater New England area. The organizational committee is in the initial planning stages for the 2016 New England GiveCamp and invites the community to follow its progress at http://newenglandgivecamp.org, @NEGiveCamp on Twitter, and via e-mail at [email protected]. We especially encourage non-profit organizations and their volunteers to seek us out for potential attendance at next year’s event.