Post-Grad Volunteer Program

A weekly volunteer opportunity for the Post Graduate program in the Melrose High School Special Education Department, which provides life skills and vocational opportunities for special-education students ages 18-22.

 In the MHS Post Grad program, vocational and employment skills from various settings, such as volunteering opportunities and work site opportunities, become a focus along with community skills, independent living skills and functional academics related to navigating the world as individuals transition to adulthood. Additional support systems focus on building social interactions and/or functional communication skills with a goal of generalizing those skills to be used in a meaningful way across various settings. 

 In collaboration with the MHS Special Education Department, The Food Drive provides a weekly volunteer opportunity for the students in the Post Graduate Program. Since September 2021, the students have collected food from local businesses including Shaw’s Supermarket, Whole Foods, Buckalew’s General Store, Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts, and Beacon Hill Wine. They’ve delivered to nine recipients in six communities, including A Servant’s Heart Food Pantry and Pantry of Hope in Melrose, Bread of Life and Housing Families in Malden, the Everett Grace Food Pantry, Saugus United Parish Food Pantry, My Brother’s Table in Lynn, the MBS Community Dinner in Wakefield, and the Wakefield Food Pantry.

 The Post Grads actively participate in many aspects of The Food Drive’s hunger relief and waste prevention activities. They rescue food from grocery stores, collect items from local food donation bins, and use donated gift cards to shop for the items that are most needed by our Melrose pantries. In addition to strengthening their skills and learning about the challenges of hunger and food waste, the students have provided a meaningful service in their own community.