An anti-poverty agency is making a public plea for unwrapped toys for children 12 or under in order to meet a formidable goal: 6,000 toys or donations by Dec. 15. “An awful lot of people are hurting,” said John Drew, president and CEO of Action for Boston Community Development. “People should not have to go through the holidays without a…
Doc Rivers is coming back to Boston. The current head coach of the Clippers, who signed 2019 NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard in the most impressive offseason in the NBA, will return to the city in which he won his lone NBA title as he prepares to win another. Rivers will make the journey back for the annual Hoop Dreams charity event he…
It’s not every day you get to meet Boston Celtics players at their practice facility in Brighton. Or get a special tour of an award-winning artist’s new exhibit at a gallery in Seaport. Last month, students from Ostiguy High School, which ABCD operates in partnership with the Boston Public Schools, did both as part of Ostiguy’s Community Learning program. The…
In collaboration with the Boston Public Schools (BPS) and the Gavin Foundation, ABCD has operated the William J. Ostiguy High School for youth ages 14-21 who are in recovery since 2006. According to the National Equity Project, “educational equity means that each [student] receives what they need to develop to their full academic and social potential.” ABCD concurs. Ostiguy is…
BOSTON — Millions of Americans are struggling to afford food. Think about that. Millions of people in the United States right now might not know where they’ll get their next meal. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified inequities facing some marginalized groups. It’s also brought many people into food pantries for the first time. Boston 25 News anchor Kerry Kavanaugh got an…
In the nine months that the coronavirus pandemic has ravaged the U.S., the most vulnerable Americans have struggled to keep up with monthly expenses. Eight million Americans have fallen into poverty since May, and today, there are 10 million fewer employed people than there were before the pandemic. By quickly passing the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, Congress was able to stave off…
An advocacy group for low-income residents in Greater Boston said Tuesday that the ongoing partial government shutdown is taking a devastating toll on millions of Americans who depend on federal food and housing aid. In a statement, Action Boston for Community Development, or ABCD, said the shutdown has hit the nation’s most vulnerable residents with “life-threatening hunger and hardship, with funding running…
ABCD launches three-machine pilot to address maternal health, STI disparities For Black communities, local and national statistics have identified disparities in maternal health outcomes and transmission rates of sexually transmitted infections. A program launched by ABCD aims to close some of those gaps by increasing free, around-the-clock access to reproductive health supplies through vending machines installed at three of its…
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — On Monday, even with rain moving in, donators paid to take the field at Fenway Park for a charity ballgame benefitting the advocacy group, ABCD’S SummerWorks jobs program. According to the anti-poverty organizations website, the event “Field of Dreams” has raised over $5 million for ABCD SummerWorks over the 20 or so years. At “Field of…
Ten years ago, the man who led ABCD for 41 of his 45 years with the organization passed away. Robert M. Coard, renowned as a builder of social institutions, was a catalyst in the national community action movement launched with the passage of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964. Robert Coard “had ideas that the city could be better, that…