Community Impact
Brookline Community Foundation provides real solutions to real problems, raises public visibility of inequities in our community, and brings attention to issues that have not previously been addressed.
Brookline is described in state census material as "a jewel" of a community, "nestled" next to Boston. These words paint a picture of a quaint and prosperous town. This description is accurate; but, we are also a complex and diverse community with people who suffer from poverty, hunger, addiction, illness...all of the problems of contemporary urban society.
Looking beyond the lovely homes and historic neighborhoods, 1,000 children in Brookline live in low-income households (e.g. household of four with annual income under $35,798). These children, and those who are recent immigrants, or members of homeless families temporarily housed in Brookline, are our concern. To address the needs of these children we have supported programs such as Steps to Success; the Parent Child Home Program, an in-home early literacy program for low-income families; and the Brookline Early Education Program, which coordinates the preschool programs and early childhood assessment in Brookline.
Since 2000, the Brookline Safety Net has provided emergency assistance grants for fuel, housing, utilities, food and other critical needs for more than 500 Brookline residents in crisis. In addition, through a contract with the Brookline Mental Health Center, the Brookline Community Foundation Emergency Assistance program provides these people with referrals to other housing, health and employment services. The Foundation also runs a volunteer-driven community garden that produces fresh strawberries, lettuce, beans and tomatoes for the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry.
Our cultural diversity, so treasured by Brookline residents, brings along with it the price of the difficulties and struggles that many new immigrants encounter. Grants we have funded for projects like Umoja, a remedial academic program specifically for immigrant students from war-torn African nations, are effective and successful ways in which these children's needs can be addressed.
Our town has a history of being responsive to the needs of its community. An example is Brookline's role as a leader in the after-school care movement in the 1970's with the creation of the Extended Day programs in each of Brookline's elementary schools. But most of these programs cannot accommodate children beyond the 5th grade. With more and more parents in the workforce fulltime, after school options for youth in the middle grades have become essential. The BCF has convened concerned educators, youth advocates and parents, funded a planning initiative and helped to create the model Teen Advantage Program at the Lincoln School, as well as provided support and funding to many other programs specifically for this age group. Our advocacy, convening and grant work continues in this area.
These are just a few of the tangible ways the Brookline Community Foundation has impacted our community. We continue to encourage and foster conversation about issues and needs, and to look for ways we can effect positive change in Brookline.
We are your community foundation. Committed to listening to you, committed to finding solutions, committed to caring.