Neighbor Brigade Ready to Lend a Hand in Lynnfield

Editor's Note: A typo was corrected in this article below. The organization provides basic volunteer assistance for locals in need of a temporary hand.

- A growing network of volunteers in Massachusetts known as Neighbor Brigade now has a presence in Lynnfield.

The organization is made up completely of volunteers from a given town who are ready to provide assistance in various ways for a temporary period of time when somebody in town is in a time of crisis and reaches out for a hand.

In a recent conversation with Lynnfield Patch, the co-founder of Lynnfield’s Neighbor Brigade, lifelong town resident Janice Solomon, said that members provide basic assistance such as rides, meal delivery, or even just stopping in and visiting with those who are for example struck with a sudden illness or injury. The group would generally provide assistance for up to six weeks before re-assessing if needs have changed, explained Solomon.

“It’s a great way for to pay back and pay forward in a way for other people,” said Solomon, adding that in Lynnfield, she and co-founder Donna Hegan have recruited 29 volunteers from town so far. “Not everybody has that network around.”

Solomon also reported that Neighbor Brigades now exist in 36 Massachuetts communities, as well as Dover, New Hampshire, with the first one established by two women from Wayland. She first heard about the organization about a year ago in a Boston Globe article. “It just seemed like something that I thought would be great for our community,” she said.

Those interested in becoming a volunteer or could use a hand with something can email lynnfieldMA@neighborbrigade.org. For the Lynnfield page on the Neighbor Brigade website, click here.