Outreach
Volunteer Opportunities
Cook for the homeless
On the 4th Friday of each month, help with shopping or cooking. Spots are limited, so you must sign up in advance. Call the church office.
Friday Café
First Church in Cambridge offers this weekly time for those in need to get a meal, companionship, and a chance to pick up clothing and hygiene supplies. We will do a trial run of participation on October 14. Volunteer opportunities include preparing food at home, serving guests, and interacting with guests. Donations of new socks, gloves, hats, handwarmers, and hygiene products are also welcome. Call the office by October 9 to sign up to cook a 10-x13 disposable pan of a meat or veggie entrée, side dish, or salad. Food will be picked up and delivered for you.
Historic cemetery cleanup
On Newton Serves Day, rake and prune the West Parish Burial Ground on the corner of Cherry and River Streets, the cemetery where many of the original members of Second Church were buried in the 18th and 19th centuries. Bring your own rakes and/or pruners, please. Call the church office for more info.
Giving Opportunies
Diaper Drive
Bring disposable diapers to distribute to local family shelters and food pantries. Drop them off in the entry to the sanctuary before any church service, and/or keep them with you during Christmas Eve service to bring to the manger near the altar.
The Mitten Tree
Buy new books and toys (due December 11) for families served by Family Access, which provides early literacy services to children 0-6 years old in Newton and Waltham, including teaching parents how to engage children with books as well as Learn and Play groups, parent education programs, and resources and referrals.
Dignity Matters
Donate feminine hygiene products, bras, and underwear for women and girls who are homeless or disadvantaged, to help them stay healthy, regain self-confidence, and live with basic dignity. Women cannot use SNAP or WIC money for these products, and the need has increased 75% since Covid arrived. Please drop off products in the donation bin on the front porch of 399 Central St, Auburndale. More info at Dignity Matters.
Support prison gardening
The New Garden Society teaches about 100 incarcerated people to garden each year. We contributed supplies in Spring 2022.
Financial Support
Each year, Second Church supports many nonprofit organizations. In 2021, the total amount given was over $75,000! In 2022, it was over $80,000!
When church members pledge support to the church, they can specify how much they want to be part of the Benevolence budget. This money cannot be used to support the church itself. The Board of Mission and Advocacy decides which organizations to support.
Fuller Scholarships
In addition, the church sponsors four annual scholarships for outstanding seniors from Newton North and Newton South High Schools, funded by a donation from the Fuller family.