The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) played host last Thursday to the Annual AmeriCorps Opening Day. The yearly occasion was held at Roxbury's Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.

The event featured over 2,000 AmeriCorps members across the state, including individuals serving with Social Capital Inc in cities such as Dorchester, Lynn, and Woburn. The AmeriCorps members were privy to a special treat in the form of guest speaker, Governor Deval Patrick (pictured above with this year's SCI AmeriCorps team).

Patrick made mention of his days in the PeaceCorps serving in Sudan and encouraged members to be excited for "the long and exciting journey" that lies ahead. After the conclusion of the Governor's speech, the MSA provided its AmeriCorps members with tours of the Massachusetts State House and the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse.

The MSA, established in 1991, is a private, nonprofit organization that serves as the state commission on community service and volunteerism. Its mission is to catalyze the innovation and growth of service and volunteerism by creating partnerships that maximize resources, expertise, capacity, and impact.

To Learn more about how to become an AmeriCorps member please click here.

At the May 17th neighborhood clean-up, recruiter Joe Divencenzo stands ready to inform prospective Bigs and Littles about the mentoring program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay.

For more pictures of the May 17th Taking Pride in Lynn Neighborhood clean-up, click here.

  

We couldn't have had a successful neighborhood cleanup without the help of everyone who participated, first and foremost, the residents of Lynn who gave up their Saturday morning to improve the neighborhood.

Special thanks to our sponsors, who funded the event:
SCI Lynn
Mayor Chip Clancy and the city of Lynn
Ward 3 Neighborhood Association

These socially responsible businesses also made contributions:
Harrington Trophy printed and donated 50 "Taking Pride in Lynn" T-shirts at the last minute
the 7-11 on Chestnut St. and Essex provided gatorade and water
Nina's Convenience Store supplied work gloves
Osborne Pharmacy also supplied work gloves
Lynn Meatland provided subs and potato chips for lunch
Brothers Deli sent a tray of chicken salad
Pizza Lovers provided 2 pizzas

The following people and organizations donated their time, effort and expertise. Check out their links!

Girls, Inc.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Lynn
Highlands Coalition
Department of Public Works
Lynn Lumber
The Food Project
Lynn Time Bank
Calvin Anderson
Ward 3 Councilor Darren Cyr
the Lynn Police Department
Massachusetts Trial Court Community Service Program
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay

I would also like to thank Kimberlee Powers, principal of the Ingalls school, for letting us use the schoolyard, and the Custodian's Union for giving us access to electrical power on a Saturday.