Boston Children’s Museum Awarded $300,000 Grant from Yawkey Foundation for Access & Outreach Initiatives
Grant Will Increase Engagement Opportunities for Community Programs
July 24, 2023
Boston Children’s Museum has received a $300,000 grant from the Yawkey Foundation to provide programs and activities that strengthen and scale the Museum’s commitment to community outreach and engagement.
The strategic investment grant will enable the Museum to create and deepen relationships with parents and guardians, neighborhoods, and communities – especially among Greater Boston’s Gateway Cities – by providing greater access and belonging for children to discover, learn, play, and wonder about the world around them.
The initiatives encompassed in this partnership include the Family Ambassador Program; an inclusive and culturally responsive Community Conversations Series; and new signature programs – the “Yawkey Foundation Gateway to Play Family Days” and a collaboration with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that brings a Climate & Outreach Series Presented by the Yawkey Foundation to the Museum’s young visitors. These programs, plus other events and elements of the grant partnership, reflect a mutual commitment by the Museum and the Yawkey Foundation to strengthening and scaling programs to increase equity, inclusion and access, especially among communities that have been subject to underinvestment.
“The Yawkey Foundation has been a longstanding supporter of the Museum for over 30 years,” said Carole Charnow, President & CEO. “This major grant will have a dramatic impact on the Museum’s ability to bring our programs to more children and families. We are incredibly grateful to the Yawkey Foundation for their continued generous support.”
The Yawkey Foundation has supported Boston Children’s Museum with more than $6.3 million over three decades, beginning in 1993. A transformational capital grant of $5 million in 2006 as part of the Campaign for Children’s Wharf provided meaningful support for renovating the Museum’s historic warehouse building and establishing the Yawkey Center for Children and Learning.
“Our Trustees felt it was particularly appropriate to celebrate 30 years of partnership with Boston Children’s Museum with a grant that furthers our shared commitment to enriching the lives of children and families by inspiring curiosity, creativity and learning,” said Maureen H. Bleday, CEO and Trustee of the Yawkey Foundation.
For more than 110 years, Boston Children’s Museum has provided all children opportunities. The Museum is a welcoming, imaginative, child–centered learning environment that supports diverse families in nurturing their children’s creativity and curiosity.
For additional information about this partnership, and to learn about participating in the initiative’s outreach programs including those for youth/family-serving nonprofit agencies based in Brockton, Chelsea, Lawrence, Lowell, and Quincy as part of the Gateway to Play Family Days (reservations required), please visit https://bostonchildrensmuseum.org/yawkey/
Boston Children’s Museum is committed to reducing financial barriers to visitors. Learn about Ways to Save at https://bostonchildrensmuseum.org/visit/ways-save/
About the Yawkey Foundation
The Yawkey Foundation is dedicated to perpetuating the philanthropic legacy of Tom Yawkey and Jean Yawkey, whose eight decades of quiet generosity supported individuals and families in the communities that were closest to their hearts – Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina. Having awarded more than $550 million to date in charitable grants to organizations focused on health care, education, human services, youth and amateur athletics, arts and culture, and conservation and wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of the Yawkeys by investing in nonprofits that provide resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved.
About Boston Children’s Museum
Boston Children’s Museum engages children and families in joyful discovery experiences that instill an appreciation of our world, develop foundational skills, and spark a lifelong love of learning. More information about Boston Children’s Museum can be found at www.BostonChildrensMuseum.org Become a fan of the Museum on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
Hours and Admission
The Museum is open Monday– Sunday with two set daily time slots, 9:00am-12:00pm and 1:30-4:30pm. To reduce touchpoints and enable timed visits, all ticketing will be done online. Members must also make reservations online. There are a limited number of visitor reservations available for each time slot. Adults, $22, children (1-15) and senior citizens, $22; children under 12 months and Museum members are always free.