Each year, the ABUW “Volunteer of the Year” Award is given to an individual whose effort and generosity of time and spirit to our Acton Boxborough community is clearly “above and beyond” the expectations for the volunteer role they’ve selected. The gift of expertise, time and effort given by these volunteers make a clear and tangible difference in the lives of individuals and families in our community.
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Lauren Rosenzweig-Morton has a long history of giving back to the community. She came to work with ABUW through the AB Racial Justice Collaborative in which she was representing Communities for Restorative Justice. This led her to be instrumental in bringing two key initiatives to fruition this year: Community Building Circles and the Welcome Initiative.
Lauren's experience with Communities for Restorative Justice gave her the insight to bring Community Building Circles to our community. In partnership with AB Racial Justice Collaborative, 16 members of our community became trained as Community Building Circle Keepers. Community Building Circles are a structured way to build deeper connections among participants, in this case neighbors across Acton and Boxborough. (Learn more about the Circles here.)
The Welcome Initiative strives to greet each new neighbor in Acton and Boxborough with a Welcome Bag. New residents are genuinely delighted at a warm showing of neighborliness. In addition to creating a sense of community, this initiative ensures that new residents know where to turn for a wide variety of resources. (Learn more about the Welcome Initiative here.)
Ever-humble, Lauren made sure to acknowledge the many others who had worked with her on both of these projects.
A huge thank you to Lauren for her immeasurable contributions to our community!