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What a winter! Just when we thought COVID might be over, the âtripledemicâ, surged into the community with RSV, flu, and COVID, causing illness and stress for so many families and keeping the medical providers at BCP incredibly busy. The continued dedication of the BCP team is what makes BCP so special, and we loved BCPâs surprise fashion event in December, which celebrated the incredible staff. We are so grateful to the staff and the entire BCP community who joined together to make Thanksgiving and the Holidays extra special for BCP families. Now, as the days get longer, we are looking forward to the spring and sunshine and opening BCPâs new, expanded space this summer!
xoxo,
The BCP team
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Mayelin is one of BCPâs fantastic Boston Public Schools seniors. She currently works as an assistant teacher at Ellis Early Learning in the South End. We asked Mayelin to tell us a bit about her experience working at Ellis these past six months. She shared that âprior to starting the job at Ellis, I was being lazy and not taking advantage of any of my opportunities. Since working there, I have been getting more experience working with kids and infants. I have really enjoyed working with them and plan to stay through the summer after I graduate from high school.â Mayelin is currently in the process of applying to colleges for next year, where she plans to pursue a degree in early childhood education. We are so incredibly proud of her growth and successes, and we canât wait to see whatâs next for her! | |
Black History Month Patient Spotlights! | |
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BCP took a unique approach to celebrate Black History Month, where we highlighted some of our amazing patients and what makes them âfamous!â
As Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character."
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Shanie is such a wonderful 9 year-old (almost 10), and she is an incredible gymnast. Last year, she was 2nd in the All-Around competition for her age across the whole state. She also just came in 4th in the vault at an overseas competition with 800 other gymnasts. In addition to being an amazing superstar gymnast and having a radiant smile, Shanie is very kind and works hard to help others. She also loves animals and enjoys math at school. We canât wait to watch Shanie continue to shine in all areas of her life! | |
Soleiya is a fabulous 8 and a half year-old. She is great at math. She takes piano lessons, gymnastics lessons, and kung fu. She is very kind and has a lot of friends. Her best friends are Anastasia and Stella. She is wonderful at all arts and crafts, especially painting. Soleiya and her brother are currently learning Haitian Creole. She absolutely loves dancing on Tik Tok. Watch out Rihanna, here comes Sol! | |
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Sebastian is an incredible 7 year-old. He is very athletic. His favorite sport is basketball. He loves riding his dirt bike with his older sister and cousin (and of course, always with his helmet on). He has a lot of friends. He and his sister are currently learning Haitian Creole. He is very strong and can do amazing tricks everywhere - including backflips on the trampoline - five in a row - and back pullovers on the bar. Lastly, Sebastian is SO brave - he even jumped off a 20 foot cliff into a Cenotes on vacation! We canât wait to see what world adventures Sebastian will be headed to next! | |
This brother-sister duo are best friends and playmates. Haven is a fabulous 8 and a half year-old who loves to read graphic novels and do her own science experiments. She is an amazing athlete on both the ski and swim teams. Sheâs a kind teammate, always cheering on her friends and teammates! Zeke is an amazing almost 6 year-old who is loving learning to read! He loves bowling and skiing with his family. He has the best giggle and always looks for ways to make his friends and family laugh. Zeke and Haven love to celebrate the amazing Black Excellence in Boston every day! They have already started giving back to the world by donating to their community fridge. We have loved watching Zeke and Haven grow and canât wait to see all the future contributions they will make in Boston and beyond! | |
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Annika is an incredible 17 year-old high school senior. She is a great student who takes great pride in her school performance and puts above-average effort into her education. She is knee-deep in the college process and has already been accepted to 10 schools! She is still waiting to hear back on a few but has so many great options to choose from. We are SO proud of her! She has been employed for the last year at Future Chefs in Boston. She has been able to support with hosting events for donors, help plan and execute a pop-up, and has learned so many valuable culinary, event hosting, and life skills. Annika has been a consistent member of our teen group and has volunteered at many BCP holiday and back-to-school events. Annika loves painting, ceramics, reading, exploring, learning about people and the world, and spending quality time with her mom. She is such a bright light in this world, and we canât wait to see all the amazing things she will do in the future! | |
We Learned About Mental Health! | |
BCPâs Teen Group visited the temporary exhibit âMental Health: Mind Mattersâ at the Museum of Science to learn about how mental health has been viewed, talked about, and treated historically. The teens participated in interactive quizzes related to mental health, listened to mental health stories, and engaged in an activity where they shredded written worries. These thoughtful teens continue to inspire us, and we love experiencing life and learning with them! | |
We Cheered on Girls on the Run! | |
We Surprised BCP Staff with a Day of Fashion! | |
To celebrate BCP staff's dedication, hard work, and tireless efforts, style icon Tara West and designer Jennifer Cassara from GoodRobe&Co surprised BCP staff with an afternoon of fashion in December. The designers styled and donated outfits from GoodRobe&Co and jewelry from Periwinkle By Barlow, and also gifted bags from Neiman Marcus Boston. BCP is grateful to Tara and Jennifer for creating such a fun and fabulous day. After the fashion event, the BCP staff spend time together eating, playing games, and decorating ornaments and cookies. It was such a wonderful way to kick off the holidays at BCP! | |
We are Grateful for Another Amazing Thanksgiving Distribution! | |
BCP hosted our 3rd annual Thanksgiving event across the street in the Jacobson parking lot, providing 300 turkeys along with delicious sides and pies for BCP patients and families in partnership with CommonWealth Kitchen, a food business incubator and community-oriented enterprise that serves to transform the local food economy to be more equitable. BCP also distributed winter coats, Stop & Shop gift cards, shelf-stable food bags donated by the YMCA, and bags of fresh produce sourced by the Fresh Truck. For a small number of patients who could not attend the event, BCP delivered these meals to familiesâ homes. The Thanksgiving meal pick-up was a huge success, reaching about 900 children and adults to make their holiday a little easier. | |
We Celebrated Families with a
ï»żHoliday Shop!
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BCP welcomed over 300 families to BCPâs Annual Holiday Shop in December, an event that provides BCP families with a unique and beautiful holiday shopping experience that centers on dignity and equity. Over the course of 48 hours, an empty space in the South End is transformed into a toy store where families shop and select gifts which are then wrapped by volunteers so that on Christmas morning, parents present their children with gifts that they selected. Families enjoyed a photo booth with Santa, a reading corner with Curious George, and the Man with the Yellow Hat. In addition, families received food, fresh fruits, and vegetables, hygiene kits from Hope and Comfort, Target and Stop and Shop gift cards, hot chocolate kits, gingerbread houses, stocking stuffers, and many other essential items to ensure that BCP families have a special holiday season. BCP could not put on such an amazing event without the support of BCPâs volunteer group, the BCP Brigade, and the B Fund, as well as many other volunteers, partners, donors, community members, and BCP's incredible team! | |
We Joined our Partners in the Community! | |
BCPâs Hyperlocal Community Initiative's (HCI) mission is to strengthen links between community organizations and healthcare providers to promote access to the highest quality health care, including behavioral health services while eliminating racial inequities in health. | |
As part of BCPâs HCI and in support of the mission of the BASE to educate and engage youth, Director of Behavioral Health, Renee Garand and Pediatrician, Jen Gill have established a series that focuses on the relationship between mental health and athletics. Each session focuses on a different topic, such as: how to advocate for your mental health and address mental health stigma, how mental health affects athletic performance, and the effects that sleeping and eating have on mental health. Over 45 student athletes have attended one of BCPâs workshops and have been incredibly interested and engaged in this important curriculum. | |
Inquilinos Boricuas en AcciĂłnâs (IBA) Youth Development Program strives to empower youth ages 14-18 to excel academically and think critically. BCP recently started a new series with the youth from IBA on trauma and will discuss difficult topics such as coping with trauma, practicing self-care, and accessing resources. BCPâs most recent session with the teens was about the impact of gun violence in different spaces and how this impacts them individually and as a community. BCP is honored to be a part of these important conversations as we hope to empower teens to make the changes they wish to see in the world. | |
We Received Support from
ï»żThe 'Quin Impact Fund!
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BCP is honored to be among the remarkable organizations selected as a gift recipient by The âQuin Impact Fund for their Health and Wellness pillar. As part of this support, BCP was invited to The âQuin to speak about BCP. It was wonderful to be in the community, spend time at the fabulous âQuin House and meet other organizations who were selected for this prestigious award. | |
We Appreciate Our Partners! | |
BCP continues to help families with hygiene insecurity through partnerships with amazing organizations. BCP centers dignity and is intentional in their distribution. Items are given to each family at every visit. Products such as diapers, wipes, and menstrual products are not covered under SNAP or WIC, and the support provided by these organizations ensure that families do not have to choose between hygiene products and other essential items, such as food. If a family does not need something, they can simply decline or leave items in the exam room. | |
Dignity Matters distributes menstrual products to underserved and homeless women and girls. In 2022, Dignity Matters provided 1,612 packaged menstrual products to patients at BCP. | |
Hope & Comfort provides essential hygiene products such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, soap, and shampoo to Massachusetts youth and families in need. In 2022, Hope & Comfort distributed 1,710 hygiene kits, both in the office and at our community events. | |
Diaper Circle is an organization founded by Michelle Visser, LMHC, that distributes diapers to families with low-income. In 2022, Diaper Circle distributed 14,220 diapers to BCP patients. | |
We Started Our Expansion! | |
Over the next 4-6 months, BCP will increase the breadth and depth of our services by expanding to a second floor at 527 Albany Street. Growing to a full 5,000 square foot facility will ensure that BCP has adequate space for its integrated mental health model, integrated care navigation and wellness support, as well as the space needed to provide community programming such as a weekly cooking class, all of which help to close the disparities between children from communities with low-income and their more affluent peers. We canât wait to welcome everyone into our new space! Please come visit! | |
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We Welcomed Our Chief of Staff! | | |
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We are so excited to welcome Marie-Claire Schneidman to the BCP team as the new Chief of Staff. Marie-Claire was born and raised in Puebla, Mexico and comes to BCP with experience in communications, marketing, business administration, operations management, and human resources. She has already jumped right into all aspects of BCP and even recently led BCP Nutritious, BCP's weekly cooking class. | |
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Please consider telling a friend about Boston Community Pediatrics, Sharing our website, or making a gift today!
THANK YOU SO MUCH!
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