Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2023

News from the frontier…

Annual Report | Fiscal Year 2023

Our work is based on a simple question. What would happen if you actually gave women what they need to succeed? Here in Hampden County where The Care Center is located, poverty is unrelenting. Teen pregnancy is high and nearly half of children under six live in poverty.

To break this cycle, mothers need a college degree. But here’s the problem. Traditional educational environments just aren’t designed for busy moms.

Ours is. Here at The Care Center, our first floor houses a free daycare for babies and toddlers.

We have vans that transport moms and babies to our building each day. We have counselors, a nurse practitioner, and lots of food. With all this in place, we help women resume their education wherever they left off.

So what happens when you actually give women what they need?

Well? Our college graduation rate is 72%, compared to just 8% for single moms nationally.

And our graduates are transforming our region. They are working in local schools and in public health. They are buying homes.

And the best part? It only takes one generation to break the cycle of poverty. These women are setting up their children and grandchildren for a better life.

What happens when you give women what they need? They succeed. And their kids do too.

It’s happening here at The Care Center.

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

High School-level

At the high school level, students begin each day with a hearty breakfast before working in small groups to prepare for the high school equivalency exam. To facilitate learning and promote digital literacy, each student receives and learns to use a Chromebook. After lunch, young mothers take art and poetry classes and choose from a number of electives including bowling, swimming, pickle ball, stained glass, rowing and yoga. We meet renowned writers in person and on Zoom, including National Youth Poet Laureate Alyssa Gaines, Ross Gay, and Jericho Brown, among others. Cabot Street College

We significantly expanded our bridge to college program last year. In partnership with Bard College and Greenfield Community College, we now offer a year-round series of college courses. In our flexible and supportive program, women can start or resume college at any time. For many

students, these courses will serve as a bridge to a full-time college education.

Clemente Course in the Humanities

We’ve been working with Bard College for more than two decades offering The Clemente Course in the Humanities, a free college course for Care Center students and other low-income women in the community, where moral philosophy, American history, art history, writing and literature are examined. The project is based on the belief that those who have been denied access to these ideas for economic reasons need and deserve this cultural knowledge to lead fulfilled productive lives and enrich the community. Graduates of the Clemente Course are awarded college credit from Bard College, and more than 80 % have gone on to continue their education. We are now the longest-running Clemente Course in the country, the first in New England, and the only one just for women.

Bard Microcollege Holyoke

In our onsite college, small groups of women participate in daytime classes to earn an Associate of Arts degree from Bard College. Experienced professors teach the classes onsite at The Care Center. The Microcollege currently serves 40-50 students each year and at scale will serve 75 students annually. The Microcollege’s intimate size is intentional. The combined challenges of living in poverty, raising children, and participating in a rigorous academic environment can cause students to doubt themselves and give up. Students in the college receive personal attention from a team of resourceful professionals and are bolstered by the camaraderie of the tight-knit group of fellow students. This high level of support is vital to student persistence and success. Since its inception, the Microcollege proudly boasts a 72% graduation rate. The graduation rate for associate degree programs nationally is 33% and only 8% for single mothers. And we are thrilled to report that 77% of our graduates are either currently employed or pursuing a bachelor’s degree.

Moving Women Forward Endowment

In November 2022, we launched a $4 million endowment campaign to permanently sustain our onsite college, Bard Microcollege Holyoke. Young mothers looking to create a better future face a conundrum: a college education is critical to earning a living wage. But traditional colleges are not designed to support students facing poverty, early parenthood, and unstable housing. That is why, in 2016, The Care Center, together with Bard College, founded Bard Microcollege Holyoke, the nation’s first college for young mothers and low-income women. This innovative model pairs a tuition-free, high quality college education with built-in supports designed for young mothers: daycare, transportation, counseling, meals, and an onsite nurse practitioner. A $4 million endowment for the Microcollege will enable The Care Center to continue to move the needle on breaking the cycle of poverty through access to higher education, one student and one family at a time.

SUPPORTIVE SERVICES

Childcare & Transportation

In our onsite, licensed daycare for babies and toddlers, we read books, sing songs, tell stories, make art, play outside, and take many, many naps. Our door-to-door van service transports moms and babies to and from school.

Healthcare

We continue to offer vaccination clinics open to students, staff, and the public. Our onsite nurse practitioner helps students make informed decisions about vaccinations and other health related issues on a one-on-one basis.

Counseling

Each student in our high school-level program is paired with a counselor to help navigate life’s issues and reach her educational goals. As students prepared for college, they are paired with our college transition counselor. She helps students with the college application, financial aid, and professional development.

In addition to our in-house HiSET program, we provide support throughout the region to young parents in whatever educational setting they find themselves, from area colleges to public schools. As we do with the young parents in our classrooms, we provide supports that accelerate progress and expand a sense of hope and possibility.

Afterschool Programming –Teen Resource Project

For more than 30 years we have provided creative youth development programming in the Holyoke Public Schools with the Teen Resource Project for students who are at risk of dropping out of school and losing a connection with the world of possibility.

Developed with our partner The Performance Project, this free after-school program focused on 3rd through 8th graders at the Sullivan School as they are mentored by Care Center staff and trained high school students. The program includes workshops in drumming, dance, visual arts, karate, theater, music, writing, and homework support. Our goal is for young people to develop confidence, initiative and courage both at school and in the community.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

Our work is informed by the research and experience we have acquired launching Bard Microcollege Holyoke and over more than three decades serving young mothers and other young people in the community. Based on student feedback, staff observations, research, and external evaluations, we have identified the following areas as key to our students’ success: College Exposure: The more college credits and college experiences a student has when she matriculates into college, the greater her chances of completing her degree. Our newly expanded Bridge to College program is designed for students whose lives can be unpredictable. In our flexible, year-round program, students can enter (or re-enter) college when inspiration strikes or life’s challenges subside.

Support: Our students are living on limited income, often in unstable housing, with children and other responsibilities. They cope with constant challenges: domestic violence, health issues, self-doubt and anxiety. In a traditional academic

setting, seemingly minor stressors (i.e., a late paper, a missed electric bill) can cause students to give up.

To help students remain engaged when inevitable hurdles occur, support is essential.

Intellectual Rigor: Our college-level work incorporates a strong focus on writing, text analysis, public dialogue and critical thinking. While the rigor can be intimidating at first, it is also what guides students to achieve at the high level that they do. Students quickly come to understand the intellectual rigor of the courses coupled with wraparound supports is unique. This motivates students to overcome obstacles that might otherwise lead to dropping out.

Responsiveness: We listen intently as student issues arise, offering counseling when appropriate, as well as logistical support and accommodations when needed. The intimate nature of our programs makes this possible. As we identify systemic challenges, we improve the program in real time. As we identify barriers and needs, we address them.

THE NUMBERS

This year we served:

94 young mothers in our HiSET program

33 young mothers attending college in other settings in the community

69 women in our in-house college programs — Cabot Street College and Clemente Course in the Humanities

31 women in Bard Microcollege Holyoke

Of those served:

81% were mothers

100% were low-income women

83% were women of color

95% were the first in their families to attend college

We also served:

56 infants and toddlers in our onsite day care

25 young people in the Teen Resource Project — our afterschool program

FUNDING SOURCES

Young Mother Education and Support Program/

Transition to College Program:

AmazonSmile Foundation

Amelia Peabody Foundation

American Rescue Plan Act

Anonymous Foundations

Bank of America Charitable Foundation

Baystate Health

Benevity Giving Platform

Berkshire Bank Foundation

Bonterra Tech

Charles H. Hall Foundation

CHC: Creating Healthier Communities

Chicopee Community Development Block Grant using U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Funds

Combined Jewish Philanthropies

Commonwealth Charitable Fund

Community Foundation of Western MA

Embodied Chiropractic & Family Wellness

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund

Fresh Pond Trust

Health New England

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church

Holyoke Gas & Electric

Holyoke Pediatrics

Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia

Jones Whitsett Architects, Inc.

Kaplan Romanowski Family Fund

Liberty Bank

Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation

M&T Charitable Foundation

Massachusetts Cultural Council

Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Massachusetts Department of Public Health

Massachusetts Department of Transitional Assistance

Massachusetts Foundation for The Humanities

Morgan Stanley

Mount Holyoke College Class of 1983

Mount Pleasant Fund

National Endowment for the Arts

Non-Profit Data Management

Odyssey Bookshop

Poetry Foundation

Raymond James Charitable Schwab Charitable

Schwartz Family Foundation

Scout Curated Wears

Seven Hills Child Care Resources

South Congregational Church of Amherst

Stiebel Eltron, Inc.

The Ceres Foundation

The Chicago Community Foundation

The Clowes Fund, Inc.

The Feldstein Foundation

The Markens Group, Inc.

The Music Performance Trust Fund

United Congregational Church of Holyoke

Your Choice Brands, LLC

Teen Resource Project:

Mass Afterschool Partnership

Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Bard Microcollege Holyoke:

Baystate Health

Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation

The Beveridge Family Foundation, Inc.

The Osterman Family Foundation

Moving Women Forward Endowment:

Anonymous Foundation

Benevity Giving Platform

Ceres Foundation

Commonwealth Charitable Fund

Community Foundation of Western MA

Country Bank

Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund

Health New England

Highland Street Foundation

Massachusetts Bankers Association Charitable Foundation

Massachusetts Department of Higher Education

Massmutual Financial Group

PeoplesBank

Scout Curated Wears

The Irene E. & George A. Davis Foundation

The Markens Group, Inc.

FINANCIALS

Contributions, Gifts and Special Events $1,295,898 $888,842

STAFF AND BOARD

Administration

Anne Teschner, Executive Director

Karen MacDonald, Bookkeeper/ Administrative Assistant

Susan Madamba, Director of Administration & Finance

Steve Piper, Special Projects Coordinator

Luisa Sarabaez, Receptionist/ Administrative Assistant

Jane Slater, Director of Donor Relations

Education

Ana Rodriguez, Director

Steve Bernstein, Faculty

Charlene Choi, Faculty

Lea Donnan, Faculty

Halley Glier, Faculty

Marjory Zaik, Faculty

Student Support

Jenna Sellers, Director

Allison Castillo Rosenblatt, Counselor

Monica Diaz, Counselor

Brittany Footit, Counselor (Roque House)

Martha Spiro, Nurse Practitioner

Carmen Vicenty, Counselor

Photography by Sarah Crosby

Design by Alexis Design Studio

Childcare

Aida Diaz, Director

Jeniret Liberato, Teacher’s Aide

Katiria Marrero, Student Transportation

Maria Navarro, Maintenance

Jennifer Rivera, Teacher’s Aide

Mayra Rivera, Teacher & Student

Transportation

Leticia Rodriguez, Teacher’s Aide

Milagros Rodriguez, Teacher &

Student Transportation

Zuleyka Rodriguez-Nieves, Teacher

Jennifer Vilbon, Teacher’s Aide

Rowing Strong Rowing Together

Halley Glier, Coach & Program Coordinator

Brittany Footit, Support Staff

Madigan Pillsbury, Lead Coxswain

Alissia Rose, Support Staff

Teen Resource Project

Daniel Battat, Program Coordinator

Amber Dutton, Program Co-Facilitator

Bard College

Mary Anne Myers, Interim Director

Ann Ward, Program Director

Julissa DeLeon, Program Coordinator

Clemente Course in the Humanities

Pamela Thompson, Director & Faculty

Gloria Caballero-Roca, Faculty

Christopher Couch, Faculty

Jessica Cox, Recruiter

Debra Immergut, Faculty

Lisa Jo McLeod, Faculty

Ousmane Power Greene, Faculty

Cabot Street College

Pamela Thompson, Director

Sienna Burgess, Teaching Assistant

Jessica Cox, Program Assistant

Board of Directors

Oona Cook

Jane Cross

Jane Frey

Gene Friedlander

Sylvia Galván

Doris Held

John Stephen Hoops

Beth Markens

Cassandra Pierce

Tiffany Raines

Cecile Richard

Patricia Sandoval

Angela Wright