UMass Boston Receives Commonwealth Corps Grant
The University of Massachusetts Boston has received a $50,000 Commonwealth Corps grant for its Harbor Point Outreach Partnership (HPOP) to address community identified needs for tutoring, mentoring, access to higher education, and technology workshops for youth and adult residents of Harbor Point apartment community.
Fifteen low-income, first-generation college students of color enrolled at UMass Boston will be recruited for Commonwealth Corps membership. Members will enroll in a service-learning class in which they learn about the community and groups they are working with, plan programs and activities, and reflect on their learning and civic engagement. By participating in a high-quality service-learning project, members will not only provide a needed service and build community but they will also enhance their own academic and social success while moving forward the university’s strategic plan for student access, retention, and success.
Students will work on-site at Harbor Point, assisted and supported by partners from the Walter Denney Youth Center and Housing Opportunities Unlimited. They will provide tutoring, mentoring, and technology training and plan workshops to promote community understanding and access to higher education. The members will be involved in outreach, recruitment of volunteers, and running the programs. In addition to the tutoring and workshops, they will plan programs during school vacations.
“The Commonwealth Corps award will strengthen and grow our programming, allowing us to reach more youth and at the same time develop a corps of college student volunteers who will learn lifelong lessons about community and caring from this experience,,” said Chancellor J. Keith Motley. “I am proud that UMass Boston is contributing to this project and congratulate
Charlie Titus, vice chancellor for athletics, recreation, special programs and projects, and Professor Joan Arches of the College of Public & Community Service on their success. Professor Arches, her students, our staff and student athletes have a history of working together to meet the needs of local youth.”
Commonwealth Corps members will soon be on the ground throughout Massachusetts, as Governor Patrick this month announced $2.4 million in grant funding for 36 public and nonprofit organizations to take on nearly 300 members later this fall.
“I am delighted to announce these awards as we work to implement Commonwealth Corps and call individuals to service to help make a real difference in communities across Massachusetts,” said Governor Patrick. “We have a long history of service in the Commonwealth, and I am pleased that the Commonwealth Corps has become the next chapter in that history.”
Proposed by Governor Patrick in 2007, the mission of the Commonwealth Corps is to engage Massachusetts residents of all ages and backgrounds in direct service to rebuild communities and address their unmet needs. Commonwealth Corps will provide opportunities for skill building and leadership development and will encourage and enhance a lifelong civic vocation for its members.
The Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA), a private, nonprofit organization that serves as the state commission on community service and volunteerism, has been selected to administer the Commonwealth Corps grants. The Commonwealth Corps Commission, in partnership with the MSA, made final recommendations on funding to the governor based on recommendations and input from 80 volunteer community reviewers from a variety of backgrounds.
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About the University of Massachusetts Boston: Established in 1964, UMass Boston prides itself on providing challenging teaching, distinguished research, and extensive public service to Boston and the Commonwealth. Through its six colleges—Liberal Arts, Science and Mathematics, Management, Nursing and Health Sciences, Public and Community Service, and Graduate College of Education—the McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies, and the Division of Corporate, Continuing, and Distance Education, UMass Boston offers undergraduate and graduate study to 13,400 students in more than 150 fields. For more information, please visit www.umb.edu.
About the Massachusetts Service Alliance: The Massachusetts Service Alliance, established in 1991, is a private, nonprofit organization that serves as the state commission on community service and volunteerism. The mission of the Massachusetts Service Alliance is to catalyze the innovation and growth of service and volunteerism by creating partnerships that maximize resources, expertise, capacity, and impact. For more information, please visit www.mass-service.org.