Dot groups get funding from United Way

By Tara W. Merrigan, Special to the Reporter
Jun. 24, 2010

The United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley will kick off the next phase of its community funding program next month — a three-year plan investing in youth and childhood development programs that includes funneling $5.19 million towards programs serving Dorchester.

This next stage aims in its first year to provide intervention or treatment for children at risk for developmental delays or behavioral issues, provide children with academic support and mentors, and help families retain permanent housing and secure jobs.

The investment will go towards organizations such as the Boys and Girl Clubs of Dorchester and the Dorchester Youth Collaborative (DYC). Other organizations to receive funding include Building Educated Leaders For Life (BELL), College Bound Dorchester, Crispus Attucks Children’s Center Inc., Mujeres Unidas en Accion, STRIVE/Boston Employment Service Inc. and the Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (Viet-AID).

Over the next three years, United Way says, it will monitor the impact on programming its funding makes and the impact made on the lives of the children involved in these programs. This new string of investments follows the success of United Way’s last three-year plan, which also focused on youth oriented programs. Results include the prevention of the expulsion of many pre-school students and over 130 homeless families avoided prolonged shelter stay.

“United Way funding supports programming for nearly 150,000 youth every year, nearly 13,000 of whom are high-risk youth,” said Michael Durkin, president and CEO of United Way. “Measuring outcomes on this scale over the course of the next three years will give us a never-before-seen viewpoint into the effectiveness of our investments. It will enable the organization to bolster successful programs, adjust funding to those not reaching goals, and drive a greater impact across the region.”