Catholic Charities Boston Teen Center Receives Surprise Grant Award from Cummings Foundation

Boston Catholic Charities’ Teen Center Director Joao Dos Santos thought the Cummings Foundation annual site visit in May went well. So, he was a little surprised when the foundation’s site committee recently called and said they needed to conduct a follow-up visit. 

“When they called, we were like, ‘Oh, so I guess we are getting more than one visit this year,” Dos Santos explained.  

As a recipient of Cummings Foundation grants, the Teen Center is required to undergo annual site visits to showcase the impact of the foundation’s support. In the time leading up to the second visit, the Teen Center staff was trying to figure out if there was anything they missed the first time around or what additional details they would need to provide.

But the follow-up visit wasn’t about getting more information. It was about the Cummings Foundation further supporting the Teen Center’s impact on the community. Foundation representatives visited the Teen Center on Tuesday, Sept. 15, to present a $60,000 award to update the center’s gym. 

The generous surprise is part of the Cummings Foundation’s Make A Difference Dollars (MAD$) program. MAD$ recipients are based on nominations by the Cummings Foundation Site Visit Committee.

“I definitely wasn’t expecting it,” Dos Santos said. “This speaks volumes. (The Cummings Foundation site visitors) are putting the word out there about us.” 

The Cummings Foundation, which has awarded nonprofits more than $650 million in grants over the past 40 years, has provided funding to Catholic Charities for more than a decade, but this is the first time the agency has received a MAD$ award.  

Dos Santos said the Teen Center takes great pride in the academic support it provides students, but the center’s gym is just as important to the program’s overall success. 

“You take so many kids off the street with (the gym),” Dos Santos explained. “The kids will do their homework, but if there is no gym, then they leave. And then they’re out on the street, and you don’t know where they’ll end up and things could happen to them.” 

The novelty check from the Cummings Foundation is already laminated, and Dos Santos said they are discussing getting it framed. Teen Center staff is also already working to secure additional financial support to go toward updating the gym.