BOMA Community Service

BOMA International supports our communities in a variety of ways, both by promoting the efforts of BOMA local associations in the communities where we live and work and setting an example of the philanthropy and leadership that continues to strengthen BOMA! The purpose of this page is to highlight the great work being done within the BOMA network and serve as a source of inspiration for those looking to lead a new community service initiative through their BOMA local association. To share the great work your local association is doing, please contact your local BAE or lvallejo@boma.org to learn how you can submit your information. Read on to see how BOMA local associations and members are giving back to their communities in their own words below.

And stay tuned: Each year, as part of our annual conference, BOMA International hosts a community service initiative in our host city to give back to the community. This year, we will be partnering with BOMA/Boston and Bridge Over Troubled Waters, a Boston-based organization that works with at-risk youth in the city. This initiative will launch during BOMA International's July 12 Board of Governors meeting and run through the annual conference this October 6-9 in Boston. With your support we hope to raise $10,000 by providing the survival kit supplies online or by dropping them off at our Conference October 6-9 in Boston, through donations of funds directly to Bridge prior to the Conference, or with gift cards. Donations can be made through the BOMA designated page—Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Purchases through BOMA designated Amazon page can be made there as well. When using the designated page to make your purchase through Amazon, please have the items shipped to Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Attn: Barbara Baxter (BOMA), 47 West Street, Boston, MA 02111. We will be tracking our goal AND your name will be entered in our drawing, sponsored by Kings III, where you have a chance to win one of two $250.00 gift cards. Look for the thermometer near the registration desk at conference to see if we’re making our goal.

Featured BOMA Local Association

BOMA/Boston

BOMA/Boston holds an annual benefit event for a local non-profit each year, and this year's non-profit was Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Bridge provides career, education and mental health counseling; temporary residences; medical care; and so much more to homeless and at-risk teens and young adults in Boston. Our fundraiser event was set to be on March 25, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the cancellation of the event, we invited our sponsors to donate their funds directly to Bridge. We asked individuals to make small donations, and we sold raffle tickets online, all before the March 25 deadline. We encouraged people to "raise a toast" on social media and support the cause. Our BOMA Boston community came together (virtually) to raise a total of $45,000. We will be virtually presenting this check to Bridge's leadership on June 18. Thank you to our wonderful BOMA community for your generosity, and thank you to Bridge Over Troubled Waters for the crucial work you do for the youth of our city.

 

February 6, 2021

Through the WinterWalk Event - hosted by Boston Medical Center, BOMA Boston organized a group of 22 Virtual Walkers and raised over $6500 for the Winter Walk - raising money to end homelessness! The walk started with a quick zoom call!

March 25, 2020

BOMA/Boston holds an annual Benefit evening for a local non-profit, this year to support Bridge Over Troubled Waters. Bridge provides career, education, and mental health counseling; temporary residences; medical care; and so much more to homeless and at-risk teens and young adults in Boston. Our fundraiser event was set to be on March 25, but was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the cancellation of the party, we invited our sponsors to donate their funds directly to Bridge. We asked individuals to make small donations, and we sold raffle tickets online, all before the March 25 deadline. We encouraged people to "raise a toast" on social media and support the cause. Our BOMA Boston community came together, metaphorically, to raise a total of $45,000. We will be virtually presenting this check to Bridge's leadership on June 18. Thank you to our wonderful BOMA community for your generosity and thank you to Bridge for the crucial work you do for the youth of our city.

July 30, 2020, 2020

BOMA Greater Charlotte volunteers annually for Second Harvest Food Bank sorting donated items in the SHFB warehouse. We usually have almost 30 volunteers but due to COVID, volunteer groups were limited to groups of 10 or less.

March 4, 2020, 2020

Classroom Central equips students in need to effectively learn by collecting and distributing free school supplies to their teachers. For our event, (Pre-COVID) we helped pack supply boxes that would be delivered to teachers in need.

November 12, 2020

As we all know this year has been unprecedented with the Coronavirus, but BOMA/Greater Cincinnati was fortunate enough to continue with our 8th annual community service event, BOMA Gives Back Day in conjunction with People Working Cooperatively, Prepare Affair. Even with social distancing, we were able to have 20 members joined at the Cincinnati Public Library on Thursday, November 12, 2020 at 9:45 a.m. before departing for the 6 houses we were asked to “Prepare” for the winter months by raking leaves and cleaning gutters. If you were not able to participate this year, we hope you will consider participating next year.

September 10, 2020

It is that time of year again for the BOMA Greater Tampa Bay Sustainability Committee along with Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful to host a Coastal Clean-up Day. The event will be located on the Courtney Campbell Causeway. 50 bags of trash were collected by our members.

July 23, 2020

BOMA/Hawaii coordinated the donation and delivery of lunches to dozens of front line commercial property engineers, building maintenance workers, plumbers, electricians, and security at commercial properties such as office buildings, shopping centers and strip malls across Oahu between July 23 and August 10. “Despite many offices being closed,” said BOMA Hawaii President Holly Morikami, “commercial building workers continued to ensure extra disinfection and sanitation of high traffic areas, safe elevator operations, property maintenance and addressed routine repairs like damaged plumbing. Without their daily work during the state’s quarantine and stay-at-home orders, there’s no doubt that Honolulu would be less safe,” she said. Workers who received the lunches expressed surprise and gratitude for the unexpected show of appreciation. “We got to work because we truly enjoy what we do. Giving the customer care and making sure the building is functioning, safe and looking great. With face coverings during COVID-19, we do miss the smiles – not only giving but seeing our customers’ faces when you make them happy. It can be difficult to see but if you look in the eyes you can see the smile,” said Luther Murphy Assistant Chief Engineer at Pacific Guardian Center.

November 5, 2020

BOMA/Indianapolis members gathered to pack over 7,000 meals through Million Meal Movement. This event was needed even more especially during the pandemic when food insecurity is so high. The group of 25 packed fortified macaroni and cheese meals for a local food bank in Indianapolis. BOMA Indianapolis volunteers wear shirts sponsored by Allied Members for all of our volunteer events throughout the year. Follow our charity work @BOMAIndy and #BOMAIndyGives.

Aug 13, 2020

BOMA/Indianapolis members came together clean up an area which is one of 212 parks in the city of Indianapolis. This particular park, named for abolitionist Frederick Douglass, is celebrating 100 years this year. Members donated mulch, paint and time to clean up the playgrounds, painting park benches and even paint stripes on the parking lot. The lot had been waiting on stripes for over a year. The gorgeous day was the perfect setting for members to network while keeping social distanced. Members enjoyed boxed lunches under the many shade trees at the end of the event. Indy Parks is one of several causes BOMA Indianapolis supports. Watch for #BOMAIndyGives for more events in 2020.

July 30, 2020

BOMA/Indianapolis members gathered on a rainy Thursday to spread 40 yards of playground mulch, weed and do general clean-up for a local preschool's grounds. An annual event, our members enjoy networking and giving the children a nice and safe playground to enjoy the outdoors. We couldn't think of a better way to give back while keeping our member's safety in mind. St. Mary's Child Center is one of several groups BOMA Indianapolis supports as part of our Philanthropic Committee. Follow our charity work @BOMAIndy and #BOMAIndyGives.

May 21, 2020

Our BOMA/Indianapolis' Philanthropic Committee gathered to pack 100 hygiene bags for Outreach Indiana. Outreach serves homeless teens in Indiana by equipping and empowering them to achieve stability and life transformation. Since we couldn't get a large group together due to the pandemic guidelines at the time, the philanthropic committee donated all the items themselves. This included everything from soap to nail clippers. We look forward to having a larger group serving food at Outreach as soon as it's safe to do so again. Follow us @BOMAIndy or #BOMAIndyGives

February 27, 2020

We had a bag stuffing happy hour with our Community Outreach Committee, Emerging Leaders and Associates Coalition Team. Covenant House had acquired new living space and needed sheets and pillows, cleaning supplies for 79 residents. We stuffed 79 bags and as we had raised over $5,000 we we able to stuff 250 each his and her toiletry bags. The staff at Covenant House were blown away and so thankful. It made a huge impact for them. It was amazing for us. When things return to normal we will definitely do it again.

June 15, 2021

BOMA/Oakland-East Bay Packed over 27,000 pounds of fresh fruits and vegetables, a total of 23,000 meals for the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

April 8, 2021

Through the month of March, many BOMAOC members placed large donation bins on their properties and began collecting business and business casual articles of clothing. The result was over 20,000 donated items, filling gargantuan cardboard boxes. All that was left to do was to have someone go through each item and put them on hangars.

On April 8, various volunteers from BOMAOC’s Philanthropy committee gathered at Working Wardrobes. Donning masks, blue gloves, and a can-do attitude, they spent an entire afternoon hanging up clothes piece by piece. Countless shirts, blazers, dresses, shoes, and more were sorted, inspected, and hung up as planes landed at a nearby airport, occasionally drowning conversation. Indoors, an impressive amount of sorted business clothes stretched to the back of the building, along with several smartly dressed mannequins greeting front door visitors.

BOMAOC’s Working Wardrobes drives occur periodically and always sees tremendous turnout. Many thanks to everyone who donated and special thanks to the Philanthropy Committee for your hard work and dedication!

May 13, 2021

One Heart for Women and Children provides the necessary resources for families as they transition through and overcome varying hardships of daily living in the Central Florida region and abroad.

March 29, 2021

BOMA Orlando dropped off ice cream for over 200 healthcare workers on the COVID ward to enjoy during their shifts. The staff was so appreciative and couldn't wait to dive in!

November 16, 2020

Dress for Success Drive for men in order to have the right clothing to interview with so many out of work. BOMA Orlando worked with the Christian Service Center.

September 28, 2019

BOMA Orlando members raised enough food for the pantry at the center and also donated $424 dollars to the center to be used for items they needed to cook meals for those in need. They were so excited the day we delivered the food and the word of the day was "Love". Also, we received a list of some minor repairs to the buildings and have sent to our members to see if any could give them a helping hand.

March 2, 2020

The BOMA/Philadelphia Community Involvement and Suburban Committees joined forces to collect nearly 2,000 new and gently used books for Cradles to Crayons, an organization with a mission to end childhood poverty and provide kids with everyday essentials. Several member properties and associate member partners participated throughout the city and surrounding counties, with committee members working together to pick up and drop off the books. Since the onset of COVID-19, donations to Cradles to Crayons have dropped significantly, and even needed to be halted at one point. BOMA's generous donation came when the charity needed it most!

February 28, 2020

For more than fifteen years, BOMA/Philadelphia members have gathered on the last Saturday of every month to serve the needs of Center City Philadelphia’s homeless population in a big way. The BOMA Community Involvement Committee regularly purchases, prepares and serves breakfast and lunch at Our Brother’s Place, an emergency shelter providing a safe environment and supportive services for homeless men. From the grocery shopping, to menu planning, to slicing, dicing, grilling & mixing – BOMA Philly does it all! In fact, the BOMA volunteer days have become well-known among Our Brothers Place residents & attendees. It’s no wonder, with legendary menu items like French toast sticks, fluffy scrambled eggs, freshly-made hoagies, meatball subs, warm chocolate chip cookies and more!

While this is a wonderful way to share with those less fortunate, it also serves as a bonding networking experience for members. Furthermore, it impacts our member properties in the Center City corridor, as BOMA is significantly contributing to important services designed to remove sidewalk behavior and homeless activity from the areas around commercial buildings.

January 25, 2021

We volunteered at a drive up food distribution that helped serve over 600 families. Each drive up distribution costs the Food Bank $10,000 so we have also committed to fundraising that amount in 2021 as part of our Giving Campaign.

January 11, 2021

The need for blood is critical so BOMA Pittsburgh hosted a Virtual Blood Drive in partnership with Vitalant. With it being virtual- it allowed participants to donate blood at their convenience.

July 15, 2020

BOMA/Pittsburgh packed over 1600 boxes for our community's Seniors! Watch the video of our volunteer day:

July 5, 2020

Volunteers with the PDP's Clean and Outreach Team help to clean up litter and debris, remove graffiti, clean sidewalks and alleyways to keep the downtown neighborhood clean and safe.

Apr 30, 2020

As BOMA/San Diego strongly and steadily moved through the pandemic, we recognized a growing need in our community. Many families in San Diego were going to bed hungry. We wanted to do our part to help and host a virtual food drive in partnership with the San Diego Food Bank. Our starting goal was $1,000—but we surpassed this and reached $3,400! Through the support of our members, we helped put food on people’s plates. Pets are part of families too, and members were given the chance to submit a donation specifically for pets.

August 18, 2020

The SABOMA Community Service Committee held a back to school supplies drive to benefit St. PJ's Children's Home. They received over 62 backpacks filled with school supplies and miscellaneous snacks and much needed undergarments for the kids. The children benefitting from this project are in crisis as they arrive on site most of the time with only the clothes they are wearing and are a product of abuse or neglect. The supplies enable the kids to have what they need help with a sense of normalcy in an otherwise scary time for them. The CSC loves our partnership with St. PJ's Children's Home!

Get Involved at the Local Level

Contact your local BOMA association to find out more about how you can get involved in your area.