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Harvard announces recipients of 14th annual Harvard Allston Partnership Fund grants

Feb 08, 2022

Harvard University recently announced the recipients of the 14th annual Harvard Allston Partnership Fund (HAPF) grants. Fourteen local nonprofits were selected to receive grants totaling $100,000 to support programs in the Allston-Brighton community.    
 
Since its creation in 2008, HAPF has provided $1.4 million in grants to dozens of local organizations, supporting programs for thousands of Allston-Brighton residents.  
 
The program, established by Harvard University and the City of Boston, in collaboration with the Allston community, was created to support nonprofit organizations providing neighborhood improvement projects, cultural enrichment, and educational programming for residents living in North Allston-Brighton. The awards support everything from educational programs and enrichment activities, to engaging activities for families and local youth.
 
“Over the past 14 years, we have witnessed the remarkable impact of local nonprofits in Allston-Brighton. This year, despite the ongoing pandemic, these organizations haven’t missed a beat in their service to the community’s most vulnerable residents,” said Harvard President Larry Bacow. “Harvard is honored to further our longstanding commitment to providing financial support that nurtures great ideas and improve the lives of our neighbors.”
 
"This fund has made a significant, positive impact throughout the neighborhood for 14 years, and the BPDA is proud to facilitate the distribution of this year's funding to more than a dozen local non profits," said BPDA Executive Director/Secretary Teresa Polhemus. "These organizations are important fixtures in our community and this funding will go to necessary programming and improvements in Allston and Brighton and beyond." 
 
The 2021 recipients are:
 
Allston-Brighton Food Pantry - $2,500 to allow for the permanent continuation of the Allston Brighton Community Fridge. This will create a safe and permanent electrical connection necessary to maintain the Fridge through the winter months.
 
Allston-Brighton Youth Hockey Association - $9,000 to support local youth hockey and Learn to Skate programs.
 
Big Sister Association of Greater Boston - $2,500 to support mentoring programs for local girls.
 
Boston String Academy - $7,500 to provide high quality musical instruction to local elementary school students.
 
Brazilian Women’s Group - $8,000 to strengthen the existing workforce leadership development program and ongoing COVID-19 prevention/education program. The focus will be on two programs: Vida Verde Women’s Cooperative, which is focused on supporting housecleaners and the Workers’ Rights Project, which has helped, educated, and advocated for hundreds of local workers.
 
Family Nurturing Center - $10,000 to maintain two existing playgroups serving families in North Allston/Brighton.
 
The Fishing Academy - $4,000 to provide fishing instruction to local youth.  
 
Gardner Pilot Academy - $15,000 to enable another licensed school-based clinician to work for three afternoons during the after-school program to have student check-ins, run small counseling-based groups, and advise the teachers and leadership in best practices around mental health intervention and crisis response.
 
Kithara Project - $5,000 to support guitar instruction to local youth.
 
Oak Square YMCA - $5,000 to provide financial assistance and technology resources to help maintain and increase the YMCA’s engagement of local families in its newly established Out-of-School Time (OST) Center located at the Charlesview’s Fiorentino Community Center.
 
Open Door Soup Kitchen - $4,800 to support the purchase of food for the Prepared Meals and Grocery Bags programs.  
 
West End House - $16,700 to provide support for the Family Food Program, which continues to meet a major need in the community as food insecurity doubled since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
 
West End House Boys Summer Camp - $5,000 to support camp scholarships for local youth in North Allston/North Brighton.
 
West End House Girls Camp - $5,000 to send five girls from the North Allston/North Brighton to overnight camp in the summer.
 
A full list of recipients since 2008 can be found at www.community.harvard.edu or www.edportal.harvard.edu
 
Funding decisions are made by a volunteer board of community members following careful review of all applications received. For more information please visit http://edportal.harvard.edu, or email [email protected].

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