2025-11-10T11:54:23-07:00 2024-12-31 990 2024-01-01 043191846 PEOPLE MAKING A DIFFERENCE THROUGH COMMUNITY SERVICE INC PEOP 7819630373 PO Box 120189 Boston MA 021120189 Lori Tsuruda President 7819630373 2025-11-10 1 2024 2025-03-06 01:10:19Z Lori Tsuruda PO Box 120189 Boston MA 021120189 132245 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 2024, PMD directly helped 22 charities and their clients in 21+ communities. PMD partnered with these charities to plan and to complete 31 productive, high quality service projects involving 278 motivated volunteers in-person and virtually. 6 5 1 278 0 0 106869 98779 12542 27406 1522 6060 0 0 120933 132245 0 0 0 0 64772 73101 0 0 14215 32714 41784 97486 114885 23447 17360 202391 222833 635 3717 201756 219116 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 94846 27406 2024 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 22 charities and their clients. PMD partnered with these charities to plan and to complete 31 productive, high quality service projects involving 278 motivated volunteers in-person and virtually. PMD recruited 171 new volunteers who participated in the service projects described below. Together with 107 PMD volunteers who had participated in prior PMD projects, they gave 2,542 hours to complete needed work in 21+ communities. 82% (18) of the charities that PMD assisted had no staff dedicated to working with volunteers or relied on part-time staff, while the other 18% (4) received PMD assistance due to special needs. In 2024, PMD's community service program addressed the following issues: 43% Literacy (science, Braille), 23% Environment/Conservation, 18% Poverty/Hunger, 5% Youth Development, and 10% Support of Troops & First Responders. PMD's specific activities included the following: (continued on Schedule O) 0 0 0 94846 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 36.51 X X X 52116 0 15486 Jennifer Blackmon Vice President & Director 0.5 X X 0 0 0 Ellie Marois Clerk & Director 1 X X 0 0 0 Allison Cree Treasurer & Director 2 X X 0 0 0 Alyssa Faria Director 0.25 X 0 0 0 Ian McEmber Director 1 X 0 0 0 52116 0 15486 0 0 0 0 0 2782 0 0 0 0 95997 1291 98779 Service Project Planning & Mgmt 541900 18486 18486 0 0 Service Project Supplies 900099 8920 8920 0 0 0 0 0 0 27406 6060 6060 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 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 132245 33466 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 52116 41693 2606 7817 15486 12454 719 2313 1668 1668 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3831 3260 192 379 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 22312 21324 83 905 4133 3228 713 192 0 0 0 0 7672 6138 383 1151 2161 1503 335 323 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1230 1007 56 167 2003 1217 569 217 2273 1354 168 751 114885 94846 5824 14215 1533 1019 190926 213026 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1546 1902 490 221 22397 15732 7896 6665 202391 222833 135 217 0 0 500 3500 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 635 3717 X 201756 219116 0 0 201756 219116 202391 222833 17360 0 0 0 0 0 X 0 0 0 X 105939 95921 90735 106869 98829 498293 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 105939 95921 90735 106869 98829 498293 498293 92 106 378 1522 6060 8158 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 506451 0.98389 0.99550 X RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED RESTRICTED 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12138 0 7890 4248 10259 0 7842 2417 0 0 0 0 6665 Form 990, Part III, Line 4a 2024 PMD SERVICE PROJECTS: 1/15, 3/16, 8/10 & 11/24 Prepare and serve meals and socialize with formerly homeless or at-risk for homelessness elderly residents of Hearth's Anna Bissonnette House, South End. ABH has 41 frail residents for whom good nutrition and socialization are often challenging. 1/27 & 2/17 Officiate for virtual middle (NV & OK)) & 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. 2/3, 2/10&11, 3/2&3 + 3/23 Prepare and officiate for NY, GA, MA-ME-MI, and NJ-FL regional competitions of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) as rules judges, timekeepers, scorekeepers, science judges, science graders, moderators, monitors, recognizers, Team Challenge Question (TCQ) software hosts and proctors, and hosts. These 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. One of the main goals is to expose talented and aspiring students to the wonder of marine science and associated career opportunities. PMD recruited, trained and supported volunteers who officiated for three regional bowls hosted by PMD: Bay Scallop (NY), Blue Lobster (MA & ME), and Shore (NJ) Bowls. Furthermore, PMD supported another regional bowl, Southern Stingray-GA by providing and preparing PMD's web-based software, osb.pmd.org, for administering and grading Team Challenge Questions. Officiating PMD volunteers enabled 6 teams of 33 students and teachers/coaches from NY high schools, 12 teams composed of 65 students and teachers/coaches from MA, ME & MI high schools, plus 6 teams composed of 36 students and teachers/coaches from NJ & FL high schools, to compete. PMD recruited, trained, assigned, and supported all Bay Scallop (21), Blue Lobster (42), and Shore Bowl (26) volunteer officials. 2/24 Officiate for the Northeast Regional Middle School Science Bowl competition of the NSB as moderators, scorekeepers, timekeepers, science judges, and administrators, Cambridge (MIT). Officiating PMD volunteers enabled 12 teams composed of 72+ 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 Massachusetts, Maine, and New Hampshire. 3/12 Collect/host and organize bulk seed order for Boston community gardeners. Create online system so that gardeners from 44+ community gardens could request 12,500+ bulk-ordered seed packets for The Trustees. PMD completed, organized, and hosted its 27th annual counting of packets and fulfillment of requests outdoors. 3/9 Host and officiate for the virtual Maine High School Science Bowl for the NSB. Organize head-to-head, virtual competition. Recruit, train, and support 32 volunteers who officiate for head-to-head matches between 14 teams composed of up to five students/team from nine schools. 4/27 & 7/21 Erect fencing for conservation grazing project & remove invasive black swallow wort 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. 4/23 & 7/18 Assemble monocular microscopes (3 classroom sets) for Boston Public Richard J. Murphy School, Dorchester, to improve science education for Next Generation Science Standards via hands-on learning by middle school students. These are particularly 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. 5/18 Buy & pack needed toiletries, hand sanitizer, and snacks for street outreach by Pine Street Inn, Boston's largest homeless shelter. 6/8 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. 6/11&13 & 9/21 Make survival bracelets and lanyards for U.S. troops and first responders sent CARE packages by Operation Gratitude. Knot and twist lengths of 550-type paracord into compact bracelets and lanyards that can be used to secure camouflage nets to trees or vehicles, build a makeshift shelter, extend a security strap or rope to reach and haul heavy objects, 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 to close a wound, as fishing line, and as trip line to secure an area. 6/24-27 Assist Soccer Nights, North 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. 7/27 Prune shrubs to restore the view and the pond shore with the Friends of Spy Pond Park, Arlington. Spy Pond Park is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that preserves and enhances community enjoyment of Spy Pond Park and Spy Pond. 9/15 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. 9/28 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 decorating, games, crafts, etc. 10/6 Transplant & harvest bamboo for red pandas+ in the Children's Zoo and enrichment for other animals at Franklin Park Zoo, Dorchester. PMD volunteers' efforts make the exhibits healthier for the animals and more inviting to the public. . 10/19 Remove invasive species, prune back brush from 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. 10/22 Assemble 452 print-Braille copies of MARS! EARTHLINGS WELCOME 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. 11/8-9 18 Boston University students and their advisors worked overnight on a hack-a-thon-styled pro bono communications marathon to develop, design, and create tangible social media deliverables for PMD to recruit area college students to officiate for the first in-person Blue Lobster Bowl since the pandemic, for virtual regional and national finals competitions for the National Ocean Sciences Bowl, and both in-person and virtual regional competitions for the National Science Bowl. Their work entailed reactivating PMD's LinkedIn presence and using Instagram in addition to Facebook and PMD's email lists. 11/16 Officiate for the MIT Science Bowl high school invitational as moderators, science judges, timekeepers, scorekeepers, and administrators, Cambridge (MIT). This fast-paced competition helps high school students prepare for and answer questions about life science, physical science, earth and space science, energy, and mathematics in preparation for regional NSB competitions in the winter. Officiating PMD volunteers enabled 48 teams composed of 275+ high school students and their teachers/coaches to compete. PMD recruited, helped train and assign, and supported all volunteers not just the 13 recruited by PMD. Competitors hailed from 19 states, from the West Coast to New England. 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. 2024 compensation was comparable to 2023 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 2/24/2025, People Making a Difference through Community Service, Inc., received the automatic, 6-month filing extension that it applied for using IRS Form 8868 on 1/19/2025.