STAMFORD, CONN., Oct. 9, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- buildOn announces the expansion of its Youth Service Program to the city of Boston – this is the first expansion for the non-profit since its addition of Chicago in 2005.
The Community Academy for Science and Health (CASH) in Dorchester, MA will be the first Boston Public School to host buildOn's Youth Service Program, which empowers youth to transform their neighborhoods through community service and to change the world by building schools in developing countries.
"We are very excited to officially add Boston to our list of partner cities," said Jim Ziolkowski, Founder and CEO of buildOn. "The dedication of students, volunteers, and Boston Public Schools officials to work together to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education is inspiring. We are convinced that students from CASH will transform their communities and change the world!"
In 2011, a dedicated group of volunteers began raising money to send Boston Public High School students to construct schools in developing countries through buildOn. Since that time students from Boston Community Leadership Academy (BCLA) and Excel High School (EXCEL) have traveled to construct three schools in Malawi (2) and Senegal (1). Through this effort, these volunteers galvanized enough local support to sustain buildOn's full-scale youth service program in Boston.
Interim Superintendent John McDonough stated,"For the last three years we have partnered with buildOn's international school building program to help our students become true global citizens. We are thrilled that our partnership with buildOn is expanding to include programs inside the United States. This expansion allows us to reach even more BPS students and engage them as leaders through service to communities here in Boston, around the nation, and around the world."
A Ribbon Cutting Ceremony celebrating the launch of buildOn's program will be on Tuesday, October 21st 2014 from 3:30pm-5:00pm at Community Academy of Science and Health (11 Charles St. Dorchester, MA 02122 ). Speaking program will include the Headmaster Tanya Freeman-Wisdom, buildOn's Program Manager Aled Hollingsworth and a local buildOn student. For more information on this event, please contact: heidi.garcia@buildon.org
buildOn: At home or abroad, buildOn's goal is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy and low expectations through service and education. Across the U.S., buildOn empowers urban youth to transform their neighborhoods through intensive community service and to change the world by building schools in some of the economically poorest countries in the world. Since 1991, buildOn has constructed 660 schools worldwide, with more than 85,000 children, parents and grandparents attending these schools every day. For more information, visit www.buildon.org.