By Amy Kamosa
For the first time since the beginning of the pandemic, the Harvard Allston Partnership Fund (HAPF) grant awards ceremony took place in person.
HAPF, 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. Since its creation in 2008, HAPF has provided $1.4 million in grants to local organizations that serve thousands of Allston-Brighton residents.
This year's ceremony celebrated HAPF grant recipients from the past three years, and was held in the Engineering Yard, or outdoor courtyard, of Harvard's new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in Allston, which opened to students this past fall. Harvard officials were excited to welcome members of the Allston-Brighton community to the new space, which was recently named the healthiest laboratory building in the world. "I hope you will think of the ground floor of this amazing building as a community space; as part of your neighborhood," stated Frank Doyle, Dean of the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), during his remarks.
The City of Boston administers the grants through the Boston Planning and Development Agency. BPDA Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Barry Reaves spoke on the City's behalf. "Thank you so much for the opportunity to address the crowd and really be a part of what diversity and inclusion is really all about, which is creating outcomes that help our community be a better, more stable community," stated Reaves.
Among the 2021 grant recipients was the Gardner Pilot Academy (GPA), a local public elementary school in the neighborhood. Mariela DeLeon, Director of Out of School Time at the GPA, spoke about her experience as long-time resident of Allston-Brighton. "My neighborhood was and still is made up of black and brown families, immigrant families, first generation families, families who spoke multiple languages or no English at all. Families worked multiple jobs, families that hopes that their young ones would have a better life. And families that also attend the GPA. And I'm now privileged enough to serve those very same families," DeLeon explained.
Since the fund's inception, the GPA has received nearly $220,000 in grants. DeLeon explained that those grants have gone to everything from summer scholarships; to adult education; to Friday arts programs, to direct rental and utility assistance for GPA families. In the most recent funding round, GPA received $15,000 to enable another licensed school-based clinician to support student check-ins, run small counseling-based groups, and advise the teachers and leadership in best practices around mental health intervention and crisis response. "As a community the GPA strives to serve the whole child and that includes their mental health. With this grant, we're one step closer to doing just that," said DeLeon.
"Over 14 years, we've been privileged to provide $1.4 million in support to this community, the community that we share, a place we call home, as well," Harvard President Larry Bacow told the crowd. "I'd like to think that Harvard has been strengthened by our relationship with the community and I hope the community has been strengthened by the local programming and the support that we've been able to provide, both now and in the future."
The 2019, 2020 and 2021 Grant Recipients are:
Allston Brighton CDC: Awarded grant to support financial counseling and home-buying programs.
Allston Brighton Food Pantry: Awarded grants to provide assistance towards food insecurity and for continued operations of the Allston-Brighton Community Fridge.
Allston-Brighton PAUSES: Awarded grant to support programming in youth-driven vaping and marijuana prevention.
Allston Brighton Youth Hockey Association: Awarded grant in support of youth hockey and Learn to Skate programs.
Baldwin Early Learning Pilot Academy: Awarded grant to support the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) Program.
Big Sister Association of Greater Boston: Awarded grants to support mentoring programs for local girls.
Brazilian Women’s Group: Awarded grants to support the “One Stop Shop” program.
Brazilian Worker Center: Awarded grant for food and diapers distribution.
Boston String Academy: Awarded grants to provide high quality musical instruction to local youth.
Charles River Watershed Association: Awarded grant to support improvements to Herter Park.
CommonWheels Bicycle Co-Op: Awarded grant to support its bike programs.
Earthwatch Institute: Awarded grant to support the development and training of community ‘Green Teams’.
Family Nurturing Center: Awarded grants to support parent-child playgroups and maintain two existing playgroups.
The Fishing Academy: Awarded grants for scholarships to local youth to benefit from fishing instruction.
Friends of the Honan Allston Library: Awarded grant to provide sewing instruction.
Gardner Pilot Academy: Awarded grants in support of afterschool programs and to support families with rent and utility expenses.
Kithara Project: Awarded grant to support guitar instruction to local youth.
Oak Square YMCA: Awarded grants to support resources and programming at the Community Learning Center and new Out of School Time (OST) Center.
Open Door Soup Kitchen: Awarded grants to support the purchase of food and supplies for the Prepared Meals and Grocery Bags programs.
Project Citizenship: Awarded grant to serve community members with citizenship services.
West End House: Awarded grants to support summer youth programming and the Family Food Program.
West End House Camp: Awarded grant for camp scholarships for boys.
West End House Girls Camp: Awarded grant for scholarships for 5 girls to attend overnight summer camp in Maine.
Winship Parent Council: Awarded grant to support music instruction for youth working with the Handel and Haydn Society.
Funding decisions are made by a volunteer board of community members following careful review of all applications received. For more information please visit the Harvard Ed Portal's website www.edportal.harvard.edu, or email hapfund@gmail.com.