Boston Foundation Grant

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Cynthia Canham
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Boston Foundation Awards MAB $50,000 Grant

Brookline – Dec. 16, 2008 – The Boston Foundation awarded MAB Community Services $50,000 for MAB’s Vocational Education Program, to support the program during the 2009 fiscal year.

The Vocational Education Program provides work-readiness training and community-based employment opportunities to adults and students with disabilities in the Greater Boston area.  Ivy Street School current and former students participate in the vocational program, holding on-campus jobs and receiving vocational training and coaching. At MAB’s vocational training site in Watertown, 25 clients receive 1:1 job coaching and support.

The Boston Foundation has provided lasting support to the MAB program, previously awarding MAB grants in 2007 and 2006.  These grants enabled MAB to add two new vocational counselor positions, which are key to the program’s continued success, providing one-on-one support to MAB’s clients and employment partners.

In FY’09 MAB will continue its efforts to transition the vocational program from a supported employment model to a community-based model, developing new partners and providing on-the-job coaching and support.  The Vocational Education Program will place a greater emphasis on transitioning clients in volunteer positions or internships to paid work opportunities. MAB will also seek new relationships with employers, funders and referral partners.

The Boston Foundation is a Greater Boston community foundation that devotes its resources to building and sustaining a vital, prosperous city and region.  The foundation makes grants to nonprofit organizations to address the community’s critical challenges, strategically focusing on the areas of housing and community development, education, and workforce development.

ABOUT MAB:

MAB Community Services is dedicated to working with individuals with disabilities to eliminate barriers and create opportunities.  Founded in 1903 as the Massachusetts Association for the Blind, MAB Community Services is the oldest social service agency in the country dedicated to serving blind and visually impaired individuals.  MAB now includes programs for adults with developmental disabilities and a residential treatment program for adolescents with brain injuries.