A free program that supports immigrant families to better understand the U.S. school system, support their children's learning, and connect to community resources. Activities include: 1) Parent Workshops 2) Parent Support, including one-on-one support sessions with staff and group sessions for parents to connect with other parents 3) Children's activities and computer time - arts and crafts, literacy activities, computer games 4) Free children's books.

Contact info: Beth McGinn (617) 665- 3827 emcginn@challiance.org

In our Community Based program, youth (Littles) get matched with a mentor (Big Brother/Big Sister) and develop a 1 to 1 mentoring friendship. They get together twice a month, for about 2-4 hours, for a minimum duration of 1 year. Their outings consist of free or low cost activities out in the community. That could include going to the park, playing sports, going to museums, cooking, and doing any other activity that they both enjoy. The Big, the Little, and their family are supported by their agency throughout the life of the match.

Contact info: Jenny Bautista, Community Engagement and Recruitment Coordinator, jbautista@bbbsmb.org, 617-956-0205

Our mission is to ignite girls’ passion and power to succeed through positive mentoring relationships with women and enrichment programs that support girls’ healthy development.

Our largest one-to-one mentoring program matches girls between the ages of 7-15 with a Big Sister. These Little Sisters meet individually with their Big Sisters at a date and time of their choosing, and engage in low- to no-cost activities that can range from baking to basketball, watching movies to simply talking with each other.

Heidi Ziobro, 617-236-8374 or hziobro@bigsister.org

Our afterschool program consists of CCC Enriches, our K-5 program and CCC Inspires, our middle school program. Arrival takes place between around 2:00pm and 3:15pm. From 3:15pm to 4:30pm, our program includes time for socializing, a nutritious snack, classroom activities, and homework help. Starting this year, we have partnered with a local organization called Food For Free which donates food weekly to our organization, enabling us to feed each child a well-rounded hot meal before they go home. Electives in our Afterschool Program include cooking classes, sports, dance, hip hop music, MinecraftEDU, among many others.

Contact info: Rachel Kinch, rachelk@cambridgecc.org, 617-547-6811

Founded in 2012, CCC Empowers provides young people between the ages of 14-18 with opportunities to gain valuable work experience throughout their high school years. CCC Empowers focuses on providing experiences for participants that instill 21st century skills, such as leadership, accountability, and flexibility. Opportunities include supervising children in our CCC Enriches K-5 program, working at the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market in the winter and spring months, helping with administrative tasks in our offices, creating social media content, and supporting fundraising efforts.

Contact info: Latifah James, latifahj@cambridgecc.org, 617-547-6811

Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program is located at the Cambridge Community Center at 5 Callender Street, Cambridge. The program runs from 7:30am until 4:30pm, Monday-Friday, with an extended day option ending at 5:30pm. Every day, children are provided with breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. The program offers two weekly K-8 soccer classes, taught by professional coaches from the GOALS soccer training program, along with a basketball league that meets twice a week in collaboration with Coaching Corps. Every Friday at Cowemoki is Field Trip Friday, with destinations including the New England Aquarium, Farrington Nature Linc, and the Boston Harbor Islands.

Contact info: Rachel Kinch, rachelk@cambridgecc.org, 617-547-6811

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School Chinese Language Programs - Two-way Immersion and the NiHao world language program.

Chinese is for Everyone!

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School is an innovative public school where every student learns Mandarin Chinese.  Families can choose either Two Way Immersion or the NiHao world language program, depending on their level of interest.

In Two-Way Immersion classrooms, students learn academic content in both Chinese and English.  Immersion students spend half of their day in a Chinese immersion classroom—an immersive experience that is so effective that younger students don’t believe that their Chinese teachers know any English!  (In fact, they are bilingual.)

In NiHao classrooms, students learn and speak in English.  “NiHao” means “hello” in Chinese, and this program is welcoming introduction to Chinese language and culture.  In NiHao, students take Chinese four times per week.  The NiHao Chinese class focuses on cultural exploration and conversational Mandarin.  NiHao students receive their academic curriculum content in English. 

Contact info: Marguerite Hicks-Gyewu, Family Liaison, mhicks-gyewu@cpsd.us, 617.349.6454

The Possible Project (TPP) is an experiential learning after-school program for high school students. TPP’s unique model integrates entrepreneurship, social emotional learning (SEL), science technology engineering art and mathematics (STEAM), and design thinking with individual pathways counseling to provide opportunities to students with untapped potential. With established programming in five schools in Greater Boston, TPP works to close the skills and opportunity gap by teaching job-readiness and empowering students to be the CEOs of their own life. TPP is based in Cambridge, Massachusetts and was founded by biotech industry magnates Mark and Becky Levin in 2010.

Trevor Tierney, Entrepreneurship Education Coordinator

trevor@possibleproject.org

JAS YouthBuild is a comprehensive youth development program for 16 to 24 year-old out of school youth that provides education leading to grade level increases and credential attainment (high school diploma or HiSET – formerly GED); career exploration and employment skills building (with a construction/facilities maintenance focus); and leadership and life skills training. Through their housing community service work experience, youth gain occupational skills leading to HBI PACT and OSHA certificates (industry recognized credentials), in addition to applied academic skills and leadership development. JAS YouthBuild also provides comprehensive guidance, counseling, case management, and support services. Youth who complete the program transition to employment, training, and/or college and receive intensive follow-up support for at least one year, with additional support beyond.

Contact info: Victoria Perrakis: Data and Program Administrator

• Phone: 617.918.7506
• Email: victoriaperrakis@justastart.org