Crispus Attucks Children's Center

CONTACT:

105 Crawford Street
Dorchester, MA 02121
617-445-1420

Lesley E. Christian, President/Chief Executive Officer

DESCRIPTION:

CACC was founded in 1967 to provide custodial day care for employees of the AVCO Printing Company in Roxbury. When AVCO moved away in 1971, community residents took over the Center and formed their own charitable corporation, named for the first martyr of American Independence, a young African-American and possibly Wampanoag as well, killed in the Boston Massacre of 1770. CACC has since provided high-quality education and day care for children from low-income families in Roxbury, Dorchester, and north Mattapan—over 200 youngsters annually, from infants to elementary schoolers; 80% are from single-parent households and roughly half have parents who are in transition from welfare to work. CACC’s programs make huge differences for their futures, helping them to acquire self-esteem and self control, to develop socially as well as cognitively, and to gain skills that will facilitate their passage through school and on to adult life. CACC’s numbers validate its effectiveness: in 2007, 91% of its preschoolers achieved age-appropriate development milestones and educational objectives in every category assessed, and 97% of its children completed the academic program; 97% of the parents maintained employment and/or attended school, increasing their families' economic stability. Nonetheless, in this difficult year, even with public subsidies and foundation grants, CCAC’s revenue sources are shrinking. Securing the funds to fulfill its mission is an unrelenting and growing challenge—in which you can help.

(2008: HUMAN SERVICES: Children & Youth: General)