Owen and Isaac both attend a full inclusion school in Boston that specializes in children with emotional impairments. Some of their classmates also attend or live at the Italian Home for Children which provides an integrated network of powerful and effective programs to help children and families with emotional, behavioral, and educational challenges thrive in their communities. Books are such a huge part of Owen and Isaac's life that for their birthdays, we would love to share the gift of books with the Italian Home for Children!
The Goal: The JP campus in Boston serves about 90 children at any given time on the campus. We would love to supplement the campus library for the children as well as create book bundles for each child to bring home. Thanks to a 50% book match, if we fund 60 book bundles, this will serve all 90 children!
- $35 donation will fund $50 in books for 1 child
- $100 donation will fund books for 3 children
Why: The Italian Home for Children was initially founded as an orphanage in 1919 in response to the Spanish Influenza epidemic. They soon switched their mission to serve all children in need and today some of the children they serve are in response to the opioid epedemic. They serve children all over Massachusetts but their campus in Jamaica Plain runs a residential program, an after school program, and also a campus educational center that provides a specialized classroom setting for children who have experienced social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties along with learning differences that leave them at risk of failure in a less restrictive learning environment.
Many of the children served do not have the resources to have books available at home. Growing up in a home with a library of any size has a positive, lasting effect on an individual’s educational career. Regardless of the parents’ level of education, growing up with a home library improves skills in adult literacy, numeracy and technological problem solving.
