Youth Development Archives - Madison Park Development Corporation

In the Charlestown Patriot Bridge: Wu Announces Applications for Boston’s Youth Summer Jobs Program are Now Open

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 02 Apr 2025 17:25:51 +0000

Mayor Michelle Wu and the Office of Youth Employment and Opportunity (YEO) announced that paid youth job applications are open for summer 2025. Boston youth and young adults ages 14 – 24 can apply now at futureBOS. The platform is a centralized hub for all youth employment opportunities in Boston, including opportunities from SuccessLink, the City’s long-standing flagship youth jobs program. This announcement builds on Mayor Wu’s work to make Boston a home for everyone and ensure Boston’s young people are connected to opportunity across neighborhoods.

“Our city’s youth deserve every opportunity to grow both personally and professionally,” said Mayor Michelle Wu. “By investing in youth summer jobs, we are investing in our community’s future and empowering our young leaders. We will continue to engage every sector across the city in supporting our young people and families.”

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in the Charlestown Patriot Bridge here.

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From The City of Boston: Community Development Block Grants: Making a Difference in Boston for over 50 Years

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 05 Mar 2025 19:40:55 +0000

In 2024, the Office of Workforce Development (OWD) joined 1200 communities across the country to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) allocated 3.3 billion dollars to the CDBG program, including $17,196,200 to Boston.

The Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG, as it is familiarly known, originated in the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974. This federal law, among other provisions, amended the Housing Act of 1937 (created during the Great Depression during the administration of Franklin Delano Roosevelt to improve housing conditions for low-income families). Its implementation provided local governments with additional funding to support community development projects that benefited low to moderate-income individuals, including anti-poverty programs, infrastructure improvements, and affordable and subsidized housing. CDBG funding allowed states and localities to develop programs that supported their specific needs. Today, the CDBG program remains one of HUD’s most established initiatives, widely recognized for its adaptability and significant role in bolstering community resilience and driving economic revitalization across diverse regions.

In Boston, the funds received by the Mayor’s Office of Housing (MOH) are used primarily for affordable housing and economic development. HUD allows cities to use up to 15% of the funding received for human services programming. Each year, MOH partners with OWD to manage this portion of CDBG funding.

CDBG funding has a crucial impact on empowering Boston communities, enabling them to address community needs, foster economic growth, and improve quality of life through essential services. In FY25, OWD awarded $2.2 million to more than 40 community-centric organizations whose funding provided programming focused on adult literacy, youth advancement, job training, career readiness, economic stability, education advancement, and support services. Of the 40 awardees, 10 were youth programs, 10 were job training programs, 8 were economic stability programs, and 12 provided support services. In total, they served 3,437 low to moderate-income residents, majority of whom were BIPOC.

The organizations in successfully helped 1,840 participants with completing their programs and 1,124 Boston residents were assisted in finding employment. Securing employment allowed many beneficiaries to increase their incomes which in turn gives them more spending power, providing economic growth in our community. The programs assisted 707 beneficiaries with obtaining public benefits, helping many participants gain access to health care, food, cash benefits, housing vouchers, and more.

See the full list of FY25 awardees here.

Read the entire blog post on the City of Boston website here.

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In The Boston Real Estate Times: MassHousing Awards $326,437 to Six Organizations to Fund Summer Job Opportunities for nearly 100 Youth Across Massachusetts

Kelly Lydon — Wed, 09 Oct 2024 14:25:02 +0000

BOSTON – MassHousing has awarded $326,437 to six organizations that provided summer job opportunities to nearly 100 youth across Massachusetts.

The Agency’s Summer Youth Employment Program allowed 98 youth to work up to 40 hours a week with an average cost of $3,330. At least 80 percent of the youth live in MassHousing-financed rental housing communities.

“MassHousing’s Housing Stability Department is focused on supporting our business and community partners in providing positive tenancies and opportunities for social and economic advancement for their residents,” said MassHousing CEO Chrystal Kornegay. “Our Summer Youth Employment program exposes youth from MassHousing residences to varied work experiences with mission-oriented organizations that have expertise in youth employment.”

The organizations that received Summer Youth Employment Funding are:

Worcester Community Action Council, Inc.

The BASE, Boston.

Madison Park Development Corporation, Boston.

MassHire Holyoke Career Center.

Phillips Brooks House Association, Inc., Cambridge.

Home City Development, Inc., Springfield.

Read the article as it originally appeared in Boston Real Estate Times here.

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Featured on NBCNews Boston | Youth Education Summit kicks off in Dorchester

Kelly Lydon — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 07:28:34 +0000

On January 29th, 2024, MPDC’s Youth Workforce Manager, Yhinny Matos, was featured in an ‘As Seen On’ segment for NBC News Boston. The segment higlighted the Marcus Anthony Hall Educational Institute’s Youth Education Summit, a four-month program focused on empowering youth with the tools they need to be changemakers in the Boston area.

Check out the full video as it appears here.

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On News @ Northeastern: HE TEACHES FINANCIAL LITERACY TO YOUNG PEOPLE, AND THE LESSONS TRANSCEND MONEY

Kelly Lydon — Mon, 09 Aug 2021 17:33:59 +0000

Based on an enduring promise he made to a brother who died four decades ago, Nicholas Josey is teaching a small classroom of young people how to prepare for a life of financial responsibility.

“Who is the most important person in this room?” asks Josey, a 1990 Northeastern graduate who is executive director of the Vincita Institute, a non-profit financial education organization based in Boston. The answer, he says to each student, is you.

Josey wants the students, ages 14 through 19, to assert their own importance—to handle money in ways that will empower them throughout their lives.

Josey left the financial services industry to found the Vincita Institute, which educates and encourages people of all backgrounds to make informed financial decisions. Photo by Alyssa Stone/Northeastern University

The weekly classes in financial literacy are held at Northeastern Crossing in partnership with Madison Park Development Corporation (MPDC), a 56-year-old nonprofit organization in Roxbury, a community that neighbors Northeastern’s Boston campus. Yhinny Matos, a youth workforce manager at MPDC, recognized the need for a course in financial independence based on a survey of people in the community. Her findings led Matos to create courses that focus on finance, creative industries, health care, law, and construction.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared on News @ Northeastern here.

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On WCVB Channel 5 Boston: Gov. Baker expected to comment on DPH’s updated mask recommendations for some fully vaccinated people

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 14:03:07 +0000

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In the Boston Herald: Charlie Baker defends new state masking guidance as delta variant takes root

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 14:00:18 +0000

Shortly after Gov. Charlie Baker and the Department of Public Health updated their mask guidance, Baker defended the state’s new recommendation that those most vulnerable to COVID-19 mask up, while most other Bay Staters — including parents of young children — can remain mask-free.

“This new guidance was developed to be as simple and straightforward as possible, and we also tailored it to Massachusetts,” Baker said of the Department of Public Health update, which keeps recommendations consistent between counties.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in The Boston Herald here

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In The Boston Globe: Mass. issues updated mask guidance; Baker calls on FDA to give vaccines full approval

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 13:57:18 +0000

During an event to encourage youth vaccination in Roxbury Friday, Baker defended his administration’s decision to issue statewide recommendations instead of repeating the CDC’s county-specific approach, saying he think it is “simpler” and “more straightforward.”

“Part of the reason why we believe we should do statewide guidance is, what if you live in one county, work in another?” Baker said. “What if you work in one county, live in another? What if you decide to go [on] vacation or out to dinner in one county and live in another?”

Read the entire article as it originally appeared in The Boston Globe here.

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On WBUR: WATCH LIVE: Gov. Charlie Baker Speaks At Vaccination Event

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 13:55:23 +0000

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On Boston.com: Roxbury event offering free barbecue and COVID-19 vaccines

Kelly Lydon — Fri, 30 Jul 2021 13:54:04 +0000

Attendees of an event in Roxbury on Friday will get the chance to play games, eat some free barbecue, and get a COVID-19 vaccine.

The Youth BBQ Vax & Basketball Bash will be hosted at the Dewitt Center from 2 to 6 p.m. Organized by the Madison Park Development Corporation’s Summer Youth Employment Program, the aim is to encourage young people to get vaccinated. Gov. Charlie Baker and Secretary of Health and Human Services Marylou Sudders will attend the kickoff of the event.

The vaccines will be available to anyone over the age of 12, and individuals who get the jab will receive a $25 gift card. Anyone between the ages of 12 and 17 will need consent from a parent or guardian to get the vaccine.

Read the entire article as it originally appeared on Boston.com here.

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