East Boston Social Centers, Inc. is excited to announce it has received $200,000 per year over three years from Boston Children’s Collaboration for Community Health.
These funds will significantly advance Every Child Shines’ work to ensure every East Boston child enters kindergarten joyful, thriving and ready to learn. We plan to recruit, train and support Parent Partners to increase parent’s child development skills. We will expand our Parent Partners in the coming year to replace those that have moved into full time early childhood positions elsewhere.
We will enhance community-based parent support to help families access programs to advance these goals. A central focus will include cross sector community partnerships to identify service gaps and overlaps and service needs—and to bolster our collective work to support young learners and families.
The grant to East Boston Social Centers, Inc. is part of Boston Children’s Hospital’s total commitment of $53.4 million to support community organizations and agencies in their efforts to improve the health and well-being of children and families in Boston and across Massachusetts. Boston Children’s is distributing these funds as part of an agreement with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Determination of Need Program. This is in addition to the hospital’s ongoing support for programs and partnerships.
“This grant will help us to continue to build on our work in reaching those families who are not connected to formal services and are the hardest to reach, including new moms, single parent homes and the isolated,” says Gloria DeVine, Director of East Boston Family Engagement Network, East Boston Social Centers.
“Our collective family support work can finally be scaled to make stronger impact with the generous funds from BCH. Our work is social justice oriented and will have transformative and radial positive effects on future generations of East Boston, “says Rosie M. Batista, Director Every Child Shines, East Boston Social Centers.
“We have long recognized that one of the best ways for Boston Children’s to make a difference is to partner with others in the community,” says Shari Nethersole, MD, Executive Director for Community Health. “The Collaboration provides organizations with funding so they can establish the infrastructure needed to grow and lead or strengthen their connections with partners to create more efficient systems of care and support.”
East Boston Social Centers is a multi-service agency and community center that cultivates community, belonging, and joy. Founded in 1918 to welcome and support immigrant families, East Boston Social Centers continues to proudly embrace “welcome” in all we do. Our core services range across educational, social, and recreational programs to support the diverse community of East Boston and our neighbors of all ages. For over a century, our programs and services have welcomed neighbors of all ages, interests, and backgrounds through our doors. Each year, we provide direct programming for 3,000+ children, teens, and adults, with an additional 30,000+ people benefiting from our meeting spaces and community events.
If you would like for information on Every Child Shines, please contact Rosie M. Batista at [email protected].