buildOn in Boston: How Students Are Transforming Their City Through Service Learning

  1. Home
  2. Get Involved
  3. buildOn in Boston: How Students…
January 23, 2025
Share
Twitter Icon
Facebook Icon
Linkedin Icon

At Community Academy of Science and Health (CASH) High School in Dorchester, buildOn students gather on Saturday mornings. They’re not here for sports practice or to hang out with friends—they’re preparing to serve their community. These students are part of a movement transforming Boston through youth service leadership. The buildOn movement.

Service Learning in Boston Public High Schools

Boston is one of the six regions in the United States where we run our transformational service learning programs. Though our commitment to strengthening communities and building young leaders remains the same throughout our regions, each one has its own unique character. As we begin a new year of service and growth, we’re taking the time to highlight what makes each of our regions special, starting with Boston.

Community Impact Through Student Leadership

buildOn Boston students are committed to improving their city.
buildOn Boston students are committed to improving their city.

Across three Boston public high schools—CASH, Brighton High School, and Fenway High School—buildOn students have already contributed 732 hours of service this school year. Since we started our programs in Boston in 2014, they’ve served their community for over 53,000 hours! But the numbers only tell part of the story.

Current Service Projects Making a Difference

Students are addressing critical community challenges through targeted service initiatives:

At local soup kitchens, students prepare and serve meals to unhoused neighbors, while learning about housing insecurity in Boston.
At local soup kitchens, students prepare and serve meals to unhoused neighbors, while learning about housing insecurity in Boston.
Students work to build fair housing in their community with Habitat for Humanity.
Students work to build fair housing in their community with Habitat for Humanity.
Environmental service projects in Boston's parks have students leading cleanup efforts and creating green spaces for their communities.
Environmental service projects in Boston's parks have students leading cleanup efforts and creating green spaces for their communities.
Food drives organized by buildOn students help stock local pantries, addressing food insecurity in their neighborhoods.
Food drives organized by buildOn students help stock local pantries, addressing food insecurity in their neighborhoods.

Where others may look at the many challenges facing Boston—high cost of living, unaffordable housing, environmental racism, among others—and feel overwhelmed, buildOn students are tackling these issues head on and working to build a better, more equitable city. They dedicate their free time to make their communities stronger, one day at a time. 

Building Future Leaders Through Service

Our impact extends far beyond service hours. buildOn’s Engagement Specialists work closely with students to develop crucial leadership and workforce skills. The results speak for themselves:

  • buildOn students attend an average of 15 more school days than their peers.
  • buildOn participants have a 98% high school graduation rate.
  • Students develop skills that enable them to choose and thrive in their post-secondary paths.
buildOn students don’t just improve their communities—they also learn valuable skills that help them in their chosen fields as adults.
buildOn students don’t just improve their communities—they also learn valuable skills that help them in their chosen fields as adults.

Our service-learning program fosters agency, community engagement, and personal development through hands-on experiences. Using an asset-based approach, we harness students’ inherent strengths to drive meaningful change and prepare them for future success.

Student Success Stories: Boston’s Young Changemakers

Students like Jim Parke Constructive Leadership Award winner Uzoamaka Ebin (Pictured left) are the heart of our Boston programs.
Students like Jim Parke Constructive Leadership Award winner Uzoamaka Ebin (Pictured left) are the heart of our Boston programs.

One student who exemplifies the types of leaders we help foster in Boston is a recent graduate from CASH, Uzoamaka Ebin. Uzoamaka is not only a service champion, but an innovator and changemaker. She founded the buildOn Knitting Club, which creates warm weather items for local shelters in Dorchester. As club president, she served as both teacher and inspiration, often sharing her own knitting supplies with fellow students. Despite the pressures of senior year, Uzoamaka’s unwavering commitment to service made her the heart and soul of CASH’s buildOn program.

Uzoamaka founded buildOn’s knitting club to knit warm weather items for local shelters.
Uzoamaka founded buildOn’s knitting club to knit warm weather items for local shelters.

This past year, Uzoamaka was honored as one of three Jim Parke Constructive Leadership Award winners. This annual award, which honors the legacy of early buildOn partner Jim Parke, is awarded to students who demonstrate exceptional Constructive Leadership through empathy, courage, resilience, passion for the possible, and solidarity.

Uzoamaka isn’t the only young leader who’s learned the value of service. Another buildOn alum, DJ Harris, reflects on his time serving his community, saying “I learned that it never hurts to give back, even if you don’t have much. Try to give back as much as you can, because the feeling you get from service is unlike any other. A little can go a long way.”

“The feeling you get from service is unlike any other,” reflects DJ Harris (Pictured right).
“The feeling you get from service is unlike any other,” reflects DJ Harris (Pictured right).

“It never hurts to give back.” —buildOn Alum DJ Harris

Looking Ahead: Expanding Our Boston Impact

Under the leadership of Executive Director Drew McClendon, buildOn is set to grow and deepen its impact in Boston. This year, we aim to empower more youth through service learning, leadership development, and community engagement. By fostering their potential to create positive change, Boston students are not only serving their city—they’re transforming it, and in the process, themselves.

Interested in supporting our Boston programs? Consider making a tax-deductible donation to buildOn today.