2024-11-08T13:09:38-07:00 2023-12-31 990 2023-01-01 043191846 PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE INC PEOP 7819630373 PO Box 120189 Boston MA 021120189 Lori Tsuruda President 7819630373 2024-11-08 1 2023 2024-10-15 13:58:12Z Lori Tsuruda PO Box 120189 Boston MA 02112 120933 0 X https://www.pmd.org X 1993 MA People Making a Difference (PMD) promotes informed and responsible volunteerism by engaging individuals in meaningful, hands-on and virtual/remote work that meets local needs and helping other charities and businesses develop successful community involvement programs. In 2023, PMD directly helped 16 charities and their clients in 20+ communities. PMD partnered with these charities to plan and to complete 29 productive, high quality service projects involving 273 motivated volunteers in-person and virtually. 6 5 1 273 0 0 102025 106869 28590 12542 378 1522 0 0 130993 120933 0 0 0 0 67140 64772 0 0 12929 35678 32714 102818 97486 28175 23447 179465 202391 1156 635 178309 201756 X PMD seeks to create a world in which people and their businesses are socially aware and engaged in their communities such that they approach volunteerism by learning about problems and needs, volunteering their time, providing resources to address these programs and needs, and carrying out these activities dependably, safely and enjoyably in-person, virtually, and/or remotely. 0 0 79651 0 12542 2023 Program Service Accomplishments People Making a Difference through Community Service, Inc. (PMD) promotes informed and responsible volunteerism by engaging individuals in meaningful, hands-on work that meets local needs and by helping charities and businesses develop their own, successful community involvement programs. People Making a Difference directly helped 16 charities and their clients. PMD partnered with these charities to plan and to complete 29 productive, high quality service projects involving 273 motivated volunteers in-person and virtually. PMD recruited 190 new volunteers who participated in the service projects described below. Together with 83 PMD volunteers who had participated in prior PMD projects, they gave 1,369 hours to complete needed work in 20+ communities. 88% (14) of the charities that PMD assisted had no staff dedicated to working with volunteers or relied on part-time staff, while the other 12% (2) received PMD assistance due to special needs. In 2023, PMD's community service program addressed the following issues: 55% Literacy (science, Braille), 21% Environment/Conservation, 10% Poverty/Hunger, 7% Youth Development, and 7% Support of Troops & First Responders. PMD's specific activities included the following: (continued on Schedule O) 0 0 0 79651 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 X 6 5 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 MA X X X Lori Tsuruda 8557635656 5 Milton Terrace Randolph MA 023685029 Lori Tsuruda President & Executive Director 33.98 0 X X X 49696 0 10478 Jennifer Blackmon Vice President & Director 0.5 0 X X 0 0 0 Ellie Marois Clerk & Director 1 0 X X 0 0 0 Allison Cree Treasurer & Director 2 0 X X 0 0 0 Alyssa Faria Director 0.25 0 X 0 0 0 Ian McEmber Director 1 0 X 0 0 0 49696 0 10478 0 0 0 0 0 1046 0 0 0 0 105823 317 106869 Service Project Planning & Mgmt 541900 5592 5592 0 0 Service Project Supplies 900099 6950 6950 0 0 0 0 0 0 12542 1522 1522 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 120933 14064 0 0 49696 39757 2485 7454 10478 8357 560 1561 1240 1240 3358 2686 168 504 0 15021 14172 79 770 3310 2974 79 257 7479 6008 368 1103 1995 1326 372 297 1346 1123 56 167 2004 1218 569 217 1559 790 170 599 97486 79651 4906 12929 320 1533 164952 190926 0 0 3150 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1802 1546 0 490 22397 14501 9241 7896 179465 202391 1156 135 0 0 0 500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1156 635 X 178309 201756 0 0 178309 201756 179465 202391 23447 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 79941 105939 95921 90735 106869 479405 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 79941 105939 95921 90735 106869 479405 479405 69 92 106 378 1522 2167 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 481572 0.99550 0.99845 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12138 0 7283 4855 10259 0 7218 3041 0 0 0 0 7896 Form 990, Part III, Line 4a 2023 PMD SERVICE PROJECTS: 1/28 & 2/18 Officiate for virtual middle (CA) & high (MI) school science bowl competitions. These virtual competitions organized by the National Science Bowl (NSB) engage students in preparing for and answering questions about life science, physical science, earth and space science, energy, and mathematics. One of the main goals is to excite students to study math, science, and engineering and to pursue related careers. Officiating PMD volunteers moderate, judge questions, and recognize to enable teams composed of up to 5 students/team to compete virtually. 2/25 Officiate for the NSB Northeast Regional Middle School Science Bowl competition as moderators, scorekeepers, timekeepers, science judges, and administrators, Cambridge. This fast-paced competition organized by the MIT Science Team engages middle school students in preparing for and answering questions about life science, physical science, earth and space science, energy, and mathematics. Officiating PMD volunteers enabled 16 teams composed of 87+ middle school students and their teachers/coaches to compete in-person. PMD recruited, helped train and assign, and supported all volunteers. Participating schools were from MA & NH . 2/26 Help train volunteer officials for the New England Promise Bowl, Storrs (CT). This is an equity-centered competition for high schools from New England that qualify with one or more of the following to increase NSB diversity: >75% of the students in the school qualify for free or reduced lunch; >75% of the students in the school identify as racially or ethnically underrepresented populations in STEM; and/or >50% of the students on a team would be the first in their family to attend college. 3/11 Collect/host and organize bulk seed order for Boston community gardeners. Create online system so that gardeners from 27+ community gardens could request 13,000+ bulk-ordered seed packets for The Trustees. PMD completed, organized, and hosted its 26th annual counting of packets and fulfillment of requests. 3/18 Host and officiate for first virtual Maine High School Science Bowl. Organize head-to-head, virtual competition. Recruit, train, and support volunteers who moderate, judge questions, and recognize to enable 12 teams composed of up to 5 students/team from 10 schools. Participating high schools: Bangor, Brunswick, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Kennebunk, ME School of Science & Math., Mt Ararat, Sanford, The Waynflete School, and Yarmouth. 4/29 Erect fencing for conservation grazing project at Rock Meadow Conservation Area, Belmont. Pound in t-posts, stretch fencing, attach fencing to posts, etc. so that sheep can graze down grasses instead of relying on fossil-fuel-powered mowing to maintain this meadow. 5/9, 6/14, 6/21, 8/22, 9/21 & 9/28 Assemble monocular microscopes (11 classroom sets) for Boston Public Richard J. Murphy School, Dorchester. Improve science education for Next Gen. Science Standards via hands-on learning by middle school students. These are needed since there are not enough working microscopes for classroom sets and since students are not allowed to share equipment due to infection risk management. 5/13 & 14 Support the Lexington Ocean Bowl Spring Tournament (LOBSTr) & Host first Alumni Ocean Sciences Invitational (AOSI) virtual competitions. Since 2022-23 was a "gap year" during which no official ocean sciences competitions supported by the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) while they reorganized, PMD helps Lexington High School students engage 28 teams of ~140 students from 20 high schools across the USA (including 6 teams from MA and 4 teams from CT (for which PMD hosted the 2021 & 2022 NOSB Quahog Bowls)) in a 2-day, virtual, head-to-head competition. This includes training and sharing PMD's rules, software (zoom business accounts and Team Challenge Question (TCQ) software osb.pmd.org), and volunteer training materials for the 38 community volunteers who officiated/ran the competition; accepting donations in lieu of registration fees to increase reliability of teams; and sending prizes to the winning team. PMD also completely organized/hosted a separate, virtual head-to-head competition for 6 teams of alumni/ae (i.e., anyone who had ever competed in a regional NOSB ocean sciences competition): five teams of alumni/ae and a team of current juniors who had competed during their past two years of high school. Hosting entails writing and checking all new buzzer and team challenge questions (TCQs) , plus recruiting, preparing, and supporting 19 volunteers to serve as timekeepers, scorekeepers, science judges, science graders, moderators, and TCQ proctors. Both competitions test ocean knowledge, including the biology, chemistry, geology, physics, history, and economics of the ocean as well as ocean-related current events in a fast-paced, quiz-show style. 5/20 Buy & pack needed toiletries & hand sanitizer+ for street outreach by Pine Street Inn, Boston's largest homeless shelter. 6/15 & 8/26 Make survival lanyards for US troops and first responders. Knot and twist lengths of 550-type paracord into compact lanyards that can be used to secure camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, create a harness to extract an injured person from a bad location, make a sling or splint, plus use the inner strands as sewing thread to repair gear, as emergency sutures, and as trip line to secure an area. 6/20 Fulfill prisoners' request letters for educational, self-help, and other books donated to the Prison Book Program, Quincy, that strives to provide prisoners across the country with free, quality reading materials to expand their minds beyond the walls that cage them, to change their own lives, and to speak out for their rights. 6/26-29 Assist Soccer Nights, N. Cambridge. Organize and distribute nightly snacks for 360+ community youth participating in a week-long soccer camp that provides free community activities for underserved youth in the community. 7/22 Prune shrubs to restore the view and the pond shore with the Friends of Spy Pond Park, Arlington. The Friends of Spy Pond Park is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that preserves and enhances community enjoyment of Spy Pond Park & Spy Pond. For 1st time since the pandemic required closing their building to visitors, 8/12 & 11/19 Prepare and serve meals and socialize with formerly homeless or at-risk-for-homelessness elderly residents of HEARTH's Anna Bissonnette House (ABH), S. End. ABH has 41 frail residents for whom good nutrition and socialization are often challenging. 9/17 Help the free Boston Local Food Festival reduce waste, Boston. Volunteers educate and engage the public in composting food scraps, and recycling plastic containers and paper in order to generate less than 5% landfill waste. 9/23 Transplant & harvest bamboo for red pandas+ in the Children's Zoo at Franklin Park Zoo, Dorchester. PMD volunteers' efforts make the exhibits healthier for the animals and more inviting to the public. 9/30 Remove invasive species, maintain trails, and remove trash from Mission Hill Green in the Iroquois Woods, Mission Hill. Improve this urban wild, a 25,000 sq ft area of undeveloped land, by partnering with neighbors in order to make it more accessible, safe, and biodiverse. Mission Hill Green is a community of neighbors dedicated to restoration and maintenance of, and advocacy for, natural areas on Mission Hill. 10/1 Run "Harvest Day" children's activities like pumpkin decorating and nature printing at the Community Growing Center, Somerville. The Growing Center serves as an outdoor classroom for elementary school students. Harvest Day builds awareness and celebrates where food comes from. ~50 children and their families participate in pumpkin carving and decorating, games, crafts, etc. 10/22 Assemble print-Braille copies of PLUTO! STEM children's books for the National Braille Press, Boston. Children's print-Braille books enable sighted and blind children and adults to read together, which strengthens early literacy. These special books are sold for the same prices as printed books are sold to sighted people, so PMD volunteers' labor and donations bridge the significant cost difference. 11/11 Officiate for the MIT Science Bowl high school invitational as moderators, science judges, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and administrators, Cambridge. This fast-paced competition helps high school students prepare for regional competitions. Officiating PMD volunteers enabled 40 teams composed of 227 high school students and their teachers/coaches to compete. PMD recruited, helped train and assign, and supported all volunteers. Competitors hailed from 14 states, from New England to the West Coast! ADDITIONAL 2023 ACTIVITY: Summer Pro Bono Consulting Services to Missing Dogs Mass., hosting a survey for its current and potential, virtual and in-person, volunteers re: current and anticipated engagement levels, barriers, and opportunities. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 6 The organization has corporate members who elect other corporate members and directors. Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 7a The organization has corporate members who elect other corporate members and directors Form 990, Part VI, Section A, Line 8b PMD had no committees with authority to act on behalf of the governing body. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 11b The Board of Directors approves the financial statements on which the 990 filing is based. The Board of Directors also receives a PDF of Form 990 before it is filed. Form 990, Part VI, Section B, Line 15 The process for determining compensation was begun by the board of directors to hire the organization's first (and sole employee), paid executive director (Lori Tsuruda) on 10/13/1999. 2023 compensation was comparable to 2022 compensation. The executive director is the organization's only paid employee. The organization has no other officers or key employees. Form 990, Part VI, Section C, Line 19 The organization makes its governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements available to the public via electronic documents provided upon request. The Attorney General's Office of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts fulfills requests for governing documents of public charities, including this organization. On 3/11/2024, we received notice CP211A, approval of our form 8868 request for automatic 6-month extension to file 990.