Smiling volunteers sorting produce. One volunteer holds up a pineapple, another holds a case of eggplants.

MEMBERS HELPING MEMBERS

11-Point Membership Benefit Program

ESWA’s 11-Point Membership Benefit Program is built by and for members to meet material needs as expressed by ESWA’s membership council, where delegates from the membership can provide input into the working of their benefit program.

ESWA volunteer drops of a donated case of peanut butter with another ESWA volunteer.

EMERGENCY FOOD

Learn more
ESWA supporter holds up donated winter coats.

CLOTHING

Learn more

CAN HELP?
NEED HELP?

These and other membership benefits are available through request. Call ESWA and speak to an organizer if you need help and to learn about other ways you can participate and build the Benefit Program.

(617) 265-9200

Volunteer doctor presents to audience of ESWA members.

PREVENTIVE MEDICAL & DENTAL CARE

Learn more
Volunteer lawyer speaks to ESWA member (not shown).

LEGAL ADVICE

Learn more
Two smiling ESWA volunteers holding bags of donated food.
VOLUNTEER ↠
Icon of a hand over a heart.

Meet Day-to-Day Needs

ESWA members have built an 11-Point Membership Benefit Program to meet some of our immediate survival needs with the support of students, doctors, lawyers and small business owners, while we organize together for long-term change.

Icon of a handshake.

Self-Help

Members help members through ESWA’s Benefit Program, running food distributions, advocating against utility disconnections and deciding on actions through the Workers Benefit Council to bridge income shortfalls.

Icon of a woman in the figure of Rosie the Riveter.

Mutual Benefit

We have a motto: If you need a benefit today, it’s available. And please come back tomorrow to help the next member get along. That way, members utilize the Benefit Program and as soon as they are able, return to make it possible for other members to get the help they need, and we grow stronger together.

EMERGENCY & SUPPLEMENTAL FOOD BENEFIT

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Non-perishable food items are available for ESWA members upon request of an emergency food benefit to aid with immediate needs. Members can also enroll in a year-round budget savings program, which includes weekly fresh grocery distributions.

Illustration of a statue of a giant pear, a Dorchester landmark.
Two smiling postal workers standing with a truckload of donated food.
ESWA volunteer receives cases of donated salad greens from a grocery worker.

“ESWA’s Benefit Program performs neither acts of charity nor isolated acts of goodwill, but rather helps members to obtain what is rightfully theirs in a context that promotes their best interests on all levels.”

—ESWA motto

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

“

⎯⎯⎯ Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)
MLK earned his Ph.D. and met his wife Coretta in Boston.

Transparent line illustration of MLK speaking with his arm outstretched.

PREVENTIVE MEDICAL CARE BENEFIT

Volunteer doctor checks an ESWA member's blood pressure as a volunteer advocate takes notes.

Volunteer doctors and other medical professionals donate their services through ESWA’s preventive medical benefit to see members for free-of-charge medical check-ups in their offices and present medical education and information sessions on medical topics like diabetes.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

NON-EMERGENCY DENTAL CARE BENEFIT

Volunteer dentists and other dental professionals volunteer their services through ESWA’s non-emergency dental benefit. Other volunteers donate transportation and other needed follow-up determined by the professional. Volunteer dental professionals also provide group presentations on health topics of interest to the members.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

ESWA volunteer presents a certificate of appreciation to a volunteer dentist and her staff.
Illustration of a sad child draped in an American flag holding an empty pan.
Illustration of a sad child draped in an American flag holding an empty pan.

Illustration by Raúl Colón

1 in 3 households with children in Massachusetts report child-level food insecurity, meaning a child went hungry, skipped a meal or didn’t eat for an entire day because there wasn’t enough money.

LEGAL ADVICE BENEFIT

“Know Your Law” sessions conducted by volunteer attorneys present information about legal topics of interest to low-income workers as requested by ESWA members. Legal advice is provided to a requesting member privately in legal advice sessions with a volunteer attorney accompanied by a volunteer lay advocate to assist with the next steps of the attorney’s advice.

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Volunteer advocate with member family consulting with a volunteer lawyer over Zoom.

Clothing Benefit
⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

Clothing of all sizes and seasonal needs is available at your local Benefit Office (call ESWA for hours).

Volunteers behind a table covered in clothing holding up sweaters.
Line illustration of a clothing distribution in front of a building that says, "ESWA BENEFIT CLOTHING CLOSET."