Gateway cities are urban centers that, in the past, have offered residents the resources needed to realize the “American dream.” With the loss of industry over the past decades, many of these cities have come upon hard times. A 2007 Brookings Institute and MassINC study reported that, while Greater Boston has evolved into a focal point for economic growth, the state’s traditional “mill towns” or Gateway Cities are lagging behind. Since this report, there has been a renewed focus on creating resources for residents to revitalize these cities and bring them back to their unrealized potential.
Grantee Partners Contributing to Revitalization
Ensuring that students retain a quality education is always a top priority when discussing revitalization. While public schools provide students with the tools they need to learn, “out-of-school” time can be equally essential for educational growth. The Women’s Foundation of Boston is proud to support the following organizations offering “out-of-school” (OST) programming in the Gateway Cities across Massachusetts: Girls on the Run Worcester County, Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA, SG United Foundation, and YWCA Northeastern MA.
Reaching Girls in Gateway Cities
With WFBoston’s mission of economically empowering women and girls, the grantee partners supported by the foundation run OST programming geared to girls. Each program has a different focus, reaching young people in the cities of Fitchburg, Haverhill, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Worcester, and Pittsfield, and beyond. These organizations are introducing girls to skills and experiences that could change their lives.
- Girls on the Run Worcester County has offered the nationally recognized GOTR confidence and positive youth development after-school programming in Worcester for seven years. WFBoston provided a one-year grant to serve 92 girls in Worcester Public Schools in 2021. In 2022, WFBoston granted $80,433 to fund the program’s entire cost for 240 third to eighth-grade girls in the school district.
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Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA citing the Girl Scout pledge. Girl Scouts of Central and Western MA is an affiliate of the national Girl Scouts organization, which allows girls to develop the attitudes, skills, and behaviors they need to succeed in life. In 2020, WFBoston awarded GSCWM a three-year grant for It’s a Girl’s World, a staff-led after-school program offering free STEM projects, financial literacy training, and healthy living classes to lower-income girls without access to traditional Girl Scout troop activities. In 2022, they received a $25,000 WFBoston Catalyst Grant to fund new technology software to improve fundraising and volunteer efforts.
- SG United Foundation (Strong Girls United) empowers girls and young women to be strong, confident, and resilient through sports alongside mental health and well-being activities. In 2022, WFBoston awarded SG United a Catalyst Grant to fund the creation of Next Level FAM, a Female Athlete Mentoring program for high school girls.
- YWCA Northeastern MA is an organization that provides resources for 15,000 women and their families, including gender-specific programming for girls. In 2022, WFBoston awarded YWCA Northeastern MA a Catalyst Grant to help fund a new program director for their Girls Center, which provides programming for girls aged 10-14 in STEM and other areas.
Benefits of Out-of School Programming
According to a CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) report, “research shows that out-of-school (OST) programs support student academic achievement and may play a role in reducing health disparities. Additionally, programs that follow evidence-based practices aimed at improving personal and social skills of youth are linked to positive social behaviors.” The CDC report further stated that the recent disruptions in in-person schooling brought on by the pandemic shined a brighter light on the importance of OST programming. This demonstrates the essential need for these programs especially in cities which are already struggling.
Donate Today and Make a Difference
By reaching young girls in these areas, these nonprofits are not only affecting change in the participants’ lives, but contributing to the regrowth and revitalization of these cities. WFBoston is honored to be a small part of that process, and you can be too. By donating to the WFBoston mission of economically empowering women and girls, you can make a difference in someone’s life today!
Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, was named President and CEO of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2016. She is also Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. Previously, she was the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean and Professor of Medicine of Weill Cornell Medicine and Provost for Medical Affairs of Cornell University. Dr. Glimcher is a distinguished immunologist, widely renowned for her work in one of the most promising areas of cancer research.
Linda Henry is the CEO of the Boston Globe Media Partners. She is a co-founder of HUBweek, a civic collaboration between the Boston Globe, Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and MIT that explores the future being built at the intersection of art, science and technology. Linda is also an early-stage impact investor, an Emmy-Award winning television producer with two shows currently airing, and a community activist. She serves as a director of the Red Sox Foundation, is a trustee of the Liverpool Football Club Foundation, chair of the Boston Globe Foundation, and chairman of the John W. Henry Family Foundation. In addition, she is a founder of the Boston Public Market, serves on the advisory board of MassChallenge, and is on the board of the Engine at MIT. She earned a BS from Babson College and her MS from MIT.
Bekah Salwasser joined the Red Sox Foundation as the Executive Director in January of 2018. She earned her B.A. in Psychology from Brown University and has extensive experience in philanthropy and both professional and semi-professional sports. After four years working as Community Relations Director for the Boston Celtics, Bekah went on to lead Scholar Athletes as its Executive Director, a program that supports public high school athletes with both their athletic and academic achievements. Earlier in her career, Bekah served as a professional soccer player for the Boston Breakers and as Executive Director of the Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center.
Kimberly Fay Boucher is a business executive who has driven high performance organizations in technology, consumer products and social enterprise/nonprofit industries over the past 25 years. She is currently the Technology Commercialization Business Leader for the CTO at Analog Devices, where she is responsible for driving new technologies from incubation stages to successful businesses. Kim is also a Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where she teaches Disciplined Entrepreneurship in the Martin Trust Center. She holds a BS in Management Industrial Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and an MBA from Harvard Business School. She is a NCAA Academic All-American Women’s Basketball player and has been inducted into the WPI Hall of Fame.
Ami Kuan Danoff (Co-Founder and CFO) is a private investor and the trustee of a foundation. She is a Harvard Quantum Founder and a member of the Harvard FAS Dean’s Council. Ami earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in Visual and Environmental Studies and holds a dual master’s degree in Applied Economics and International Finance from the Sloan School of Management at MIT. She was a portfolio manager in global equities at Putnam Investments and co-manager of the Putnam International New Opportunities Fund, and also worked as an international equities analyst at Fidelity Investments.
Christina Heenan Suh holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in English and Marketing and a master’s from Columbia University. A former management consultant, her work focused on strategy and implementation projects for Fortune 100 clients. She was also an account executive at Hill+Knowlton (WPP) marketing consumer packaged goods. As an Executive Board Member of the Brookline Education Foundation, which funds professional development in the Brookline Public Schools, Christina led their Grant and Oversight Committees. She currently sits on the board of the Brookline Library Foundation and teaches ESL at Rosie’s Place in Boston.
Christina Gordon (Co-Founder and CEO) holds a dual master’s degree in International Finance and Applied Economics from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Boston University and also studied for a joint master’s degree in Women’s Studies and Sociology at Brandeis with a focus on women in the workplace. Christina is a former assistant fund manager and technology industry equity analyst at Wellington Management. She also worked as a stock analyst at Fidelity Investments. She is a trustee of a private foundation, a member of Women Moving Millions and currently sits on the board of Rosie’s Place, a sanctuary for poor and homeless women in Boston.