BE Board:Community service

For current website see begradboard.mit.edu

Community Service

Welcome to the BE Board Community Service Wiki! Please email Bridget Wall, at bwall@mit.edu with your suggestions.

The BE Board will be sponsoring several Community Service events this year, including building DNA legos, collaborations with the Charles River Conservancy, and volunteering in the annual Cambridge Science Festival.

Past Events

DNA Lego Kit Assembly

December 5th, 2011

We spent an evening collating lego protein kits to be sent to Boston Public Schools and other Massachusetts-area schools. Thanks to those who volunteered: Yvonne Yamanaka, Tiffany Chen, Sarah Schrier, Jim Abshire, Jeff Wagner, and Bill Hesse.

DNA Legos

We helped glue and assemble lego-based tRNA molecules for lego kits to be sent to the Boston Community Leadership Academy (http://www.bostonpublicschools.org/school/boston-community-leadership-academy)

Thank you to those that volunteered: Lorenna Buck, Yvonne Yamanaka, Ethan Sokol, Nate Schafheimer, Xiaosai Yao, Sarah Schrier, Bill Hesse.

Photo credit: Kathy Vandiver

Please check out a video of the tRNA in action: http://techtv.mit.edu/videos/783-translation-reading-the-dna-code-the-lego-animation-version

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Cambridge Science Festival

BE helped the Center for Environmental Health Sciences [1] run a booth on DNA damage using both UV beads and the DNA Lego kits.

Thanks to those that volunteered: Bryan Owens, Ethan Sokol, Nate Schafheimer,and Xiaosai Yao.

Photo credit: Kathy Vandiver

For more information please visit their website: http://cambridgesciencefestival.org/Home.aspx

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Christmas in the City:

Christmas in the City (CITC) is a non-profit and 100% volunteer-based organization that offers services, support, and guidance for homeless families in the Boston area. During the holiday season, they organize a holiday party for nearly 3000 homeless children in the Boston area and provide each child a wrapped gift directly off of their personal wishlist. If you'd like to know more about Christmas in the City, check out their website at: http://www.christmasinthecity.org/

Ordering toys is an easy process done through Amazon.com wishlists (technology!)

December 2010 Final Numbers:

1st years: 2

2nd years: 8

3rd years: 7

4th years: 18

5th + years : 37

for a total of 72 toys! Way to go, everyone! The 5th+ years celebrated their victory with a pizza party.

We'll be partnering with CITC again this year, watch for more announcements!

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Thank you! Bridget--Your BE Board Community Service Chair.