Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic the Salesian Boys & Girls Club on Byron Street has had a close working partnership with local developer, the City Realty Group.
City Realty, known for several development projects in Eastie, has a nonprofit offshoot called City Kids in areas where the development team works and conducts business.
Last year City Realty’s City Kids teamed up with the Boys & Girls Club and donated their services to help refurbish and upgrade the club’s computer lab and bring the room into the 21st century.
Last week, City Kids donated new Chromebooks to the Boys & Girls Club to help Eastie students continue learning at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
City Realty Group Vice President of Operations James Caruso delivered the Chromebooks to Salesian Executive Director Mike Triant and his staff. Caruso said the donation, “Is a way we can do our part to help these children remain engaged and capable of continuing their studies at home. City officials estimate that at least 15 percent of all Boston public school students do not have access to a computer at home.”
Stephen Whalen of Boston, Managing Partner at City Realty Group and founder of City Kid, said his company has been a longtime supporter of the Salesian Boys & Girls Club, as well as many
other community programs for youth in Eastie. Throughout the pandemic, the firm has
donated dozens of laptops to help underserved youth in the city have increased access to
learning.
“This has been a difficult and uncertain time for everyone but we cannot forget the importance of
equal access to learning for children in this city,” said Whalen. “Our community-based initiatives focus on leveraging new technologies to provide kids with powerful tools to help them follow their educational curiosity. We are proud to give these kids a chance to learn at home during this
pandemic.”
Last year, City Realty’s Chief Technology Officer Jerry Wycoco worked to get the Boys & Girls Club’s computer lab up and running. Under the direction of City Realty Wycoco refurbished and upgraded the lab’s two dozen computers and also installed a new network server so the internet and other features are able to run smoother. The team also had the Salesian computer lab repainted and a new carpet installed.
“City has always been an amazing supporter of the club,” said Triant. “They’ve been doing such an amazing job taking people’s needs over the past two months. We are thrilled that they brought these chromebooks over to us and have identified kids that were in need of chromebooks to continue to get schoolwork done from home.”
Since landing in Eastie and developing residential projects in the neighborhood, City Realty’s non-profit, City Kids, has been looking for ways to give back to the community. During its project on Border Street, City Realty partnered with the Mario Umana Academy to donate supplies to the school, as well as the community to help clean and maintain a park between Border and Meridian Streets. Recently City Realty, with the help of the Gove Street Citizens Association, donated ChromeBooks to the Sam Adams School’s Autism Strand classroom.