The "VSLive! Gives Back" program gives conference participants an opportunity to make a positive contribution to the host community in the short amount of time they spend there.

Giving Back Boston

The Visual Studio Live! Boston Conference is proud to announce its alliance with Bridge Over Troubled Waters as as its "VSLive! Gives Back" partner.

Bridge Over Troubled Waters was started in the late 1960's by a dedicated group of women and teachers who were members of the order of the Sisters of St. Joseph in Boston to help the disaffected, troubled and often drug-involved youth on the Boston Common and in Cambridge. They would provide sandwiches, cold drinks and non-judgemental conversations which then turned into supportive counseling, referrals to healthcare, psychiatric services and hopefully a way back home.

Today it has evolved with a group of locals physicians from Massachusetts General Hospital to run a mobile medical van to bring emergency and preventive healthcare to the streets to help turn the troubled youth into fulfilled, self-sufficient adults and has continued to evolve with the help of people like you.

At our Visual Studio Live! Boston Welcome Reception, we ask that you help us stuff and prepare 300+ toiletry bags made up of basic hygiene necessities provided by the VSLive! Conference to donate to this generous organization.

How You Can Help - Everyone Bring a Pair of Socks

We also want to encourage you - our conference attendees - to donate in-kind donations that directly benefit the troubled youth of Boston with Bridge Over Troubled Waters by bringing a pair of new socks with you to VSLive! to donate to the organization. Or check out their full Wish List here to see how else you can help.

Look for the Gives Back Donation Box sign near the Visual Studio Live! registration desk, or ask a staff member how you can help. All donations will be delivered by the VSLive! Conference Team at the end of the week.

VSLive! Conference Bag Donation

Visual Studio Live! provides bags to all attendees to carry laptops, notepads, pens, and other pertinent items around while you are at the conference. The bags can also serve as useful souvenirs to take back home or to the office to remind you about the great conference you just attended. But not everyone needs a new backpack.

If you don’t need a new bag (or don’t want to take the bag home after using it for the week) and prefer it gets donated to a good cause, you can place your bag in the Give Back Box and your conference bag will be donated to the Bridge Over Troubled Waters organization.

For more information on the "VSLive! Gives Back" program or how you can help, contact Claire Segerson at [email protected] or 949.296.9840.