Youth Development Grant Partners

  • MetroWest Mediation Services, Inc.
  • REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Inc.
  • Circle of Hope
  • A Place To Turn
  • The Children’s Room
  • Eliot Community Human Services
  • Milford Youth Center
  • Rise Above Foundation
  • Plugged In Band Program
  • Waypoint Adventure
  • Samaritans, Inc.
  • Hope and Comfort
  • Read to a Child
  • Household Goods
  • SmileMass
  • Dignity Matters
  • More than Words
  • Learning Center for Deaf Children
  • Minuteman ARC
  • Camp Starfish
  • Nashoba Learning Group
  • Mass Animal Coalition
  • Buddy Dog
  • Plugged In Band Program
  • Household Goods
  • Open Table
  • Concord Prison Outreach
  • Children’s Room
  • Save a Dog
  • A Place To Turn
  • Prospect Hill Community Foundation, Inc.
  • OUT MetroWest
  • Circle of Hope
  • A Place To Turn
  • John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation
  • Thrive Support & Advocacy
  • Waypoint Adventure
  • Samaritans, Inc.
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services, Inc.
  • Horizons for Homeless Children
  • The Children’s Room
  • Minding Your Mind
  • Waltham Boys & Girls Club
  • Hope and Comfort
  • Dedham Community Association, Inc.
  • Rise Above Foundation
  • McAuley Nazareth House
  • Brown Dog Coalition
  • United Way of Tri-County
  • Community Day Center of Waltham
  • Waypoint Adventure
  • A Place to Turn
    To support A Place to Turn’s mission of providing emergency food and clothing to our neighbors in the MetroWest community, ad well ad providing diapers, baby wipes, and baby shampoo for families in great social and economic need.
  • Baypath Humane Society
    To support Baypath Humane Society’s mission of providing shelter, care, humane treatment, and loving homes for stray and unwanted companion animals.
  • Buddy Dog
    To support Buddy Dog’s mission of having, caring for, and facilitating the placement of stray, homeless, and unwanted dogs and cats as pets in suitable homes: to establish procedures and facilities which promote the health, care and placement of stray dogs and cats, and which prevent cruelty, and alleviate pain and suffering and, in addition, to teach and promote the education of the citizens of Massachusetts in conjunction with the care of dogs and of other pets.
  • Chesterbrook Community Foundation
    To support the Chesterbrook Learning Center (CLC) after-school program, where at-risk children do their homework, learn, and have fun. They are motivated to learn by Bentley mentors, who inspire the children to do well in school and to strive for academic and professional success.
  • Commonwealth Shakespeare Company
    To support its fully-staged 2019 Stage2 production of Romeo & Juliet, performed by CSC2, our ensemble of 12 MFA-level actors. The production, running from May 23 – 31, 2019, will feature 6 student matinees and 1 community performance and be attended by nearly 2,500 students and educators.
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services
    To support the expansion of Chalk Talk Group Therapy, which destigmatizes mental health treatment by harnessing the power of sport.
  • Families for Depression Awareness
    To support the Teen Speakers Program, through which we will employ an evidence-based contact strategy—peer-to-peer storytelling about depression—to eliminate the stigma around mental health and increase help-seeking behavior among 100 Waltham and Framingham teens.
  • Gaining Ground
    To support Gaining Ground’s mission of growing organic produce for hunger relief with help from volunteers of all ages and abilities, who work and learn in our fields.
  • Hope and Comfort
    To support Hope and Comfort’s mission of distributing basic personal hygiene items to youth in need throughout MetroWest.
  • Hopkinton Center for the Arts
    To support the distribution of 200 free passes throughout the year to anyone who would like to attend selected performances. The intention is to reach individuals who have a strong interest in the arts but also have financial constraint that prohibits their attendance.
  • Lovelane
    To support Lovelane’s mission of providing high-quality therapeutic horseback riding to achieve occupational, physical, speech, cognitive and other therapeutic gains, focusing on children with special needs.
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society – Drumlin Farm
    To support The Leaders in Environmental Access for All (LEAF) program, which is tailored for students with a range of physical, cognitive, and behavioral needs. Our Accessibility Coordinator is critical to the success of LEAF. Program objectives for July 2018 to June 2019 are to (1) expand internship opportunities for up to 25 more students through increasing funding for the Accessibility Coordinator position, and (2) purchase materials for adaptive programming.
  • MetroWest Mediation
    To support students, who feel harassed, in reaching agreements in mediation to feel safe and secure. Without mediation, that student would go before a judge to plead their case. Mediation also helps the other student involved avoid a court record which may it harder for them to get a job or go to college.
  • Minding Your Mind
    To support student-focused mental health education presentations and professional development for school personnel around mental health and suicide prevention. Funding would support the program delivery, follow up and evaluation, and program overhead.
  • One Can Help
    To support kids in crisis who are involved in the juvenile court by providing court oversight and professional services. One Can Help provides the missing supports that can truly make a difference.
  • One Family Inc.
    To support One Family’s mission of preventing homelessness and breaking the cycle of poverty for families in Massachusetts by promoting pathways to economic independence through advocacy, education, and innovation. We envision a Commonwealth where all families have secure housing, access to education leading to employment, and the ability to build assets to create a brighter future. One Family believes that if policies are focused on prevention and programs are designed to promote opportunities, then we can end family homelessness in Massachusetts.
  • OUT MetroWest
    To support the Gender Expansive Youth Program which will include four events during the grant term. These events will welcome gender expansive children in preschool through grade 2, along with their family members.
  • Plugged In Band
    To support Plugged In Band’s Inclusion Fund, which provides ensemble band class programming to youth with special needs.
  • Read to a Child
    To support the Lunchtime Reading Program, through which underserved elementary school students are partnered one-on-one with an adult for a weekly read aloud experience. Read aloud is proven to be vital to literary success. The act of reading aloud to a child once a week can have a profound impact on the child’s future.
  • South Sudanese Education Foundation
    To support South Sudanese Enrichment for Families’ mission of assisting with navigating systems, accessing resources, building skills, and creating opportunities to share South Sudan’s history and distinct cultural heritage. SSEF is committed to enhancing strengths, building self-sufficiency, and promoting community.
  • Southborough Food Pantry
    To Support the Southborough Food Pantry’s mission of helping our neighbors in time of need, neighbors helping neighbors.
  • The Children’s Room
    To support continued operation of our school-based peer support group for grieving teens on-site at Lexington High School, in order to provide access to quality, trauma-informed grief support where they go to school.
  • The Discovery Museums
    To support the museum’s Especially for Me (EFM) program, which offers free admission and programs tailored to the unique needs of children with autism, who are deaf/hard of hearing, or who have impaired vision. EFM events, held 25 times per year, reach more than 1,400 people annually from eastern and central MA.
  • The Taly Foundation
    To support the Taly Foundation’s mission of providing access to and improving the quality of early childhood education.
  • Thom Child and Family Services
    To support the creation of a sensory room with specific equipment to benefit children with a variety of sensory difficulties and their families.
  • Thrive Support and Advocacy
    To support Thrive’s Leadership Experience and Development (LEAD) program, which empowers young adults living with developmental disabilities with the knowledge, skills and confidence to become leaders in their communities, honing their ability to positively impact their own lives and the lives of others.
  • Waltham Family School
    To support Waltham Family School’s mission of providing educational opportunities for families that prepare children for success in school, empower the parents to be partners with the schools in the education of their children, and strengthen the parents’ skills necessary for parenting, workforce and community life. WFS helps families overcome intergenerational cycles of under-education and poverty by providing integrated early childhood education, adult English language literacy and parenting education in a comprehensive, innovative family literacy program. WFS serves some of MetroWest’s least educated, lowest income families, each with a preschool aged child and a parent who wants to learn to speak, read and write in English. WFS empowers families to be literate, self-sufficient and connected to the greater Waltham community.
  • Waltham Partnership for Youth
    To support the Youth Interpreters Program, which trains bilingual teens to become community interpreters. Trained teens then work as paid interpreters at educational, civic and cultural events throughout Waltham, making our community more accessible to linguistically diverse families, while helping teens develop marketable skills.
  • Waypoint Adventure
    To support scholarships for youth with disabilities who would like to participate in Waypoint’s Leaders In Training Program and Inclusive Adventure Club but are unable to afford the modest registration fees. We hope to increase capacity by training those who benefited from Waypoint themselves to lead treks. This “train the trainer” model will help us expand capacity and diversify our staff to include people with disabilities.
  • Wayside Youth and Family Support Network
    To support transition to adulthood services to approximately 300 young adults with behavioral challenges, all of whom are considered low-income or very-low income; homeless or at-risk of homelessness. The Tempo program serves young adults ages 16-25, helping them obtain employment, housing, education, medical care, all under one roof. Our goal is to enhance their capacity to lead selfsufficient lives without reliance on public benefits or involvement with state systems.
  • Jeff’s Place
    To support the expansion of their Kid’s Crew program
  • Hope and Comfort
    To support the collection and distribution of personal hygiene items
  • Waypoint Adventure
    To support our Leaders In Training program
  • Horizons at Dedham Country Day
    To support weekly field trips for Grades 1 – 5.
  • Rise Above Foundation
    To support 55 local youth in foster care by providing access to extracurricular activities.
  • More than Words
    To support youth at our Waltham site during their dedicated “You” job youth development time.
  • The Children’s Room
    To support The Children’s Room mission of creating safe, supportive communities so that no child, teen or family has to grieve alone.
  • Lovelane, Inc.
    To support Lovelane’s mission to provide, in a fun, supportive environment, high-quality therapeutic horseback riding to achieve occupational, physical, speech, cognitive and other therapeutic gains, focusing on children with special needs.
  • Nashoba Learning Group
    To support Nashoba Learning Group’s mission of enabling children and adults with autism to function with the greatest possible productivity and independence in the community, home, and workplace throughout their lives
  • The Children’s Room
    To support The Children’s Room mission of creating safe, supportive communities so that no child, teen or family has to grieve alone.
  • Open Table
    To support Open Table’s mission of providing healthy food, friendship, and support to those in need while respecting their privacy and dignity.
  • Minute Man Arc
    To support Minute Man Arc’s mission of improving the lives of children and adults with disabilities by increasing independence, personal choice, and self-advocacy.
  • Waltham Boys and Girls Club
    To support the mission of the Waltham Boys & Girls Club of inspiring and enabling all young people especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.
  • Chesterbrook Community Foundation
    To support the Chesterbrook Learning Center, a safe, nurturing place where at-risk children come after school, do their homework, learn and have fun. Children are motivated to learn by Bentley students who are not just tutors, but mentors who inspire the children to do well in school and to strive for academic and professional success.
  • Hoops and Homework
    To support 16 weeks of Improvisational Theater for students at Interfaith and Pusan Road after school programs, literacy support and training for staff working with students with reading challenges, and staff addressing students’ behavioral and emotional challenges.
  • Wildflower, Inc.
    To support overall program growth including providing support services to Metrowest children on our waiting list, providing camp scholarships to Metrowest returning campers, and offering college search and support services to MetroWest college-bound youth.
  • A Place to Turn
    To support the creation of “teen bags” containing not only pads and tampons, but also an acne cleanser, hair elastics, chapstick, and deodorant. Bags will provide comfort and dignity for the teen girls.
  • Land’s Sake
    To support the collaboration with the Waltham Boys and Girls Club in the summer of 2018 to provide hands-on farm experiences to local underserved youth. The goal of the program is to increase healthy eating habits of participating youth while exposing them to an amazing resource close to home.
  • Massachusetts Audubon Society
    To support the Youth Climate Summit, a day-long event of climate change study and civic action training for high school students. It will bring together local youth to learn from climate experts and youth leaders, with a goal of inspiring and empowering young people to take action for climate justice.
  • Waltham Partnership for Youth
    To support the LACE (Language Access for Civic Engagement) program, which trains bilingual teens to become community interpreters. Trained teens then work as interpreters at civic, cultural, & educational events throughout Waltham, making our community more accessible to our linguistically diverse neighbors while also helping teens develop marketable skills.
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services, Inc.
    To support Doc Wayne’s sport-based group therapy for students who struggle with mental and social-emotional health issues, as well as are victims of complex trauma. We are challenging the norm of traditional therapy through the power of sport, while also breaking down cultural barriers and stigma.
  • Greater Waltham Arc
    To support School to Work Transitions, GWArc’s highly inclusive program that supports students with developmental disabilities and learning challenges as they transition from high school to work and productive community life. Students learn how to apply for and hold a job and do it well.
  • Hope & Comfort
    To support their efforts to provide essential hygiene products to support the health, self-esteem, and hygiene education of school-aged children and young adults in need in MetroWest
  • More Than Words
    To support the social enterprise program that empowers youth who are in the foster care system, court involved, homeless, or out of school
  • Out MetroWest
    To support OUT MetroWest’s mission of enriching the LGBTQ community in MetroWest Boston and the larger world through programming, education, and advocacy.
  • John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation
    To support the Mazie Mentoring Program at Framingham High School.
  • Community Harvest Project
    To support the operating costs of the farms and the volunteer program, and a small percentage of staff time to oversee the operation.
  • Greater Waltham Arc
    To support their School to Work Transitions program
  • Children’s Charter, A Division of the Key Program
    To create a new program that will provide outpatient, group therapy for children and adolescents in MetroWest who are exhibiting sexually concerning behaviors.
  • The Price Center
    To provide scholarship for two individuals from Wellesley to attend the ASCENT program two afternoons per week for one year
  • Natick Service Council
    To expand the After School Enrichment and Make A Difference Programs for economically disadvantaged students in Natick
  • Jeff’s Place
    To support separate boy and girl groups for middle school youth to fully explore their complicated inner world that is compounded by the intense grieving process.
  • Hoops & Homework
    To support enrichment classes for 25 weeks to youth after school in two Framingham Housing Authority centers.
  • Waltham Boys & Girls Club
    To support and expand the Waltham Boys & Girls Club’s Keystone Club, a program designed to instill character, leadership, and career development to teens aged 14-18
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services
    To support enrichment classes
  • Camp Starfish
    To support Financial Assistance for campers
  • Save a Dog
    To support their spaying and neutering program for incoming stray dogs
  • Lucy’s Love Bus
    To deliver comfort and quality of life to pediatric cancer patients in MetroWest
  • Tempo
    To support programming for the resource center for young adults
  • Access Sports America
    To support higher function and fitness for people living with challenges and disabilities
  • Friends of the Waltham Family School
    To support Waltham Family School in its mission
  • Medfield Animal Shelter
    To support the mission of the Animal Shelter
  • The Food Project
    To support engaging young people in personal and social change through sustainable agriculture
  • Hope & Comfort
    To support the expansion of their Soap for Hope program, providing hygiene kits and education to youth in MetroWest
  • Plugged In Teen Band Program
    To support their Inclusion Fund, which provides scholarships to students with developmental disabilities or those who cannot pay to participate
  • Rise Above Foundation
    To support Rise Above in providing enriching activities and experiences to youth from Hopkinton and surrounding communities who are experiencing foster care.
  • Samaritans, Inc.
    To support our Youth Suicide Prevention Services in MetroWest communities, including furthering awareness and utilization of our new text service for youth in crisis, the only crisis text option in Massachusetts, and increasing the number of suicide prevention workshops to at-risk youth in schools, colleges, and youth-serving organizations.
  • More Than Words
    To support stipends for youth at our Waltham site during their dedicated “You” job youth development time. Youth spend 6+ hours/week in youth development shifts focused on working toward future goals, and developing both hard and soft skills that position them to take charge of and transform their lives.
  • The Salvation Army Waltham Corps
    To support The Salvation Army Waltham Corps Kids FEAST program, an innovative afterschool education and enrichment program for youth. Kids FEAST (Food, Education, Arts, Spiritual Development, and Teaching) is a free program that provides a safe environment for youth to improve academically and grow physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
  • Mystic Valley Elder Services
    To support the Reading Partners program, pairing Senior Volunteers (age 55+) with students in grades K – 3, 2 days per week in the Waltham elementary schools. Benefits to the children include improved reading skills, increased self-confidence, and one-on-one attention from a trained older adult who cares about them and their success.
  • YMCA of Greater Boston/Waltham Branch
    To support their after school program, which will combine environmental literacy, ecosystems gardening, and real-world business experience for 12 Waltham High School students age 14-16. They will become community entrepreneurs, marketing sustainable landscaping services to the community while gaining real-world skills in marketing, sales, and landscaping.
  • Parmenter
    To fund a mental health clinician to support the teen bereavement group.
  • Rise Above
    In support of enriching activities and experience for foster care youth.
  • A Place to Turn
    To support the Healthy Learners Initiative which provides food for families with school-age children.
  • A Place to Turn
    To help provide emergency food and clothing through the food pantry.
  • English at Large
    To support volunteers who provide free English language tutoring and small group instruction to adult learners.
  • The Food Project
    To support programs that engage young people in sustainable agriculture by growing food that is donated to local hunger organizations.
  • Resiliency for Life
    Funds will provide the academic support program to students at risk of failing.
  • More Than Words
    To support homeless, court-involved, and foster care youth to learn valuable skills by taking charge of a book store business based in Waltham.
  • Minuteman Arc
    To support children and adults with intellectual and physical disabilities.
  • The Discovery Museums
    To support the Especially for Me program which serves families with children with disabilities.
  • Families for Depression Awareness
    To support the hiring of staff who will recruit new Teen Speakers for the Teen Depression Program.
  • Waypoint Adventure
    To fund operating costs for youth with disabilities to participate in adventure programs.
  • Doc Wayne Youth Services
    To support the Chalk Talk program aiding youth with clinical therapy in a sport-oriented environment.
  • United Way of Tri-County
    To support the Ready to Read program giving books to low-income children in Framingham.
  • Wildflower Camp Foundation
    To provide children who are grieving from the loss of a family member with the opportunity to attend summer camp.
  • Babson College Office of Faith and Service
    To support staffing for an afterschool program through the Wellesley Housing Authority.
  • Lovelane Therapeutic Horseback Riding Program
    To help special needs children attend a therapeutic riding program
  • Plugged In Teen Band
    To help provide training for teachers and volunteers about working with special needs populations.
  • The Nature Connection
    To support Nature and animal therapeutic programs to at-risk youth in residential programs.
  • More Than Words
    To support general program support of youth-run bookstore in Waltham.
  • The Children’s Room
    To support their High School bereavement program