Commitment to our Community

Birch Hill has established a tradition of supporting community-based charities that benefit the needy in Greater Boston and in other New England cities and towns.  In 2010 we made contributions to the following organizations:

Cambridge Family and Children’s Services (Cambridge, Mass.) seeks to identify and implement ways to strengthen family and individual self-sufficiency and promote conditions that provide all children with stable homes.  It offers adoption, foster care and disability services for families and children throughout the city.  www.helpfamiles.org

Casa Myrna Vazquez (Boston) is a multi-cultural organization dedicated to ending domestic violence in the lives of women and children through advocacy, prevention and intervention programs.  www.casamyrna.org

Crossroads for Kids (Boston) is dedicated to creating a safe and caring community where young people from at-risk environments discover a sense of belonging and a passion for life. With their summer camp programs as the starting point, Crossroads provides life-changing experiences and year-round support that builds trust and healthy relationships kids can count on throughout their childhood, teenage years and beyond. www.crossroads4kids.org

St. Francis House (Boston), a non-sectarian organization, provides safe, caring, respectful and dignified refuge for homeless men and women.  www.stfrancishouse.org

Friends of Children (Northampton, Mass.) provides advocacy services to children who have been subject to abuse, neglect or abandonment.  Volunteers in the program work with the courts to represent the children’s best interests.  www.friendsofchildreninc.org

Friends of the Children – Boston is a revolutionary mentoring organization committed to supporting, developing and fostering high academic achievement and strong character development of children from at-risk communities in order to avoid cycles of poverty, abuse and violence.   www.friendsofthechildrenboston.org

Future Chefs (Waltham, Mass.) prepares motivated, low income Boston-area youth for quality early employment and post-secondary education in the culinary field where the demand for skilled professionals is consistently high. Students first engage with Future Chefs as high school sophomores and begin a school-to-career program that provides high expectations, skills development, mentoring, connections to area professionals, scholarships, and job placement. www.futurechefs.net

Help for Abused Women and their Children (Salem, Mass.) HAWC provides services and support to domestic violence victims residing in the 23 cities and towns on the North Shore in order that they may make informed, independent decisions about their futures, and access alternatives to living in a violent situation. www.helpabusedwomen.org

Merrimack Valley Food Bank (Lowell, Mass.) is one of four food banks in Massachusetts that serves food pantries, shelters, soup kitchens, day and residential programs that in turn serve individuals and families. www.mvfb.org

More than Words (Waltham, Mass.) provides empowering leadership and supportive employment opportunities for youth who are in foster care, court involved, homeless, or out of school to prepare them for self-sufficiency as they transition to adulthood.  www.morethanwordsbooks.com

Preble Street (Portland, Maine) advocates for and provides a wide array of services to people experiencing problems with homelessness, housing, hunger and poverty.  www.preblestreet.org

Rhode Island Community Food Bank Hunger in Rhode Island has reached its highest level since the US Department of Agriculture began tracking the statistic more than a decade ago and the state is ranked 13th in the nation for "food insecurity." The Food Bank provides food to people in need and promotes long-term solutions to the problem of hunger in the state.  www.rifoodbank.org

Vermont Food Bank’s mission is to gather and share quality food and nurture partnerships that will eliminate hunger in the state.  The organization collects and distributes food to its member agencies that serve over 66,000 Vermonters suffering from or at risk of hunger.  www.vtfoodbank.org