The night the creek came up, I got the callout at 5:40 and was filling sandbags on Lowmeadow by 6:30. Forty of us. The water stopped two steps from Mrs. Ferreira's door. I have never felt more useful in my life.
Volunteer-powered since 2011
Show up Saturday. Leave the neighborhood better.
Handswell puts people to work on the problems they can see from their own front step: empty pantries, flooded basements, a park nobody has mowed, a kid with nowhere to go after school. No experience needed. Bring gloves.
Most shifts run three hours. Tools, vests and water are provided.
- 6 programs
- Volunteer days every Saturday
- Same-day storm response
- Founded 2011
Last twelve months, counted honestly
- 1,140
- volunteer shifts completed
- 38,000
- meals' worth of groceries distributed
- 27
- neighborhood projects finished
- 9
- storm and flood callouts answered
Numbers are tallied from sign-in sheets and pantry logs, then reviewed by our board each quarter.
Programs
Six ways to put your hands to work.
Every program is run by a staff coordinator and a crew of regular volunteers. Pick one, or move between them as your schedule changes.
WeeklyFood Distribution
Two pantry mornings a week plus a Thursday evening produce line for people who work days. Volunteers unload, sort, pack and hand out. Roughly 340 households a week.
WeeklyVolunteer Days
Every Saturday, one site, one job, done by lunchtime. Painting a community room, clearing a vacant lot, building raised beds. Show up at 8:30, no sign-up required for most days.
School yearYouth Programs
After-school hours at the Millrace hall for ages 10 to 17: homework help, a bike repair bench, a small woodshop and a Friday cooking club. Free, walk-in, staffed by trained volunteers.
Rapid responseDisaster Relief
When a storm hits, we open the hall within hours: sandbags, pumps, tarps, hot food, and crews who go door to door on the lowest streets. Trained responders get the first call.
Multi-weekendNeighborhood Projects
Longer builds that take a few weekends: a ramp for a resident who can't manage steps, a shared garden, a bus-stop bench. Residents propose, a volunteer lead scopes it, crews finish it.
SeasonalCommunity Events
A spring cleanup, a summer block dinner for 400, a fall supply drive and a winter coat swap. Big days that bring the whole neighborhood out and fill the volunteer roster for the year ahead.
Volunteer days
Coming up: where the crew is going
Meet at the Millrace hall at 8:30 for coffee and a safety talk, then we head to the site together. Wear closed shoes. Under 16 needs an adult along.
- Sat Sep 6Clear and mulch the corner lotMeet at the hall, walk overOutdoors
- Sat Sep 13Repaint the Millrace hall kitchenMillrace hallIndoors
- Sat Sep 20Build raised beds at the Tanner Street gardenTanner Street gardenBuild
- Sat Sep 27Fall supply drive sortingMillrace hallPantry
- Sat Oct 4Storm drain and gutter clearing, Lowmeadow blocksLowmeadowOutdoors
- Sat Oct 11Ramp build, second weekendAddress shared with the crewBuild
Sites change when weather or a callout gets in the way. Connected volunteers hear about it before they leave the house.
How volunteering works
Three hours, a real job, and someone who shows you how.
You do not need training, a resume or a commitment to volunteer at Handswell. You need a Saturday morning and a willingness to be slightly bad at something for the first twenty minutes. Every site has a crew lead who breaks the job into pieces and hands you one.
Volunteers who come back three times get a vest with their name on it and the option to join a program crew: pantry regulars, the youth mentors, the build team or the storm responders. Responders complete a two-evening safety course before their first callout.
- Sign in once, then just show up
- Crew leads on every site
- Tools, gloves, water and lunch provided
- Under 16 volunteers with an adult
Stay connected
When the creek rises, an email is too slow.
Handswell uses Blasts for volunteer callouts, shift reminders, supply requests and donor updates, delivered straight to connected people's phones and desktops.
Connect once with an invite link or our 4-digit code, then pick the topics you want: Saturday sites, pantry shifts, youth programs, storm response, or the quarterly impact update. A same-day callout after a storm reaches every trained responder at once, and Teo can see who has acknowledged before the trucks leave.
You decide how much you hear. Set quiet hours, mute a topic during a busy month, or disconnect entirely with one tap. Nothing goes to anyone who did not ask for it.
- All volunteers
- Storm responders
- Pantry crew
- Youth mentors
- Build team
- Supporters and donors
NonProfitBlasts is the nonprofit version of Blasts Hub: volunteer and donor audiences, event campaigns for drives and volunteer days, and journeys that welcome a first-timer into a regular crew.
Communications powered by Blasts. Credits sourced through BlastCredits.com.
Blasts is the direct communication platform at Blasts.app. Volunteers receive Blasts on their phone or in their browser, choose their topics, and can mute or revoke Handswell at any time.
Handswell
- EmergencyCallout: Lowmeadow flooding, need 40 by 6:30
Creek is over the footpath and rising. Sandbag line forming at the hall now. Rain gear, boots, headlamps. Acknowledge so we know who is coming.
To: Storm responders - GeneralPantry shift tomorrow: you're on the produce table
Saturday 8:45 to 11:30. Big delivery Friday, so expect a full line. Coffee is on from 8:15. Reply if you can't make it and we'll fill the spot.
To: Pantry crew - FYIYour summer, in numbers
June to August: 312 shifts, 9,400 meals' worth of groceries, two ramps and a rebuilt garden. Photo update and the full tally attached. Thank you for making it possible.
To: Supporters and donors - PromoFall supply drive: what we need most
Backpacks, winter coats sizes 8 to 16, and shelf-stable protein. Drop-off at the hall through Sep 27. List and drop-off hours attached.
To: All volunteers
Staff
Three staff. Hundreds of hands.
A small paid team and a large volunteer roster. These are the people who make sure the right crew is on the right site.
Dolores Achebe
Executive Director
Started Handswell in 2011 with a borrowed truck and a pantry in a church basement. Still works the Thursday produce line.
Teo Lindqvist
Programs and Volunteer Coordinator
Schedules every Saturday site, trains crew leads and runs the storm responder course.
Anika Raman
Youth Programs Lead
Runs the after-school hours, the bike bench and the Friday cooking club. Former middle-school teacher.
Get involved
Your first Saturday is the hard one. The rest are easy.
Volunteers pick a volunteer day, and Teo has a vest, a crew lead and a job waiting when they arrive. Supply drives run alongside: the fall drive list goes out in September.
Contact
Find us at the Millrace hall
The hall is the low brick building beside the creek footbridge, the one with the orange door. Someone is there most weekdays, and every Saturday from 8:00.
- Pantry mornings Tuesday and Saturday, 9:00 to 11:30
- Thursday produce line 5:30 to 7:00 PM
- Youth room open weekdays 3:00 to 6:00 during the school year