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To ensure employment for the youth and teach professionalism.
Lena Park was founded in 1968 by concerned community residents who saw the need for affordable housing and youth development opportunities. Working with churches and community planning agencies, the group incorporated as Lena Park Housing Development and went on to develop and rehabilitate hundreds of affordable housing units in Dorchester and Mattapan. In 1970, under the direction of community leader, Patrick F. Jones, Jr., Lena Park expanded into a multi-service community center, formally incorporating as the Lena Park Community Development Corporation (LPCDC) in 1973. In recognition of the value and importance of this new agency, the Combined Jewish Philanthropies transferred ownership of the YMHA Hecht House, at 150 American Legion Highway to Lena Park. Over the decades, LPCDC has impacted thousands of children, youth, and families, as a key service provider of quality affordable housing and effective human services, including services to the disabled and to individuals seeking better employment opportunities. In 2010, LPCDC's Board began a strategic planning process to re-evaluate its programs and services to fit the current needs and gaps of service of the community. In response to the findings, the Board sold off excess space in its building to the Edward Brooke Charter School, and in 2013 began renovating 10,000 square feet for use as its Community Center. In April of 2015, Lena Park completed the $1,400,000 capital project and opened its doors to Lena Park residents and neighbors. The Community Center is where we provide a variety of programs and services to children, youth, and adults in the area of education including STEAM, recreation, the arts, entrepreneurship, and community engagement/families services. Our most recent accomplishments include a fully licensed (EEC), K-5 afterschool program, raising funds to build a fully equipped Fab Lab (Digital Fabrication and 3-D Printing) that officially opened in March of 2017, and breaking ground on Olmsted Green V in June of 2018 which is our most recent affordable housing development project. In Lena Park's 128 block catchment area in Dorchester and Mattapan, there is a high percentage of single parent households with school-aged children. Many of these parents are working, but they are working at lower paying jobs. According to the U.S. Census the average household income (6,538 households) in the general service catchment area is only 61.3% ($46,338) of that of the City of Boston ($75,571). However, 17.3% earned less than $10,000 annually and 33% earned less than $25,000 annually. Our families are primarily Black (72%) and 21% Latino, and only 1% Caucasian. Also through data from the Boston Redevelopment Authority, Lena Park learned that 32% of the 18 to 25 year-olds had no high school diploma, 30% had a GED or high school diploma, and 30% had some college, but no degree. These statistics tell us that there is a lack of education and a need for better paying jobs. Overarching goals for Lena Park according to our new Community Investment Plan (2019-2021) are: 1. Preserve, improve and expand the community's affordable housing assets. 2. Create and expand the community's access to safe, open, green spaces and resources. 3. Sustain and increase community and residents' access to and use of services/programming and promote community involvement and leadership in every aspect of community development. - The Board and staff are completing these goals by working with its partners to create new, quality affordable housing through expanding Olmsted Green with Olmsted Green V, and VI, and with services provided through our Community Center. Currently, we are offering an array of programs including: Children: MA Dept. Early Education & Care Licensed After School Program, 5 -13 year olds, which includes: musiConnects; math coaching; Fab Lab; bucket drumming; computer classes; Tech Cafe access; Inc science class, Theater with Community Music Center of Boston; and homework support. Also we offer a Summer Kids Connect program for the same age. Year round we offer: Premier Hoops basketball instruction for K-2nd grade, 3rd-6th grade, and 7-12th grades on Saturdays. Youth: Robotics; Open Gym; Original Steppers dance; Entrepreneurship; Youth Leadership; College Readiness; Financial Literacy; Jobs Readiness and Youth Employment; Youth Summer Jobs; Fab Lab; Friday night Teen Cafes; Game Night; Middle School Wednesdays for Brooke Charter School students/early release days; Coding for One Community; Tech Cafe access, and Theater with Community Music Center of Boston. Adults: Entrepreneurship classes; CodeSquad; Tech Cafe and Fab Lab access; Game Night; Open Gym; Soul Line Dancing; Zumba; Bootcamp; Original Steppers dance class; and Men's Basketball. Community Engagement: Financial Coaching, Social Service Counseling, Rental Assistance, Resident community events and dinners, home buying education, job readiness and skills training, college prep & loan counseling, Resident Stakeholder meetings, Family Movie Nights, Fair Foods Program, and Community Resource Coordination. Housing: LP manages 457 units of affordable housing with nearly 1,300 residents who live in six housing communities in the catchment area. They include: Olmsted Green I, II, and III, Granite Lena Park, LBB, and Brown Kaplan. In March of 2017 we broke ground for Olmsted Green IV for 41 units and we sold all of those properties and they were occupied by 2018. In 2018 we broke ground for Olmsted Green V which consists of 100 mixed use rental units. We also have in the near future to begin construction on Olmsted Green VI which will consist of 47 more units of mixed use affordable housing.
Goals of this Living Art program:> Increase awareness of how essential art is to humanity > Broaden knowledge of art history across cultures > Explore individuality in art making > Give Students the tools to express themselves visually > Place equal emphesis on process and product > Strengthen patience and self-discipline > Build confidence and self-esteem > Work as a team > Encourage discovery Learning > Encourge imaginative work > Develop a sense of pride in craftsmanship > Explore a museum for artwork that each student likes and dislikes > Expose students to different careers in the visual arts > To empower individual children, teens, and adults by developing their abilities to think visually and to practice creative problem solving > To unite diverse groups within Dorchester, Roxbury and surrounding communities around the process and products of visual art making > To build meaningful connections between the Dorchester community and major cultural institutions
Key Strategies: > Providing individualized instruction that enables participants to develop their own ideas > Designing programs that enable participants to impact their community through the public exhibition of their large-scale works > Delivering programs locally within the different sub-neighborhoods of Boston > Collaborating with local businesses and organizations, and with major cultural institutions
Founded in 1994 by Vietnamese refugees and immigrants, VietAID was established as a response to a community wide need for human services, childcare, and a safe place to commune and celebrate. Now in our 25th year of service, we are proud to continue to uphold our founders' vision, opening our doors everyday to hundreds of community members, from all backgrounds and walks of life. The organization was created in response to a lack of services for families and individuals in the area, and over time grew to accommodate those needs, including childcare, affordable housing, youth development and leadership, and senior day programming.
In 2001, one of those needs grew to be a safe space for the community to gather; VietAID, along with the support of a multicultural organizing committee, responded to this by designing and constructing what is now the Vietnamese American Community Center (VACC). It became a place where folks could seek safety, sense of belonging, and comfort for themselves and their families; having a place named for and after the diaspora evoked pride in the immigrants and refugees, who not only had to rebuild their lives in a foreign country, but otherwise did not have much cultural familiarity elsewhere.
To this day, VietAID continues to operate out of the VACC, along with several other community partner organizations. On a typical day, the community center is shared by over 250 people, a majority of whom are children and elders seeking services. The hallmark of VietAID's programming is its comprehensive nature, even recently prompting an informal motto that our programs accommodate those from 2 years 9 months, in our bilingual, bicultural preschool, to 102 years old, in our senior day program; that century span reflects our belief that in order to build and maintain a strong community, we must advocate for all those in need. Here at VietAID, we aim to provide resources and guidance with linguistic capacity, cultural competence, and accessibility woven into our approach.
Our programming staff is often comprised of those who are from the very communities we serve, truly making our organization of and for the community. There is a relatability and sensitivity we apply to our approach that marks our program as uniquely qualified to serve not just the large Vietnamese American population in Dorchester, but also many of the underrepresented community members in the Boston area, including immigrants/refugees, low-income families and individuals, and others in need.
Our objective is to provide youths with a place to work and gain job experience and knowledge in the childcare area. We want to inspire youth into working with other children and develop their skills and a sense of responsibility.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB) has been enriching the lives of children and teens from challenging economic, social, and family circumstances for 125 years. BGCB's outstanding history in the community began in 1893 when its first local Club, the Bunker Hill Boys' Club, opened in Charlestown. The Roxbury Club (now Yawkey Club of Roxbury) followed in 1910, and the South Boston Club opened in 1938. In these early years, the "Boys Club" focused on activities such as carpentry, printing, and painting. In 1981, girls became full Club members at all BGCB locations and the organization's name changed to reflect this advancement. BGCB's service network has grown significantly over the last two decades. The original Chelsea Club (now Gerald and Darlene Jordan Club/Kraft Family Youth Center) opened in the Innes Housing Development in 1993, and the Blue Hill Club/George Robert White Youth Development Center, now the Berkshire Partners Blue Hill Club, in Dorchester opened in 1995 in response to spikes in neighborhood youth violence. Our YouthConnect program, which places licensed clinical social workers in Boston police districts, was founded in 1996, and in 2000, BGCB opened its first Shared-Space Club located in a public school. Our newest Club, the Mattapan Teen Center, opened in the former branch library building in Fall 2014 as our first Club dedicated to meeting the needs of local teenagers. The organization's growth is largely attributed to the tremendous support we receive from our exceptional stakeholders, including nearly 300 program partners, 1,500 volunteers, and generous individual and institutional donors, contributing 80% of BGCB's annual operating budget. Today, BGCB has nearly 8,400 Club members and, in total, we serve over 17,000 young people, ages 6 to 18, annually in our 11 Clubs, and through our programs and partnerships in Boston and Chelsea.
The goal of SAYPA is to show the African immigrants how to succeed in life in America, just like any other prior immigrants. First, by learning the English language and assimilating into the American culture. Second, by seeking and taking advantage of the opportunities that America offers and how to accomplish and complete the American Dream not only for themselves but their friends and for the following generations as well.
Victory Programs' ReVision Urban Farm is an innovative community-based urban agriculture project that grows produce in its own fields and provides access to affordable, nutritious and culturally appropriate food to residents of our ReVision Family Home and our extended community. In association with ReVision Family Home, we also provide job training for youth and Boston's homeless. Our ReVision Urban Farm began as a small garden in 1990 alongside the shelter for homeless mothers that is now the ReVision Family Home. With the purchase of three abandoned lots across the street, a plot of land was reclaimed in the heart of the city to become the ReVision Urban farm we operate today.
REEP since 1995 objective is to empower all the youth of Boston to believe in a just world by giving them opportunities to learn from each other and cross differences. Like our annual youth summit that welcomes youth from across the city state and country to share their knowledge of EJ and how we can use our collective strengths to get that just world.
Teaching Assistants are current high school and recent alumni of exam schools (BLS, BLA, OB), as well as some from district high schools, who support the teaching, learning, and overall operations of the program. TA's serve as role models and resources for students, and customer service representatives for parents/families and stakeholders. TA's will take part in professional development that will prepare them to serve in the classrooms as well as weekly reflections/workshops to process their experiences as educators and learners.
Youth Staff Assistants support the staff of a company or organization, assuring that their operations run efficiently and helping other staff members to adequately fill their roles. They also provide administrative support to staff members, often answering calls and emails or scheduling appointments.
Camp Counselor is responsible for planning, leading, and implementing core and non-core programs and experiences for children in a small group setting. They will also be responsible for the general safety and development, growth, and skill achievement of the participants in his/her group.
Youth Athletic Staff is responsible for planning, leading, and implementing core and non-core programs and experiences for children in a small group setting. They will also be responsible for the general safety and development, growth, and skill achievement of the participants in his/her group.
We support children, youth, individuals and families through a wide range of programs and services. We manage 36 facilities, including community centers and pools.
Educating the next generation of conservation stewards and leaders is at the heart of Zoo New England's mission and we are committed to providing meaningful experiences that will positively impact young minds. It is extremely important to Zoo New England that the program participants and guests walk away with gained knowledge about animals, the role of zoos, and conservation. Through programming and interpretation, the zoo brings visitors one step closer to understanding the natural world while learning different steps they can take to positively impact their community and the environment around them. The ZooTeens are a group of young people that work together to further the mission of Zoo New England. The program provides meaningful work experience to Boston youth in several different departments, including Education, Animal Care, Guest Services, Horticulture, and as Junior Camp Counselors. Each department is responsible for training the ZooTeens in their respective areas, with staff often coming from decades of experience working in their fields, as well as working with and training young people.
Administrative interns will work in the YES office and support YES staff with daily operating tasks and online database maintenance. Outdoor Adventure Leaders work alongside an adult trip leader to support youth in the outdoors by helping teach activities such as rock-climbing, paddle-boarding, kayaking, and mountain biking as well as planning and leading games with youth.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
To provide our youth the opportunity to work within their community gaining experiences and knowledge to help them navigate the professional landscape whilst also giving them direct experiences to draw from.
