AiVi Nguyen, partner at Bowditch & Dewey, LLP
June 17, 2020
United Way, Worcester Together pledge $1M for Worcester summer youth programs
Photo | TMS Aerial Solutions
Downtown Worcester
United Way of Central Massachusetts will take $500,000 from its reserve funds to help cover a projected $1-million deficit across Worcester summer youth programs, board chair AiVi Nguyen said on Wednesday.
The Worcester Together Fund, where Nguyen also sits on the governance community, is also set to provide an additional $500,000 to the effort, she said.
Nguyen, a partner at Worcester law firm Bowditch & Dewey, said city summer programs are expecting a funding gap between $800,000 and $1.3 million this year as organizations scramble to cover additional increased operating costs associated with coronavirus regulatory compliance. The funding gap comes from a need for more camp counselors per cohort, the need for personal protective equipment and heightened disinfecting requirements.
Nguyen said some may consider pulling such a significant sum from United Way’s reserve funds to be a tenuous financial decision, but she said the board’s decision was worth it.
“What are we saving money for if we’re not going to help kids that need it today?” Nguyen said.
More than 15 organizations are expected to receive relief from the organizations, although the names of those groups have not been released because United Way is still notifying them.
It is particularly important for children to have access to summer programs after spending three months at home during the coronavirus-induce school closure, Nguyen said.
Additionally, she said, the city’s children need to have the space to process the social and cultural ramifications of what has transpired in and around their communities in the wake of George Floyd’s killing by police in Minneapolis in May.
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments