We are officially in one of my favorite New England seasons! The air is a little more crisp, the leaves are changing, and we are gearing up for a wonderful start to the holiday season at Boys Town.
This year certainly has been a busy one for our team. The LIFT Together with Boys TownSM initiative and partnership with the Pawtucket School District continues to not only grow but is making a great impact. This year alone we trained 380 teachers/administrators and impacted 1,365 kids and counting.
We also saw tremendous growth in Southeastern Massachusetts with our foster care program, which is part of an 18-month strategic initiative. Since the beginning of the year, we have significantly increased the number of foster homes we have licensed and we are on track to more then double the youth we can serve in the years to come.
Thanks to a generous donation from the Yawkey Foundation, we were able to grow our Common Sense Parenting® program and impact more families in Southeastern Massachusetts. This year we have served 301 youth and 140 families compared to 133 youth and 90 families in 2021. These strides couldn't have been made without help from the New Bedford Library, PACE, United Way New Bedford, His Providence Church and DCF.
I am so proud of the outreach and partnerships we have established in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and want to thank the Newport Restaurant Group who became our first corporate partner as we established a restaurant academy for Boys Town kids! There is a full story on this wonderful initiative in the newsletter.
A huge thank you to the Portsmouth High School girls soccer team and Newton North (MA) boys cross country team for volunteering on our behalf for the Amica Newport Marathon in October. What a great effort by these high school kids to show up between 5:30 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. on marathon Sunday. (Yes, those times are correct!).
On the collegiate level, I am so excited that we have partnered with the Brown University and Salve Regina University Student-Athlete Councils. They will be hosting our kids on their respective campuses and assisting us in some of our holiday campaigns such as “Buy A Bird" and “Adopt A Child."
And last, but certainly not least, I want to thank all our donors for their increased support. The impact every dollar donated has on Boys Town kids and their experience is life-changing.
I hope to see you at our December 1st Holiday Spectacular and I wish you all the best for a happy and healthy holiday season.
Sincerely,
Sarah GalvanExecutive Director