The MIT Giving Tree

The MIT Public Service Center (PSC) has been a catalytic force in the lives of tens of thousands of undergraduate and graduate students over its 25 years on campus. The PSC has supported student service not only in communities around the world, but also in the Institute’s backyard throughout neighborhoods in Cambridge and Boston. While we build a more caring MIT community, let us also remember to demonstrate caring in our local communities by supporting the children and families that live and work among us.

With that in mind, the winter can be challenging for local families as nearly 30 percent of children in the Boston Metro area live in low-income families. Many of these 30,000 children may not receive gifts or possess the winter clothes they need to fully enjoy this season. Since 1992, the PSC has hosted the annual MIT Giving Tree to help provide gifts for these local children.

The PSC works with 12 local organizations (such as Horizons for Homeless Children) that support Greater Boston-area families and children experiencing homelessness or other stressful situations.

Last year, the MIT community provided gifts to over 500 local children, and this year we are looking to significantly increase our impact through faculty and staff support.

By participating, members of the MIT community can extend our ethic of caring to local children and families beyond the Institute.

The MIT Giving Tree kicks off before Thanksgiving Break, and the PSC will collect gifts from November 25 to December 16. You can sponsor a child’s gift request individually or participate in a group with friends or co-workers. You can work in teams of any size to purchase one gift or 20!

Please e-mail mitgivingtree@mit.edu or stop by the PSC office (4-104) for more information or to sign up to sponsor a gift.

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