Community Resources for Lexington, MA

Always Useful

• Follow Lexington's DPW on Twitter @Diginlex
• Weather from Lexington's very own weather man
• Town events calendar
• Sign up for Lexington email lists (unofficial town listserves) - thanks to Harry Forsdick!
• Lexington Newcomers' Club
• US Food Safety recalls
• Tick born diseases: Babesiosis & Lyme disease
• Information on EEE and West Nile Virus, including a map of areas affected
• LexGrassRoots.org A comprehensive site structuring links, info & resources in Lexington, thanks to Harry Forsdick
• Lex-Wiki is all the advice shared on the Lexington Yahoo Group, generously collected and edited by Andrei R-B
• Lexington, MA Residents Facebook group, for anyone who lives in Lexington, MA, run by volunteers.
• Lexington Mavens Facebook group, for women who live in Lexington, MA, run by volunteers.

Transportation

• MassDOT Traffic webcams
• When is the next MBTA bus coming to my bus stop?
• MBTA updates
• Lexpress schedule
• Lexpress tracker shows you live position of buses on route maps
• REV Bus: Shuttle between Hartwell Ave in Lexington and Alewife, with a stop in Lexington Center

Recreation

• Lexington Town Pool & Old Reservoir Schedule, Summer 2016
• Lexington Community Education
• Hayden Center
• Lexington Soccer
• Cary Library
• Cary Library Calendar of Events
• Scouts in Lexington
• Town of Lexington Conservation maps and resources
• Lexington Conservation Stewards
• Citizens for Lexington Conservation publishes local Flora and Fauna guides

Camping & Hiking

• Searching for a campsite and want to see what it looks like? CampsitePhotos.com has pictures of individual campsites at [some] state and national parks. Very helpful!
• Most camping reservations we've made have been through ReserveAmerica
• MA State Parks, descriptive info, trail maps
• Mass Audubon
• Trustees of Reservations

News

• Lexington Patch
• Lexington Minuteman, Wicked Local
• Boston.com's Your Town (Lexington)
• Lexington's Colonial Times Magazine

Municipal

• Town of Lexington. Note the old URL www.ci.lexingtonma.us, which comes up in some Google search results, does not work any more. Instead, use www.lexingtonma.gov
• Town meetings calendar
• Automatic town alerts, email lists and other e-gov services
• Roadwork updates
• Senior Services
• DPW Waste collection schedule & guidelines
• Extensive list of organizations & community resources in Lexington, MA
• Permit Application for Garage Sale in Lexington, MA
• Community Center General Info, Lexington, MA
• Community Center REGISTRATION page, Lexington, MA
• Snow removal policy for town streets, sidewalks and homeowners in Lexington, MA

Schools

• LPS School calendar
• School closings
• Website & Contact info for each Lexington public school
• Minuteman HS home page
• LHS home page
• For LHS grade reports & attendance, click on 'Aspen Parent Portal' from the LHS home page
• LHS Daily Announcements
• LHS calendar of events
• FOLMADS calendar of performing arts events in all Lexington public schools
• LHS Community Service Program. Students: Please check the PDF "Approved Vendors" to make sure a program is eligible for community service hours. Download the Community Service Form, have it signed when you do the work and make sure you submit it within the deadlines. Organizations: Check the vendor list to see if you are approved. If not, download and submit the Pre-Approval form to get approved as a source of Community Service hours.
• Prepay for school lunches on MyNutriKids
• Chartwell menus. "Prepayment Options" links to MyNutriKids.com
• FEES: To pay bus fees, sports fees, and other one-time fees, click on "Online Payments" on the LPS Home page (link sometimes does not work from the individual school pages)
• Facebook Group for Lexington, MA Parents Association
• Facebook Group for Parents in Lexington, MA
• Facebook Group for Hybrid Learning in Lexington, MA Public Schools

New to Lexington, MA

• Sign up with the Newcomers' Club
• If you have preschoolers, sign up for LexFun!
• Attend Welcome Coffees hosted by Lexington Community Coalition. These coffees are free and open to everyone, newcomers and long time residents alike. The coffees feature organizations active in community life and are a wonderful way to know what's available, what's happening, and what you'd like to get involved with or might benefit from.

Shared Resources

• Find a Little Free Library near you
• Sell or recycle used electronic equipment
• General swapping website
• Car Sharing service RelayRides
• Offer or borrow sleeping on someone's couch when traveling
• With Skillshare, learn a skill, teach a skill, in a real class
• Everything Free Lexington, MA Facebook group
• Lexington Bedford MA Yard Sale, to buy, sell or give away stuff

Home

• Mass Energy for group oil buying
• Looking for a national company's customer service number? Contact Help
• Where to call if you are trying to Get A Human to answer the phone at a big company
• Which Product to buy? ConsumerSearch analyzes input from multiple sources
• The Fix-It shop at the Lexington Senior Center, 1475 Massachusetts Avenue, Lexington, MA is open Thursdays 9AM-Noon

Teen Opportunities

• MassTLC launched a new internship service March 2012 with an excellent selection of internships
• Look for internships at Internmatch and UrbanInterns
• Teen resources on job searches, internships, summer programs and volunteering at TeenLife.com
• Teen study abroad programs

Advice on (Re-)Starting Your Career

• Keep clicking to find interesting resources and advice on CareerFuel.net

Volunteer and Fundraise

• Community Service Program at Lexington High School. Please check their PDF "Approved Service Opportunities" to make sure a program is eligible for community service hours
• Volunteer with NeighborBrigade to help neighbors facing a crisis by providing meals and rides in times of need
• Register with Stop and Shop's A+ School Rewards program and earn money for local schools while doing your shopping. Or call 1-877-275-2758
• VolunteerSignup.org is a free service to sign up volunteers for an event, online
• United Way's searchable database of volunteer opportunities
• Search for planets and supernovae on your home computer
• Manage volunteers for a big event on SignUpGenius.com
• Fundraise for community projects with ioby.org Because ioby.org is a non-profit, it only charges a 3% transaction fee and $35 flat fee for projects over $1,000. It is designed to support grassroots community projects.

Resources for Caregivers

• NeighborBrigade organizes local volunteer networks that support people as they face a health crisis
• Caregiver resources
• The ZaggoCare Resource Kit helps families navigate the health care system in times of medical crisis. The charity donates all proceeds to brain cancer research
• Get a ride from ITN Greater Boston

Gardening

• Green Space Boston is a local gardening and the outdoors blog maintained by Meg Muckenhoupt

Trivia

• Did you know there used to be a zoo in Lexington/Bedford? and a whole attraction park?

Yard Waste

To get rid of debris left from a storm:

· Drop it off at the Compost Facility, 60 Hartwell Avenue

o Monday - Friday, 7:30 AM - 3:00 PM

Saturday - Sunday, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM

o Yard waste must be:

§ placed in biodegradable bags that may be left at the facility;or

§ transported in barrels or plastic bags that must be removed by the resident

· Put it at your curb, but remember there are some requirements for curbside yard waste collection.

Yard Waste must be:

o placed in biodegradable paper bags available at most grocery & hardware stores; or

o loose in garbage barrels without lids (brush should not protrude out of the top); or

o tied in bundles.

o Brush 1- 4 inches in diameter should be put out with your curbside trash:

o It must be cut in maximum 3-foot lengths and tied in bundles not to exceed 75 pounds in weight or 2 feet in diameter

o A maximum of 5 bundles may be put out with the regular trash on collection day.

Note: these bundles are incinerated, not recycled.

· Compost it at home.

More information is available on the Town’s website.

Contact our Environmental Services Division by phone at 781-274-8334.

Sean Dugan

Public Information Officer

Town of Lexington