Impact StoriesOctober 10, 2019

Aaron’s Presents

A team of 6 kids, including 4 Alumni and 3 middle schoolers,

planned an afternoon of activities at a local group foster home.

Aaron’s Presents takes over 100 kids each year to volunteer at the MSPCA!

Helping animals helps children access their compassion.

Aaron’s Presents 8th graders donated charging stations to the Lowell General

Cancer Center for their waiting rooms and brought flowers for the staff.

Photo credit: Meg Moore/Megpix

Acre Family Childcare

“ ”When women gather, great things will happen.

– Leymah Gbowee,

Acre Family Child Care Parent and Nobel Peace

Prize Laureate 2011

Acre Family Childcare

African Community Center of Lowell

African Community Center of Lowell

Marilyn Dike served as the guest speaker at the 2019 summer graduation ceremony. At the ceremony, she

shared her life experiences as an immigrant from the Democratic Republic of Congo. She inspired students

with her story of diligently pursuing education to become a healthcare provider.

Marilyn was the first person the African Community Center of Lowell helped when it was opened in 2016.

Appalachian Mountain Club

Fun Fact: The Appalachian Mountain Club’s Youth Opportunities Program is the only outdoor leadership training and support program of its kind on the East Coast.

The Parker Foundation has provided support to the

Appalachian Mountain Club’s Youth Opportunities

Program (YOP), which trains urban youth development

professionals and teachers to take their young people on

outdoor trips. The Lowell-Lawrence Summit Site engages

more than a dozen youth agencies and schools.

Our most recent Parker supported project created a “gear

lending library” to make it possible for our partners to enjoy

memorable and empowering outdoor adventures that

foster leadership skills, self-confidence, a deeper

appreciation for nature, and a sense of accomplishment.

Appalachian Mountain Club

Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence

“With generous grants from the Parker

Foundation we have been able build capacity to

serve high risk, limited-English-proficient, Asian

(predominantly Cambodian) victims of violence,

and provide awareness of critical culturally and

linguistically competent services to providers

and community residents.”

– Dawn Sauma, Co-Executive Director

Boys & Girls Club of Greater Lowell

“I joined programs like FIRST LEGO League, which helped me find my love for

programming and robotics… Eventually, I shifted from being a participant to

a leader.” – Anthony

Anthony now works part-time as a Youth Leader in the Club’s Makerspace,

leading STEM activities. He is also one of the leaders of our Kinetic Sculpture

Race team. Through the STEM knowledge and leadership skills, Anthony

secured a co-op work experience at IBM.

60% of our teens report feeling safer when at the Boys & Girls

Club of Greater Lowell than anywhere else.

The Brush Art Gallery

and Studios

“Sharing the joy of art with the young

women of Meghan's House is like a dream

come true for me. Through the Brush

program, I'm able to plant seeds and

concepts that establish creativity as an

important outlet for class members as they

move ahead in their lives.”

- Chrissy Theo Hungate,

Brush Studio Artist and Instructor of

Megan's House Art Expression Program.

Fun Fact:

The Brush is located in the first floor of a building that was

originally a silk mill and many years later, was modeled after

the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Alexandria, Virginia.

Community TeamworkHomelessness is a persistent problem in Greater Lowell,

yet services focused on this population have typically

been geared towards families and adults with little

awareness of homeless youth. Community Teamwork is

addressing this gap by building a trauma informed space

to provide low barrier services and crisis intervention to

homeless and at-risk youth between the ages of 16-24.

This multi-purpose space, called Mill You and housed in

the Youth Opportunity Center at 165 Dutton Street,

serves as an access point for youth to connect with

resources, support services, and educational

opportunities to help them achieve health,

independence and stability within all aspects of

their lives.

Since its inception in 1965, Community Teamwork,

has established and spun off more than 20 various

organizations, many with the help of Parker

Foundation Funding. These organizations include the

New Entry Sustainable Farming Program, Lowell

House, Well-Baby Clinic at Lowell General, and UTEC.

Community Teamwork

Discovery Museums

With Theodore Edson Parker Foundation’s support, the Discovery Museum

initiated a partnership with Acre Family Child Care that has brought hands-on

science experiences to hundreds of Lowell pre-schoolers and their families. In

addition to hosting science fairs and field trips, the museum also trained Acre

childcare providers to deliver STEM education to the children in their care using

Discovery Museum-crafted curriculum kits. The Acre collaboration marked the

beginning of what has become an ongoing effort by the museum to deepen its

engagement and impact in Lowell.

DIY Lowell

DIY Lowell empowers community members to make small projects and events happen

together, breaking down barriers between different groups in Lowell. The Domestic

Violence Survivor Gallery of Hope group created a three-day, interactive gallery that

showcased the art and stories of survivors and raised awareness of attendees.

“We believe that all people deserve space to share their stories and to heal. We believe

that we don’t have to let past hurts define our potential for greatness, our goodness, or

our abilities. By sharing and by healing from past hurts, we can do great things for

ourselves and our communities.”

Entrepreneurship for All

Fun Fact: Over 70% of our businesses and companies are founded by women.

Entrepreneurship for All

Phoenix Rising Pizza is the epitome of a family-owned-business. Founded in 2016 by Al and Andrea Machado and Al's parents Rick and Dee Machado. In 2016 they won an EforAll pitch contest and used the first-place prize ($1,000) to fix their broken mixer.

They then participated in the business Accelerator, took classes, and worked closely with three mentors on a business plan, and won another award. Following this experience, they applied for a microloan from the Lowell Development Financial Corporation to purchase a truck and implement the plan they’d designed at EforAll.

Today two family members work full time, and they’re preparing to open a brick and mortar right here in Lowell.

First United Baptist Church

"First United Baptist Church (FUBC) was

established in 1826. It is one of a few commercial

wood-frame buildings in the district dating back to

Lowell’s founding that retains its original use and

ownership. FUBC has always provided meeting and

event space to small non-profit groups, and an

estimated 7,000 people walk through the doors

each year for concerts, counseling, club meetings,

community events, and worship.

Support from the Parker Foundation have

prevented an historic building from falling into

disrepair, detracting from the vibrancy of the City."

–Rev. Dr. James W. Sinclair, Senior Pastor

Food Link Funding from the Theodore Edson

Parker Foundation helps Food Link

delivers over 500lbs of fresh

produce, meat, bread, and pre-

made sandwiches to the Lowell

Transitional Living Center and House

of Hope each month.

This food is used by the shelters to

provide meals for their residents

and, at House of Hope, to teach

new culinary skills.

Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell

Girls Incorporated of Greater Lowell

In December of 2013, the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation supported

the renovation of our underutilized courtyard to create a protected

green space.

Since then, our girls and staff have enjoyed a safe space to explore

outdoor gardening growing vegetables, fruits and herbs from the spring

to the fall, enjoyed messy science experiments with our Counselors in

Training, and gained the enjoyment of outdoor wellness classes like yoga

and mindfulness.

This small patch of nature has truly revitalized our backyard and created

a welcoming space for our members.

Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity Our grant from the Parker

Foundation will help two families

become homeowners, allowing

them to leave behind substandard

housing and have financial

security. Building this new home

where a blighted home once stood

will improve the neighborhood and

increase home values for the

homes around them.

Improbable Players Fun Fact: We got our name by opening a dictionary and pointing to a word at random. The first word pointed to was 'Improbable'

Improbable Players

"Lowell has been severely impacted by the opioid epidemic thus impacting our student body. Fortunately, funding has been available to support innovative and necessary programs like Improbable Players so we can educate our young people and ready the community to get help around the issue. Our students are engaged through the entire performances and talk about the stories well-after the shows.

One could see a lasting impact being made during each of the performances. Our counseling staff is on hand and we’ve seen counseling service utilization increase post-program as well as numerous stories of connection and healing.”

– Mary Payne, Lowell Public Schools

International Institute of New England

Thi Thi escaped terrible violence in Burma. When she arrived, she spoke little English and

enrolled in IINE’s English classes. After two months she was able to secure an entry-level job

with Brooks Brothers. Now, after multiple promotions, she holds a supervisor role managing

thirty employees, many of whom are immigrants and refugees themselves.

Thi Thi has been so successful

that she can now afford her own

house – a level of security she

never expected to have.

International Institute of New England

“I did not think I was going to like Tech Club at first, but it is really fun

and interesting. I like that we get to build things, tear them apart, and

build again. We also get to go on field trips and see real tech people at

their jobs. I get to learn things that I do not learn in school.” - Naomi

Naomi is now attending Lowell Vocational Technical High School and

wants to pursue a career in Automotive Technology, Carpentry, or

Engineering. Early and ongoing exposure to STEM programs, is

important for creating the next generation leaders.

Kids in Tech

Lawyers for Civil Rights

With the generous support of the Parker Foundation,

Lawyers for Civil Rights (LCR) is helping bring

communities of color together in Lowell to create a fair

and equitable system for electing the City Council and

School Committee.

The federal voting rights lawsuit that we filed on

behalf of Asian-American and Latinx residents of

Lowell led to a landmark settlement that requires the

City to change its municipal election system by 2021

and mandates a community-driven process to

determine which new system the City will adopt.

Through community engagement LCR is empowering

Lowell's communities of color to have their voices

heard in their City government.

Lawyers for Civil Rights

Fun Fact: Our name used to be 12 words and have punctuation! (Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice of the Boston Bar Association)

Lowell Community Charter Public School The Parker Foundation, supported continued

development of the Middle School literacy

program which engages and supports LCCPS’

urban multicultural and multilingual student

population. We were able to revise cornerstone

units in grades 7 and 8 to address topics of social

justice, civic action and global understanding.

This program emphasizes books and materials that

serve as mirrors to reflect student identities and

create pathways into new ways of thinking.

Lowell Community Charter Public School

Lowell Community Health Center

Fun Fact: There are more than 200 pieces of original artwork throughout the

health center, and 176 were purchased through ArtUp, a unique program to

create a permanent collection of works by Lowell-area artists that our 33,000

patients, 500 employees, and visitors can enjoy for generations to come. All

artists are paid for their work. Sixty pieces were purchased through a grant

from the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation.

Lowell House

The New Center for Integrated Treatment and

Recovery (CITAR), is an evidence-based, trauma-

informed space designed to promote health and

wellness while reducing the long-term effects of

substance use and mental health disorders. CITAR is

co-located with Lowell Community Health Center to

promote a system of wellness and integrated care

with health and allied health services. The "Healthy

Eating Kitchen" is an important part of the center

where clients learn the basics of nutrition, prepare

their meals and "prep" for a healthy lifestyle.

Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust

Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust

“The Parker Foundation’s early support of our after-school STEM-based

environmental education programs helped us develop a robust year-round

program in partnership with Mass Audubon and the Lowell Public Schools.

We are now offering in-depth outdoor classroom programs to Lowell

students, K-12, at nine locations, including month-long summer programs.

Over 500 students a year are impacted by the program, increasing their

academic retention, college readiness, and career goals.”

- Jane Calvin, Executive Director

Merrimack Valley Food Bank

For Lily and many of her

neighbors, fresh produce was a

rare treat before she learned

about the Merrimack Valley

Food Bank’s Community

Market. Thanks to the Parker

Foundation, we can safely store

nutritious food for our programs

and are able to transport food

to convenient locations for our

neighbors like Lily.

Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership

“It was the best decision of my life.” - Kendra

Merrimack Valley Housing Partnership

Kendra, a single mother of two, came to the U.S. from the Dominican

Republic seven years ago to seek a better life. She has always established

goals: 1) become a U.S. Citizen; 2) start her own business; 3) buy a home.

Kendra enrolled in the home buyer training program with the Merrimack

Valley Housing Partnership. With help from MVHP’s home buyer counselor

and the City of Lowell’s down payment assistance program, she is now a

grateful homeowner.

Mill City Grows

The Parker Foundation has responded to our desire not just to grow programs, but to build the capacity of Mill City Grows in strategic, sustainable ways; helping us develop our staff, Board, and systems. Because of this, we are able to devote more time and effort into engaging community members in planning and leadership of our programs.

This means that thousands of people speaking different languages, of different ages and abilities, and with a wide range of goals can be a part of our Urban Farms, Community and School Gardens, and education programs; growing food, improving their health, and building community.

- Jessica Wilson, Deputy Director

New England Historic Genealogical Society

Nineteenth-century records of students

from Lowell High School – a coeducational

and racially integrated school from the

time of its founding in 1831 – are now

freely available.

New England Historic Genealogical Society

The records help bring attention to the

long history of immigration to the U.S.

and Lowell. They help people who are

curious about their personal family

history in Lowell or want to learn how

the city became what it is today. They

help us study the history of American

education, women, minorities, and

young adults.

One Can Help

“When I was in foster care, I used to

wonder what was wrong with me. I

didn’t understand why other kids could

take dance classes, but I couldn’t.”

– Foster Teen

“Going to camp with kids in my new

town made me less anxious about

starting over in a new foster home. It

is working out! Thank you for helping

me do this.” – Foster Teen

The Open Pantry

"The Open Pantry feeds almost 25,000 people each year. Last year, we gave away 445,000 pounds of food. The Parker Foundation was critical in funding our truck which allows us to transport food all over Greater Lowell."

- Geoff Bryant, Executive Director

Project Citizenship

“As I take my final step in becoming a United States

citizen, I can truly appreciate the services that Project

Citizenship offers immigrants. I felt confident and assured

that the process would go smoothly with their guidance.

They kept me informed through the whole process.

When I finally take my vow to be a U.S. citizen, I’ll

remember the great struggle and sacrifice my mother

made to get her family to the U.S.A. But I will also

remember all the wonderful people who welcomed me,

assisted me and showed me what it really means to be an

American. Project Citizenship gave me peace of mind. I

wouldn’t know what to do without them.”

-Sreypov Vary

Project LEARN

Project LEARN has distributed over 29,0000 books to children in Lowell.

Fun Fact:

In 2019, Project Citizenship will have helped over

2,000 immigrants apply for U.S. citizenship.

The paper application is 20 pages long and we have

used six gallons of white-out in the process!

Project Citizenship

THRIVE Communities

Members of the THRIVE Communities –

those deeply impacted by incarceration

and those insulated from it – learn about

organizations and services in their

community including the amazing work

happening within partner agencies, as well

as the barriers to services that slow down

their returning neighbors.

THRIVE Communities

In 2019, with the support of the Theodore Edson

Parker Foundation, THRIVE Communities

accompanied more than ten neighbors on their

transition from incarceration, increased the

agency among dozens of community members

to respond to concerns they have regarding the

impacts of incarceration in their community, and

collaborated with at least eleven service

providers in Lowell to better support our

returning neighbors.

Underexposed Films

A PLACE TO BREATHE is a feature documentary supported by the Parker Foundation.

The film explores the universality of trauma and resilience through the eyes of

refugee and immigrant patients and medical providers. It will raise awareness of

Lowell Community Health Center’s “Whole Community” approach to wellness.

Underexposed Films

Whistler House Museum of Art

The Multicultural Youth Summer Art

Program has changed the lives of young

people from grades 5th – 8th because of

the Parker Foundation’s support. It offers

free scholarships to the underserved and

diverse sector of the community, while

increasing confidence in creativity,

developing observational and technical

skills, enhancing self-expression, style,

and content.