The Community Dispute Settlement Center (CDSC) is a small nonprofit mediation center based in Cambridge, MA. With a lean staff and budget, we depend upon generous volunteers to help us pursue our robust mission of ensuring all people have access to excellent mediation services, and conflict skills training regardless of ability to pay.
Here are some volunteer opportunities we offer:
Volunteer Mediators.
We are always seeking volunteer mediators to join our roster, especially those mediators who come from underrepresented communities and who can speak languages other than English. Volunteers must have completed at least 30 hours of Basic Mediation training and have some mediation experience. We ask all volunteers to complete an application as well as an interview with the executive director.
Outreach Ambassadors.
Outreach volunteers connect with human service agencies, legal service organizations, neighborhood associations and other organizations to tell them about CDSC’s mission and programs. Through this work, we hope to expand the number of client referrals and training, and to spread the word about the value of mediation and constructive conflict engagement.
Communication Volunteers.
Communication volunteers help CDSC with our social media accounts, quarterly newsletters, and weekly info sessions on Zoom. We especially look for volunteers with experience and/or expertise in marketing, design and social media.
Volunteer Interpreters.
CDSC is continually striving to increase our language capacity to help more people. If you are proficient in a language other than English and would be willing to serve as a volunteer interpreter for our mediations, please reach out.
Board of Directors and Board Committee members.
As a private nonprofit, CDSC depends upon the leadership of its Board of Directors, and the Board Committees. We are particularly interested in volunteers with experience and/or expertise in finance, fundraising, DEI, Human Resources and corporate governance.