More than $740,000 in Boston Resiliency Fund grants awarded to 21 organizations

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and the Boston Resiliency Fund Steering Committee today announced over $740,000 in new Boston Resiliency Fund grants to 21 organizations and nonprofits. Since launching in March to help Boston residents most affected by COVID-19, the Boston Resiliency Fund has distributed over $24.4 million to 328 nonprofit and local organizations. Building on Mayor Walsh's commitment to equity, 71 percent of organizations awarded grants today are led by a person of color and 57 percent of organizations are led by a woman.

"The Boston Resiliency Fund was created at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic because we wanted to support vulnerable populations as we addressed the ongoing public health crisis," said Mayor Walsh. "Grantees' work with individuals hardest hit by the pandemic continues to prove the importance of partnerships with local organizations that are directly helping neighborhoods and communities in need. I want to thank every donor who has pitched in to this Fund and every organization who has assisted in providing vital supports to our residents."

Since the beginning of the Boston Resiliency Fund, in total, 53 percent of grantee organizations are led by a person of color and 56 percent of grantee organizations are led by a woman. A map and a list of every organization that has received funding from the Boston Resiliency Fund can be found here. 

"Rounding The Bases, Inc. is really excited to receive a Resiliency Fund grant in the amount of $5,000," said Carl Baty, Executive Director of Rounding the Bases. "This will allow us to increase the amount of fresh produce we deliver to seniors and families weekly from an average of 25 households, to 275 households, a 1,000% increase. Thank you for helping us find a new way to help those in need."

"The youth and families of Friends of the Children-Boston are among the Bostonians hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. From weekly meals and grocery deliveries to daily educational and social emotional support we have been and continue to work on the front line filling critical gaps so those we serve don't have to face their struggles on their own," said Yi-Chin Chen, Executive Director of Friends of the Children-Boston. "The support from the Boston Resiliency Fund will ensure that we can continue to be proactive in our support and double down our efforts to show up in ways that are the most helpful to our youth and their families throughout the summer and beyond. We are proud to partner with our city leaders and partners in this collective effort to help Bostonians facing the hardest challenges."

This round of funding will help organizations that are working to increase food access, support direct services for families, youth and older adults, assist individuals experiencing homelessness, and fund local organizations directly providing supports to the community. This round of funding will provide grants ranging in size to the following organizations:

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc. / Bowdoin Street Health Center: Bowdoin Street Health Center will use the BRF grant to expand services to neighborhood residents. The BRF grant will expand the number of produce boxes, coupons to be used at local grocery stores, and increase SNAP application assistance.

Breaktime Cafe, Inc.: Breaktime will use BRF funding to hire 10 young adults experiencing homelessness and five returning citizens full time to produce 5,000 meals per week for Bostonians in need, in support of Cape Verdean Association of Boston, St. Ambrose Family Shelter & Nazareth Family Shelter, Sojourner House, Project Hope, and more. A video highlighting Breaktime can be watched here. 

Caribbean Youth Club, Centro Presente, & Brazilian Workers Center: Through the Summer Dreamers Fellowship Project, a pilot program for "Dreamers" (immigrants who came to the U.S. as children) in partnership with the City of Boston, the BRF grant will allow to offer youth a $300 weekly participation stipend, 135 hours of mentoring, 45 hours of leadership training, 90 hours of work readiness preparation. The program teaches youth leadership training on social justice issues, civic activity planning, team building, community outreach and partnership development. In addition, youth will learn workplace values and behaviors, discover new career paths, assess their strengths, review short-term job choices and/or long-term career plans, and build skills such as writing resumes, interviewing, effective communication, task management.

Common Cathedral: Common Cathedral will use BRF funds to continue expanded service hours at their emergency day shelter at the Emmanuel Church.

Community Coming Together: Community Coming Together will use the BRF grant to continue to purchase PPE and other supplies (masks, gloves and hand sanitizer) for those with the highest need, free of charge. 

Elevate Boston: Elevate Boston will use this BRF grant to sustain their efforts to provide hot meals, non-perishables, groceries, toiletries, sanitizer, soap and gift cards to students, elders and families in need.

Foundation for Boston Centers for Youth & Families: This BRF grant will support BCYF in conducting their youth summer programming this summer. Funding will be used to purchase webcams so staff can conduct virtual youth summer programming, and it will allow BCYF to purchase 400 tablets for program participants.

Friends of the Children-Boston: Friends of the Children-Boston will use the BRF grant to deliver weekly kits of groceries, meal kits, cleaning supplies, PPE, and family support kits, support technology and access issues to enable distance learning for children, and create learning opportunities.

Gilbert Albert Community Center: Gilbert Albert Community Center will use this Boston Resiliency Fund grant to continue its partnership with a local restaurant to provide six healthy, culturally-appropriate meals a week to 60 clients for four weeks. 

Haitian Americans United: Haitian Americans United will use this Boston Resiliency Fund grant to continue serving homebound, immigrant elders who cannot cook for themselves, in partnership with two local Haitian cuisine caterers.

Health Care Without Walls: The BRF grant will be used to continue conducting health screenings at Rosie's Place and for other in-person meetings with HCWW clients. In addition, HCWW will use the BRF grant to provide gift cards to their most vulnerable homeless elderly and pregnant/postpartum clients in need of food, diapers, over-the-counter medicine, cleaning supplies, masks, and other essential items.

Hope & Comfort, Inc.: Hope & Comfort will use the BRF grant to continue their work supporting the needs of youth and families experiencing hygiene insecurity during the coronavirus pandemic. Hope and Comfort is currently distributing at nearly three times their usual rate.

Horizons for Homeless Children, Inc.: Through this funding request, Horizons for Homeless Children will use the BRF grant to give families an average of $350 in gift cards to purchase food.

Madison Park Development Corporation: MPDC will utilize the Boston Resiliency Fund grant to expand its existing weekly food distribution efforts to 380 additional households within its affordable housing portfolio. MPDC will engage a local minority-owned catering business, Ethnica Catering, to provide hot prepared meals once a week to 200 older adults and adults with disabilities, while also engaging local meal kit company EatWell to provide 100 meal kits per week for family households with children. Finally, MPDC will provide supplementary food assistance to those who will be best served by financial assistance in the form of grocery store gift cards.

Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress: The MA Down Syndrome Congress will use the BRF grant to provide $100 Market Basket gift cards and provide care packages customized for children and families that are in need. 

Rounding The Bases, Inc.: The BRF grant will allow Rounding the Bases to expand their program delivering fresh fruits and vegetables to families and family child care providers in partnership with Fair Food.

Tech Goes Home: Tech Goes Home will use the Boston Resiliency Fund grant to bring Boston families a computer, internet connection, and specially-designed digital skills training that covers ordering groceries and other essentials online, accessing school lunch pick-up locations, researching city support services, applying for SNAP benefits, and more.  

The Family Van: The Family Van will utilize the BRF grants to support their work in providing grocery store gift cards and counseling on purchasing healthy foods to families in need.

The People's Academy: The People's Academy will use the BRF grant to partner with three churches in providing fruit and vegetables and household items like tissues, lysol wipes and other cleaning supplies to 200-300 families.

Transitional Remedies Solutions: TRS would use the BRF grant to support their "Hope Line," which they use to receive calls and make check-in calls to the community, in order to help them process their concerns, fears, and anxieties. The grant would also be used to provide support for people in the form of gift cards for food, miscellaneous items, school items for youth, and resources.

Youth Vybz Inc.: Youth Vybz will use the BRF grant to provide gift cards to be used to purchase food and hygiene supplies for students and families in need.

"We are grateful for this award from the Boston Resiliency Fund, which will allow MPDC to significantly bolster food access efforts. We know that the most effective solutions for addressing the socioeconomic needs exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis involve meaningful collaboration," said Leslie Reid, CEO of Madison Park Development Corporation. "MPDC is grateful for the opportunity to partner with both the Orchard Gardens Resident Association and the City of Boston on this important effort."

"The Orchard Gardens Resident Association, in partnership with Madison Park Development Corporation, is very pleased to receive assistance from the City of Boston's Resiliency Fund," said Valerie Shelley, President, Orchard Gardens Resident Association. "This support will help our resident association continue to provide meals to our most vulnerable neighbors in need during this COVID-19 crisis."