CAMBRIDGE COMMUNITY CENTER INC
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Mission Statement
The Cambridge Community Center promotes community cooperation and unity and empowers youth, individuals, and families. We do this by offering social, cultural, educational, and recreational activities.
About This Cause
Organization History and Overview: In 1929, a group of black ministers concerned about the health and welfare of children in the Riverside neighborhood of Cambridge founded the Cambridge Community Center. In the 87 years since, the Center has initiated many Riverside firsts, including the establishment of the first nursery school and the first varsity basketball games open to African Americans. In subsequent decades, the Center has hosted HeadStart Program classrooms, the Riverside Health Care Facility, and a wide variety of community, political, and social events. Today, our mission is to promote community cooperation and unity and empower youth, individuals, and families. The Center has been a frontline resource for underserved youth and families in Riverside since its inception. Riverside is a 202 acre area located along the Charles River and extends from Central Square Station to Harvard Square Station. The residents are 60.4% white, 11.4% black, 21.5% Asian/Pacific Islander, 7.9% Hispanic origin, and 6.7% mixed/other. 17.1% of families and 25% of individuals are living in poverty. The majority of the families and individuals who use our programs and services are living at or below the federal poverty line. Hundreds of individuals use our facilities throughout the year whether they use our services, rent our space for events, or are enrolled in our programs. Many of the staff and children in our programs come from families that have been involved with the Center for four or even five generations, enriching our Center with a strong sense of history, family, and community. Description of Out of School Time Programs: Today, our largest programs are our year round Out of School Time (OST) Programs, which include our afterschool program and Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program. Our OST Programs, provided under a license from the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), include our after school program and Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program. Our maximum licensed capacity is currently 91 children. 97% of children currently enrolled receive full or partial tuition subsidies from EEC, through a partnership with EEC administered by Action for Boston Community Development, or through scholarships provided by the Center. Subsidy amounts are based on Massachusetts' income eligibility guidelines. Through government contracts, we also have the opportunity to serve five children under the care of the Department of Children and Family services (DCF) and five children who are experiencing homelessness. We offer underserved children diverse opportunities, programs, and services to close the opportunity gap and address disparities due to ethnicity and socioeconomic status. We support children from kindergarten to college, and have teen alumni who return to CCC to become mentors, coach sports, and provide tech support. While most Cambridge youth programs end at middle school, leaving a gap in youth programming, our robust teen programs extend from collaborations with the Cambridge Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program to our year-round Empowers teen volunteer program. We are also dedicated to family and community engagement. Our group leaders make weekly phone calls to parents, communicate with teachers, and help plan monthly family nights. We are committed to enrolling not only children, but families. Every year, children spend 1,080 hours in the public school system. If children attend our program year-long, they spend 1,410 hours at the Cambridge Community Center, positioning us to support families in meaningful ways. Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program: Cowemoki Summer Enrichment Program runs from 7:30am until 4:30pm, with an extended day option ending at 5:30pm. Every day, children are provided with breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. Each group is no larger than thirteen children. Group Leaders facilitate classroom activities, weekly computer lab activities, and visits to neighborhood parks and swimming pools. We employ a Gym Teacher and an Art Teacher who lead weekly classes for each group. All staff also participate in Hobby Time, a weekly two hour workshop that reflects their own interests. This year, our Hobby Time workshops included cooking, gardening, and jump roping. During the summer we offer 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. Afterschool Program Specific Activities: Our afterschool program consists of CCC Enriches, our K-5 program, CCC Inspires, our middle school program, and CCC Empowers, our teen volunteer 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. Every day between 4:30pm and 5:30pm, children can choose from a variety of special programs taught by staff members, board members, volunteers, interns, and outside professionals, including: Computer Science: Our computer lab is used to facilitate photography, graphic design, and teach 21st century skills. We offer three MinecraftEdu tracks, a version of the popular game Minecraft adapted by teachers and programmers to create compelling educational experiences. These tracks are Digital Citizenship, Architecture, and Computer Programming. In our Architecture track, children use the tools in Minecraft to study architecture, design and execute the building of their own structures, and recreate famous monuments. Children learn the fundamentals of computer programming using ComputerCraftEdu, a Minecraft modification designed to teach children coding. Our Digital Citizenship track is a less structured daily program, and provides time for children to build villages together, explore, and organically learn about programming, city planning, and teamwork. Sports: Throughout the school year, our competitive sports programs are flag football, basketball, and handball. We offer 2nd-8th graders the opportunity to play in a league against other local youth centers, including East End House, the Community Arts Center, and the Boys & Girls Club. Our sports programs are coached by two high school volunteers, a THHT teen and a graduate of our OST programs. Visual Art: Group Leaders and Lesley University interns use the renovated CCC art classroom to teach weekly visual art classes, which have included a K-2 media class, a middle school mural group, and a photography club. We host an annual summer exhibit in the Riverside Gallery highlighting our children’s work and art from other Cambridge youth programs. Dance and Movement: Volunteers, Group Leaders, and interns offer weekly dance and movement classes, which have included Jam’nastics, yoga, hula hooping, hip hop dance, and cheerleading. Cooking: Using food from our gardens, along with food donated by Harvard and Food for Free, one of our board members leads a weekly cooking class for 3rd-5th graders. Girls Group & Boys Group: One of our board members leads Girls Group every Monday with the assistance of an Expressive Arts Therapy intern. Girls Group cultivates a safe space to discuss womanhood and the unique experience of being a woman of color. Similar to Girls Group, Boys Group facilitates community and explores important dialogues. We invite diverse local role models to speak to both groups about their own experiences. CCC Green Program: Volunteers and staff use classrooms, our kitchen, and nearly 500 square feet of organic growing space to teach youth the importance of taking care of ourselves and the environment. We offer three weekly gardening groups for K-8, teaching agricultural biology and nutrition by engaging children in the growing, harvesting, and cooking of fresh produce. ReachOut and Homework Assistance: K-5 students receive one-on-one literacy tutoring from MIT undergraduates twice a week through MIT’s ReachOut work-study program. Each group in our program also has 4Boston volunteers from Boston College who commit to spending four hours per week assisting children academically. Other Programs and Services: In addition to our OST Programs, the Center offers a wide range of programs serving youth, adults, and seniors. We host a free preschool drop-in program every weekday morning. We distribute Thanksgiving food baskets, provide a Senior Thanksgiving Luncheon to 200 seniors, and organize a winter holiday toy drive. We organize the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market (CWFM), providing a source of local and organic groceries to as many as 900 customers every Saturday from January through April. In order to keep the CWFM accessible to low-income residents, we participate in SNAP (food stamp) matching. In our pilot program, The Coast Kitchen (TCK), we partner with Food for Free and Harvard University Dining Services to repurpose food from Harvard dining halls into a monthly community meal. Our teen music program, The Hip Hop Transformation (THHT), teaches teens the skills needed to write, record, and perform original music in partnership with Cambridge Health Alliance and the Cambridge Police Department. We are also home to the Riverside Gallery, which provides local and regional artists space to exhibit their work. Lastly, we provide rental space for a variety of community groups and organizations.