Category: News

Massive holiday toy drive in Boston needs help

BOSTON – A massive holiday toy drive in Boston is in need of help. Boston-based ABCD says it has received 7,000 requests for toys but only about 1,000 donations so far. ABCD says almost 28,000 Boston children, or 26 percent, are living in poverty in Boston. So for families making difficult financial decisions, gifts may be out of reach. Today,…

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Holiday Help Needed: 7,000 requests for donated toys …

BOSTON —Action for Boston Community Development is reaching out to families, organizations and companies who want to put smiles on children’s faces across Boston neighborhoods and surrounding towns this holiday season. ABCD has received more than 7,000 requests for gifts for children in need and has just 1,000 toys on hand or promised by generous individuals and companies. Almost 28,000…

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ABCD Seeks Toys, Clothing Donations

Chris Lovett of Boston Neighborhood Network News sits down with ABCD Executive Vice President/COO Sharon Scott-Chandler to discuss the need for toys to make the holidays bright for Boston’s children in need — and what that kindness means to underserved children and families. Along with toys and games, families request warm coats, hats, gloves and boots to get through the…

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ABCD spells chance to change lives for the better

There’s a saying that is often attributed to Gandhi — that a society is best judged by how it treats the people who have the least — the homeless, jobless, working poor, immigrant communities, seniors, families and children. For more than half a century, Action for Boston Community Development — or ABCD — has taken their antipoverty mission and message…

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ABCD Adopt a Family Needs Your Help

Action for Boston Community Development is reaching out to families, organizations and companies who want to help children, families and seniors in need this holiday season by adopting a family! It’s a way for you and your loved ones or colleagues to experience the spirit of giving and truly make a difference for others. The need is huge. Right now…

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Volunteers Needed for Adopt a Family Program

A request for health this holiday season … Action for Boston Community Development, also known as ABCD, needs people to volunteer to adopt a family this year. To date, 129 families have signed up to receive gifts from generous families and organizations, but so far there are only 62 donors. ABCD works year-round to help children, families, and seniors in…

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Leslie Odom, Jr. to perform at ABCD dinner

  “Hamilton” continues performances at the Boston Opera House through mid-November —but come Oct. 26, Boston will make way for another (former) Aaron Burr. Leslie Odom, Jr., who played Hamilton’s foe in the original Broadway production, will speak and perform at “In It Together,” an annual dinner hosted by Action for Boston Community Development honoring local volunteers and community leaders …….

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BOLD TYPES: Dial-an-entertainer

When the superstar who was the main draw at your upcoming fund-raiser cancels a month before the event, it helps to have concert promoter Don Law on speed-dial. Bob Elias learned that the hard way. As director of government relations at antipoverty agency Action for Boston Community Development, Elias takes it upon himself to ensure that ABCD’s annual gala comes off without a hitch…. (Read more.)


Mobile outreach van, team serving the homeless suspended until further notice

The Action for Boston Community Development Mobile Homeless Outreach Team (MHOT), a program serving homeless people in Greater Boston’s Mystic Valley region , has  temporarily suspended its services as the program looks for donations to keep the van running. Spare Change News highlighted the program in March when it lost  funding from the federal government due to low marks on a grading…

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To Stem Tide Of Childcare Staff Turnover, Providers Try Increasing Benefits

Keeping good employees is a challenge for any industry. But for childcare centers the struggle is particularly acute, with a roughly 30 percent turnover rate each year. In a field where institutional knowledge translates to better quality care, industry leaders are straining to find ways to keep their staff for longer than a few years….