Convening civic leaders
A feature story from our 2019 annual report.
December 2019
November 2019
The impact of the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants’ first year
Photo courtesy of De Novo Center for Justice and Healing. Amid the current immigration crisis in our country, the stories of the people in our own community who are deeply affected by tightening immigration policies demonstrate the urgency of this issue. “Tania”, a teenage mother, suffered abuse and neglect at home and threats of gang violence in her native country. She escaped Central America, but only because of legal support from De Novo, can she now safely rebuild her life here in the U.S. “Paul”, who fled the Khmer Rouge genocide as a child, has raised his children in Massachusetts. Now at risk of deportation, Paul has gotten the help he needs from Greater Boston Legal Services to stay in the home he’s built with his family. Tania, Paul, and so many others in our community rely on free or low-cost legal services to be able to safely stay in the country. The United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants is the local giving platform to help these vulnerable community members receive the legal services they need to lead safe lives in refuge. The critical role of the United Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants In March 2018, the Cambridge
Meet Geeta Pradhan, President of the Cambridge Community Foundation
Q&A with Geeta Pradhan, President Can you tell us a little about your background and what brought you to CCF? GP: My career in Boston spanned 30 years, with work ranging from community development to affordable housing to sustainability to philanthropy. When I got this phenomenal opportunity to go to the Cambridge Community Foundation, I was very intrigued. But honestly, my first reaction was, ‘Why would I go to Cambridge?’ The city has a reputation of wealth and prosperity, and I’d spent my whole life working on issues around equity and poverty in Boston. But then I started looking at the data. I was stunned that 18 percent of Cambridge children live in poverty. This is a small enough city, with world-class intellectual capital…why can’t we wrap our arms around it and solve the problems of the community? If we really put our minds to it, we can find solutions. What do you think makes Cambridge special? GP: What makes Cambridge special is that you can really sense the values of the city. Walking in Central Square, you see cultures from all around the world represented in the people, the restaurants and stores, and the languages spoken. That is
September 2019
Education as equalizer: a conversation with Elissa Spelman, Executive Director of Breakthrough Greater Boston
Research reminds us that education and opportunity go hand in hand. That’s why learning is so important—even over the summer. We caught up with Elissa Spelman, executive director of Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB), one of our nonprofit partners, to talk about the importance of out of school time learning and the challenges we need to overcome for kids in our community. As a city, we’re fortunate to have a wide array of summer programs for school-aged kids, ranging from the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, to CitySprouts, Cambridge Camping, the Cambridge Community Center, and other nonprofits funded by the Cambridge Community Foundation. Why is summer learning so important? The school year calendar was established to support an agrarian economy so kids could work in the fields in the summer, but it’s not what is best for learning. For students, summer is a long expanse of time when activities can vary widely, everything from traveling abroad or attending an expensive overnight camp to sitting on the couch, watching TV or caring for younger siblings. Research shows there’s dramatic learning loss in the summer. Low income students lose an average of two months of reading and two months of math every
September 2018
Join Us: The Immigrant Experience Through Art, Community Voice
Upcoming Event The Immigrant Experience: Learning Through Art and Community Voice REGISTER HERE MONDAY SEPTEMBER 24 5:30 - 6:30 pm Tercentenary Theatre, Harvard Yard, Cambridge Photo Credit: Robin Lubbock/WBUR "If a society permits one portion of its citizenry to be menaced or destroyed, then, very soon, no one in that society is safe." — James Baldwin We have seen the inhumane and unjust treatment of immigrant families and children in our country and our communities, but what is the effect on the human being? Learn more about the immigrant experience through poetry and stories of those living in our community today at this innovative Cambridge Community Foundation experience. Standing beside Teresita Fernández's Harvard public art project, Autumn (...Nothing Personal), we will learn about how this work was inspired by James Baldwin's 1964 essay, Nothing Personal, published at the height of the civil rights movement. Local poets, storytellers, and students will personalize and bring to life the themes of disconnection, injustice and divisiveness in America, as well as the hope that love, light and trust can bring. We hope you can join us for this unique experience. Special thanks to MassPoetry, Enroot, and the Harvard University Committee on the Arts for this community platform. This event is
July 2018
Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants
Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants DONATE The Need The Fund The Dollars The People To Give What You Can Do How Cambridge and Massachusetts Can Help Local Nonprofits The Need Many immigrant families, children and workers in our community are caught up in a humanitarian crisis that could tear families apart, deport DREAMers from the only home they have ever known, and expose asylum seekers to the persecution and abuse they faced in their home countries. Help us help our most vulnerable neighbors with a tax-deductible contribution to the Cambridge Legal Defense Fund for Immigrants. One in four immigrants in America are undocumented. Pew Research Center data states 210,000 undocumented residents in Massachusetts, of which over 180,000 are in Cambridge, Boston and surrounding communities. In Massachusetts, there are approximately 19,000 students eligible for DACA status, over 12,000 are workers with Temporary Protective Status, thousands more are Asylum Seekers. While there is no city-specific data on the numbers of undocumented immigrants in our community, proxy data for Cambridge shows 27% of the population is foreign born; 40% of children have at least one foreign born parent; and approximately 25% of high
Lives in Limbo: Immigration as a Human Rights Issue
Lives in Limbo: Experts Discuss Immigration Policies and their Impact By Jeffrey Blackwell Cambridge Community Foundation Correspondent The face of an asylum-seeker is a 28-year-old Honduran woman, who was beaten and raped from age 16, pushed off a 25-foot cliff into a raging river, and left to die by her abuser. It is the face of a mother from El Salvador escaping the violence of the country with her five-year-old child in tow, following the murder of her 14-year-old son at the hands of a local gang. It is also the face of a Ugandan woman who fled her country after being raped and beaten by a domestic abuser, and then again by the police she ran to for safety. Mojdeh Rohani, the executive director of the Community Legal Service Center in Cambridge, said these are the typical stories of refugees they see every day seeking counseling for a lifetime filled with the trauma that did not end when they reached the United States border seeking safety, help, and asylum. “These are the voices and this is very real,” said Rohani, whose agency provides free legal, and affordable counseling services for low-income residents and immigrants. “It is not like
June 2018
2018 Annual Dinner: Grappling with Race and Equity
At Cambridge Community Foundation’s annual dinner on May 8, 2018, long-time resident and WGBH journalist Callie Crossley served as the Master of Ceremonies and introduced Harvard professor Brandon Terry, CCF President Geeta Pradhan, and Chairman of the CCF Board Rick Harriman to a capacity crowd of civically minded residents, who came to support the values of Cambridge and the Foundation. Powerful words were shared, and friendships were formed and renewed. Crossley spoke about how Cambridge, a vibrant and ever-growing community, is becoming increasingly inaccessible for those with less wealth. “We are a city with open arms and offer enviable resources - but the financial challenges of living here continue to grow,” she said, adding that 14% of Cambridge residents and 17% of young people here live in poverty. Reflecting on the 50-year anniversary of Martin Luther King’s untimely slaying on April 4, 1968, Terry discussed the continuing prevalence of glaring racial disparities in economic mobility, as well as ghettoization and racial segregation that plague African American families and communities. “Such enduring inequality represents an assault in the dignity and self-respect of poor people and undermines the very freedoms and civil rights that the Civil Rights Movement fought so valiantly
Supporting Our Immigrant Neighbors: Thoughts from Our President
The Former First Lady of the United States, Laura Bush, concluded her June 17, 2018 New York Times op-ed with this fundamental question: “In 2018, can we not as a nation find a kinder, more compassionate and more moral answer to this current crisis? I, for one, believe we can.” This sentiment spread across the country as we saw images of traumatized, sobbing children, isolated from their parents after entering our country in search of safety and sanctuary. The Cambridge Community Foundation has always valued strong families. Strong families are the anchors for healthy children; they fuel productive workers, they support thriving businesses, and they generate compassionate communities. Research has shown that repeated adverse childhood experiences can lead to toxic stress, which has long-term consequences on physical and mental health, leading to behavioral problems, children dropping out of school, substance abuse, and more. Separating children and their parents is not just morally wrong — it will have a lasting impact on these children, their families, and on communities. Fundamentally, this issue is about shared humanity. It’s about the kind of people we want to be, the type of community we want to create, and how we want to be
Nonprofit Spotlight: Cambridge Community Television
Nonprofit Spotlight Cambridge Community Foundation is a proud supporter of Cambridge Community Television (CCTV), an award-winning community media center that serves Cambridge’s diverse populations and our partnership is deepening. CCF has been funding Cambridge Community Television’s Youth Media Program for 17 years. The Youth Media Program promotes healthy development by providing underserved teens with training to express themselves creatively. In paid positions as media artists, youth have the opportunity to develop valuable career skills, and break through mainstream media messages to tell honest stories about themselves and their community. Ninety percent of participants report that the program gives them a chance to learn skills they do not learn elsewhere. Participants develop self-worth and confidence in their ability to achieve personal, academic, and career goals. Amid a citywide movement to better address the needs of high school graduates struggling with the academic, financial and social demands of college, the Youth Media Program expanded its scope, offering recent program graduates between 18 and 25 years of age positions as Youth Trainers and Advanced Producers. Josue Cardozo, who was a participant for two years before he enrolled in the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2016, continued involvement
