Shades of Brown Shades of Brown is a group mentoring program for Cambridge area South Asian students. Shades' goals are to introduce the participants to a greater diversity of South Asian students, to help students understand South Asian culture and its role in an immigrant society, and to motivate students to talk about and take on responsibility in their communities. Toward these goals, volunteers from Shades make trips to area high schools twice a month on weekday afternoons to hold workshops, coordinate cultural and political activities, and involve students in two large-scale Shades conferences at Harvard. Our little siblings come primarily from three major housing projects in the South Boston area and are all participants in the South Boston Outreach Summer Program. As most of the children in our program come from single parent families and lack stable adult role models, volunteers are asked to see their little siblings once a week for 3 hours.
Volunteers also participate in monthly group outings and volunteer reflection sessions.
Youth Recreation Program Youth Recreation volunteers act as coaches and teachers for Cambridge youth in the Cambridge Youth Recreation Programs. We currently teach Saturday morning ice skating classes to children ages 3-12. We also have openings to coach soccer teams for children ages 5-19. Especially at younger ages, the programs emphasize having fun and raising confidence rather than merely perfecting a skill. We are also considering expanding the program to include other activities, such as basketball, tennis, or softball.