Massachusetts Advocates for Children is seeking volunteers for two advocacy activities: 1) to help MAC respond to calls to our Helpline; and 2) to help a low income family by providing pro bono advocacy.

1) Helpline Volunteer: Calls to our Helpline from parents and professionals for information, support and referrals to help children with special needs have increased by 50% in the past year. We are looking for a volunteer advocate(s) to commit at least three to six hours per week to respond to some of these calls, which come from all over Massachusetts regarding many issues and disabilities. We provide information, including sample letters, and advice to help parents advocate for their children. We provide referrals to other agencies, paid advocates and attorneys and, for low income people, to in-house representation at MAC, other legal services organizations, or pro bono attorneys and advocates

A volunteer would be trained regarding our agency and how we manage calls and refer people. We would give you the caller's name, number and why they're calling, and you would return their call. Our advocates and attorneys would be available for consulting and mentoring as needed.

2) For pro bono cases, we would contact you when there is a case in your geographic area and in your interest/expertise area. You would let us know if you were able to consider taking a pro bono case at that time and what time commitment you could make.

Our office is located at 25 Kingston St, Boston, MA 02111. Please contact Leslie Lockhart, Helpline Coordinator, at 617-357-8431 ext 226 or llockhart@massadvocates.org.