Mutual aid Medford  & Somerville

#wg-hotline + #rapid-response 

• We really need more hotliners! If you’d like to connect neighbors with the resources they need, consider becoming a hotliner! Fill out this interest form, and we'll connect with you. 

• Help us manage the Hotline Call spreadsheet or answer messages.

• Update the resource hub, or become a hotline admin.

Resources:

• MAMAS Resource Hub

• Know Your Rights Resources

• Request Support

#free-store

• Drop-off clothes at Connexion on the first Saturdays of the month (see below for next date)!

• Volunteer on drop-off dates to help go through and sort clothes.

• Look out for opportunities to deliver bins of clothing donations to partner orgs in #free-store.

• Support our friends at Food Not Bombs Somerville Food Serves by donating winter gear (full list here). Our next Free Store will be in the Spring, so separate out any winter items you bring to Free Store Drop-offs (date below), and we'll give them to FNB so they get distributed faster. 

Free Store Events:

• [In-person] Free Store Donation Drop-Off + Sorting: Bring clean, gently used clothes (of all kinds) to Connexion on the 1st Saturday of the month, or help with receiving and sorting! The next drop off is Sat., Feb. 7th, 1-4PM. 

• The next Free Store will be held in April 2026. 

Meetings:

• [Virtual] Free Store Check-in Meeting: Mon., Feb. 12th, 7-7:45PM.  Check in via email (mamasfreestore@gmail.com) or slack for more info!

#mending-skillshare

• Attend our next Mending Skillshare! Whether you have a mending skill to teach, tools or materials to share, or just want to learn something new, all are welcome! Details posted below as they're announced. 

Mending Events:

• Mend with MAMAS:  Learn to darn, patch, and repair clothing—no experience needed. Bring your own projects to work on or mend clothing for the free store. Masking is required for skillshare events. 

• [In-person] Somerville meetup: Sun., Jan. 25th, 1:30-3:30PM at Connexion (149 Broadway, Somerville) - Stay tuned to socials for weather-related updates!

• [In-person] Medford meetup: Sun., Feb. 8th, 1:30-4:30PM at Hillside Community Church (144 North St., Medford)

Meetings:

• [Virtual] Mending Skillshare Planning Meetings: 2nd Monday of the month. The next meting is on Mon., Feb. 9th, 7-8PM. Ask in slack for an invite!

#wg-delivery

• Donate to MAMAS! We're looking to raise more money to clear our grocery assistance wait list. If you're able to provide recurring, monthly assistance to a neighbor, check out the link below! 

• Become a Grocery Pair! Support a neighbor and build community by delivering a gift card or groceries to a paired household each month.  Many grocery pairs are fully reimbursed by MAMAS, while others are sponsored by the delivery person (usually $100–$300/mo). If you're interested in becoming or self-funding a pair, let us know! 

• Participate in the next Supermarket Sweep Day! We meet up and distribute $5,000+ in grocery giftcards to households that requested support. Signups for Sweeps are one-time, rather than recurring commitments. More info about Sweeps is here.

• Look out for opportunities to deliver giftcards + other resources to neighbors! They're posted in the slack channel (above) as they arise.

Events: 

• [In-person] Next Supermarket Sweep: February, date TBD. 

• Although Sweeps are happening monthly, participation for one-off volunteers will likely be offered roughly every other month.

Grocery team meetings:

• [Virtual] Coordinators Meetings: weekly on Thursday evenings. If you're not already a coordinator, check in via email/slack with questions.

Food Resources: 

• Project Bread's FoodSource Hotline

• Greater Boston Food Bank Locator

• Community Fridges and Pantries

• MAMAS Food Resource Hub spreadsheet

#wg-gardening-collective

Next steps:

• Fill out our interest form to indicate what you're interested in helping with (we'll send you a follow-up email and add you to our email list).

• Transition our webpage to a new site! (Check back in a few weeks for info about the group, including a map of garden locations).

Events: 

• [In-person] Visit MAMAS' Somerville gardens any time! Harvest free vegetables/herbs and say hi to any gardeners. Locations include Area 52 (52 Elm Street), 15 Albion Street, and 36 Sewall Street. More gardens are on Trull Street and Conwell Ave - just look for the MAMAS signs!

Gardening Collective meetings (on Zoom):

• [Virtual] Annual Retrospective & Planning Meeting: Tues., Feb. 10th, 6:3 PM

• Email us at mamasgardeningcollective@gmail.com or check #wg-gardening-collective for the link!

#wg-communications

#communications-requests

Next steps:

• Create graphics for socials by looking for requests in #communications-requests. If you introduce yourself in #wg-communications, we can tag you when requests come in!

• Review translations of posts, text, and forms in Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian Creole so our events and information are accessible to more neighbors!

• Draft or edit the monthly newsletter.

• Keep this page updated!

• Become a coordinator to post to instagram or bluesky, and respond to DMs.

Comms Team meeting: 

• [Virtual] Wed., Feb. 18th, 6PM, Zoom

• Email askyourmamas@gmail.com (Subject: "Comms help") or check in #wg-communications for the link!

#wg-money + #money-in

• Fund grocery assistance and free store events by contributing via Common Good, our fiscal sponsor! Recurring contributions are incredibly helpful, but every one-time gift helps too. For more information on setting up contributions via Common Good, please see this guide. Ask us in slack if you have any questions!

• Help spread the word about MAMAS! We're invited to more events than we can table at. Get to know us, and when events are posted in #money-in, volunteer to share what we do at the event! 

Money Team meeting: 

• [Virtual] Tues., Feb. 17th, 7:30 - 8:30pm on Zoom. Let us know in #wg-money if you want to join.

#wg-tech

• Help our team build the new MAMAS website! Input from folks who use accessibility tech would be especially useful.

• Attend a co-working session (details below)

Tech Team meeting:

• [Virtual] Tech Team meets on Mondays biweekly for Sync and Co-working sessions. While we work on upgrading some of our systems, the meetings will be internally focused. The next meeting is Feb. 2nd, 5PM!

• Check in #wg-tech or email askyourmamas@gmail.com for the link! 

#study-group

• The MAMAS study space is a community to learn, practice, and deepen our commitments to making change together—Check out what we've explored so far here!

• Share your ideas on what you'd like to talk about next, or let us know if you're interested in facilitating, by joining the #study-group channel in slack. 

Study group meetings:

• Meetings are typically held on the second Wednesday of the month from 7-8:30PM. Next meeting: 

• [Virtual] Wed., Feb. 1th, 7-8:30PM - We'll be reading and discussing the first chapter of Before AIDs: Gay Health Politics in the 1970s and The Crimson's article, "Can Fenway Health Meet the Moment?" for a past and present look at mutual aid health clinics and community care, or lack thereof (using an example from our own backyard!). All are welcome, whether you've read some or none of the materials. 

• Register here to get on the list (and stay updated on next month's study topic), or post in #study-groups on slack to get the zoom link and access to the PDF. 

#wg-parents-caregivers

• Fill out our Hand-Me-Down Exchange form if you're interested in contributing to or receiving children's clothes hand-me-downs, as a way of addressing excess clothes and limited space for growing kids.

• Build out our resource list for parents and caregivers.

• Plan in-person meet-ups and play times so you can get to know your neighbors with kids!

• Foster trust and inter-community reliance on one another for things like childcare and building a more communal way of raising children

• Brainstorm other ways to connect parents and caregivers, build community, pool resources, and more! 

Parents & Caregivers meeting: 

• Virtual meetings and in-person meetups are on hiatus until the weather is warmer.

#wg-wellbeing

Next steps:

• Help organize and restart the MAMAS neighbor walking group! Post in #wg-wellbeing or email askyourmamas@gmail.com if this is something you're interested in! 

• Build out our resource list for emotional, mental, and spiritual wellbeing

• Coordinators needed to organize monthly meetings where we can brainstorm and practice ways that we can holistically support each other.

Events + Meetings

• TBA