 |
|
|
Bremen St. 3-Decker |
REAL ESTATE NEWS
East Boston Acquisitions: NOAH has been working with the City of Boston DND to buy multi-family structures in East Boston as they come on the market, with a mission of retaining rents at affordable levels for working families and combating ongoing gentrification in the neighborhood. Property values and rents continue to soar in East Boston. NOAH views this as a critical program to help East Boston resident families remain in their community, and not be evicted by out-of-town investors. To date, NOAH has purchased four triple-deckers housing 12 families who have been able to remain in their homes. A fifth building is under agreement. We thank DND and Community Housing Capital for their support. If you have any leads concerning this exciting program, please contact Phil Giffee at
[email protected].
|
|
|
| Shoe Shop Place Ribbon Cutting |
|
Shoe Shop Place in Middleborough
is fully occupied and a Ribbon
C
utting was held in November. The $10.1 mi
llion Shoe Shop development created
25 a
f
fo
r
d
ab
le family units.
Many thanks to
all our wonderful project and funding partne
rs, in
cluding Dellbrook |
JKS, Peabody Properties, Town of Middleborough, Greater Attleboro/Taunton HOME Consortium, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Massachusetts Housing Partnership, Mass. DHCD, MassHousing, CEDAC, Mass Historical Commission, NeighborWorks America and United Way.
|
|
|
|
Community Storytellers with Books |
ENGLISH FOR SPEAKERS OF OTHER LANGUAGES
(ESOL)
NOAH's ESOL staffers have been hard at work providing exc
ell
e
nt
services via English for Speakers of Other Languages classes, United States Citizenship courses, and Tech Goes Home classes. In
2016, 295 individuals participated in ESOL training. An additional major project completed last year by the ESOL Department was a new curriculum source, "Community Voices: ESOL Learning through Storytelling". Ten stories highlighting East Boston residents are featured in the book. A successful book launch event was held at the East Boston Public Library; and storytellers were also featured at NOAH's December Annual Dinner. Pictured in the photo above are ESOL instructors Mauro Reyes (far left), Manlio Mendez (fourth from the left) and Jacky Lara (third from the right) with some of the storytellers.
|
|
|
|
Manlio Mendez with Computer Class
|
|
Did you know that NOAH's ESOL program offers more than Engl
is
h courses? Tech Goes Home computer classes include: helping students to learn to use the internet, teaching them how to order internet services for their homes, showing them how to use a mouse, and offering graduates an opportunity to get a Chromebook with support from the Tech Goes Home program. U.S. Citizenship programming offers classes, plus: going to interviews with students,
accompanying them to the wonderful Citizenship ceremony, taking them on tours of the historic North End, and making sure they know how to register to vote. ESOL programming also incorporates "Know Your Rights" curriculum, learning about: workers' rights, minimum wage and wage theft, as well as different types of harassment, with support from MassCOSH and the MA Attorney General's Office. It includes:
-Curriculum about US banking institutions and bank accounts
-Learning about healthy food and how to spend your money at the supermarket, with support from the 'Cooking Matters' program
-An opportunity for families and their children to participate in NOAH's bilingual
summer programs and numerous other activities
-For some students, it is the first step in learning how to navigate the City of Boston
-A place where students can get to know one another and make friends from other cultures, and visit museums, the State House and other areas of the City...
All this, while learning English in a safe, welcoming environment!
|
|
|
|
Spanish Financial Capability Class
|
HOMEBUYER SERVICES UPDATE
The Homebuyer Services (HBS) department oversees four bilingual service lines including first-time homebuyers, foreclosure prevention and mitigation, tax preparation and financial capability/literacy. The department continued to assist high numbers of clients in 2016, with 224 client families served through foreclosure prevention and mitigation counseling; 103 households helped by tax preparation; 148 individuals educated and/or counseled in the financial capability programming; and with 365 first-time homebuyer class graduates and 111 actual first-time homebuyers.
|
|
|
|
Spanish First-Time Homebuyer Class
|
|
Dates and times for the Dep
artment's high-impact, bilingual,
low-cost First-Time Homebuyer education with free related counseling, no-cost Foreclosure Prevention and Miti
gation workshops and free counseling, as well as free VITA services (running from February to April) are listed in the
Calendar below. If you are interested in learning more about our Homebuyer Services a
cti
vities, please contact Director Diana Franco at 617-418-8266 or [email protected].
|
|
|
|
Keynote Speaker Jay Ash
|
NOAH's 29th ANNUAL MEETING
Thank you to everyone who attended and supported NOAH's 29th Annual Meeting last December! The Keynote Speaker was
Jay Ash, Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development. He previously served as City Manager of Chelsea. Jay spoke of NOAH's and of our Executive Director Phil Giffee's extensive reach throughout the Greater Eastern Massachusetts region, including Haverhill, Taunton, Webster and Grafton, in addition to East Boston. He also spoke of progress made by Governor Charlie Baker's team in preventing homelessness.
|
|
|
|
New U.S. Citizens
|
|
The theme of this year's event was newcomers to the U.S., and NOAH's U.S. Citizenship and English for Speakers of Other Languages programming. Storytellers highlighted in the new NOAH ESOL curriculum book, "Community Voices: ESOL Learning through Storytelling", were featured, as were some of the touching stories by new citizens who graduated from our citizenship programming.
|
MORE NEW FACES AT NOAH!
NOAH has welcomed two new full-time LISC AmeriCorps volunteers:
Colin McGinnis
 and
Josh Kasten. Colin is serving as a Community Engagement & Job Training Coordinator. He recently graduated from UMASS Amherst where he double-majored in Computer Science and Journalism. He is bringing his four-plus years of experience as a Resident Assistant and Youth Organizer to NOAH's CBE Department, working closely with NOAH's Youth Leadership Crew. Josh is serving as a Housing Construction Project Coordinator. He is a recent graduate of Oberlin College in Ohio, where he majored in History and played four years of varsity lacrosse. Thank you both for your service; and welcome!
Pictured above: Colin and Josh being sworn in by LISC ED Bob Van Meter.
|
|
|
| Melinda Vega |
|
NOAH is also welcoming two people
whose faces may look very familiar to some of you! Meli
nda Vega worked at NOAH from 2009 through 2011 as a Community Organi
zer, helping to oversee and mentor NOAH's youth leadership crew and with a focus on
our Mystic River Watershed programming. Now, years later, a mother of two, sh
e is returning to us! Her new title will be 'Community Engagement Coordinator'. As wel
l as working with the NOAH youth, Melinda will be out and about in the neighborhood, helping on ClimateCARE East
Boston, as well as other programs.
|
|
|
Kannan Thiru |
An active East Boston resident and environmental leader, Kannan Thiru, has recently started as a consultant at NOAH for three days each week to help engage residents in flood control measures. Kannan is President of Eastie Farms on Sumner Street and has been active on East Boston Greenway and other local environmental issues. He will help inform, educate, involve and listen to East Boston residents and small businesses on a City sponsored program called 'Climate Ready East Boston' as part of NOAH's ClimateCARE East Boston initiative.
Please join us in welcoming all our new staffers and volunteers!
|
NOAH
has done very well in utilizing its Community Investment Tax Credits (CITCs) over the first three years of the program.
NOAH received the maximum level of CITCs allocated for each year: 110,000 for 2014 and 150,000 for 2015 and again for 2016. Over the three year period, NOAH has realized a net total of $761,329, to date. Doing so has enabled us to make significant progress towards our long-term Community Investment Planning/Strategic Planning objectives. We recently applied to the State for a 2017 allocation.
In this program, donors making a donation of $1,000 or more receive half back (50%) in state tax credits or rebates. And, depending on their federal tax bracket, a $325 final net donation can work like a $1,000 donation to help NOAH offer free or very low cost programming to seniors, disabled individuals, families, and children in need.
|
MANY THANKS TO ALL OUR FUNDERS!
All
of us at NOAH want to say THANK YOU to all our wonderful recent funders, including:
David Aiken; Paul & Edith Babson Foundation; Balloon City; Bank of America Merrill Lynch; David & Lynn Blake; Boston Private Bank; the Boston Bruins; the Boston Red Sox; Lawrence Braman; Cabot Family Charitable Trust; Alfred E. Chase Charity Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee; The Church Home Society; Citizens Bank; City of Boston; Clipper Ship Foundation; Greg Comeau; John M. Corcoran & Co.; Lauren DeMayo; Dough; Downeast Cider House; East Boston Foundation; East Boston Savings Bank Foundation; Deloitte; Eastern Bank Foundation; Charles H. Farnsworth Trust, Bank of America, N.A. Trustee; Rose Fiore; Hackett Feinberg PC;
Halvorson Design Partnership, Inc.; Richard High & Anne Perkins; Hyatt Regency Boston Harbor; Institute of Contemporary Art; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum; Kelly's Square Pub; Klein Hornig LLP; George & Carolyn Koehler; Susan Koffman & Thomas Cooper; Michael & Hale Lake; Rafael Mares; Adam Marks; Meridian Food Market; MIT Museum; Evelyn Morash; Museum of Science; The
Mystic River Watershed Environmental Fund at The Boston Foundation; Narrow Gate Architecture LTD; Kingdom of the Netherlands; New England Patriots; Anthony & Creelea Pangaro; Patagonia; Peabody Essex Museum; Michael Pecenka; Plimoth Plantation; Walter T. Rich; Sailors Snug Harbor; Frank Sepulveda; Shaw's; Smolak & Vaughan; Spinelli's; Kimberly Vermeer; Wells Fargo; Matthew Yarmolinski & Margaret Leipsitz; and anonymous donors.
Without our wonderful supporters, we could not maintain our client services or programs at their current high levels. With them, we continue to create and maintain more sustainable neighborhoods, community services and affordable housing than ever before. We want to give a special shout-out to Citizens Bank for its wonderful ongoing support of our Financial Literacy programming and to The Kresge Foundation for its generous funding of the East Boston ClimateCARE resiliency work. And, as always, many thanks to long-time funding partners
NeighborWorks America and
United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley. Thank you
all.
|
PLEASE 'LIKE' US ON FACEBOOK!
NOAH's Facebook page has 3,618 Likes! If YOU
haven't done so already, we would really appreciate it if you would go to our Facebook page through the link below, and
click the "Like" button -
thanks!
|
UPCOMING EVENTS
First-Time Homebuyer Classes
The next Spanish First-Time Homebuyer course will meet on three consecutive weeknights,
Tuesday through Thursday,
April 11, 12 & 13 from 6 to 9PM.The next English First-Time Homebuyer course will meet on two
Saturdays, March 18 & 25, from 9AM to 2:30PM; with a second course to be held Tuesday, April 4 & Thursday, April 6. Students learn from industry guest speakers, including home inspectors, as well as from NOAH staff, about how best to select and purchase a home and about appropriate loan products. Also, we are offering individual online course sessions in both English and Spanish. For more information, please contact Dept. Director Diana Franco at 617-418-8266 or
[email protected].
Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention Clinics
Our next free bilingual Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention clinics will occur on the following
Monday evenings: March 13, 20 & 27 and April 3, 10 & 24, from 5:30 to 8PM at NOAH. These workshops are the initial counseling and education sessions for NOAH's foreclosure prevention and mitigation counseling. The sessions are held in Spanish and in English. All of NOAH's foreclosure prevention education and counseling sessions are free of charge. Workshops are held weekly, except for holiday weeks. For additional information, please reach
Carrie Tennant, Esq. at 617-418-8264 or [email protected].
Financial Capability Classes
The next free FinCap course will be held on
Saturday, March 11 from 9:30AM to 3:30 PM and finish up on Monday night, March 13 from 6:30 to 9:30PM.
Concurrent classes are held at NOAH, with one in English and one in Spanish. For more information, please contact Department Director Diana Franco at 617-418-8266 or
[email protected].
Free, bilingual VITA tax preparation is offered at NOAH
Monday and Wednesday nights (5-9PM) and Saturdays (10AM to 3PM) through April 2017. Please call 617-567-5882 to schedule an appointment.
|
Make a BIG impact with a SMALL Donation!
Please consider making a secure tax deductible donation to
NOAH today.
To donate online CLICK HERE.
|
Thank you for your interest in NOAH!
You can find out further information about NOAH on our web site at
www.noahcdc.org.
|
|
