September 2014 Newsletter

Mayor Walsh at Coppersmith Village Event

Coppersmith Village in East Boston

On July 22, Mayor Walsh and our elected officials helped NOAH announce our Coppersmith Village project, a dynamic new development along Border and Liverpool Streets in East Boston. It will be a mixed-use, mixed-income, development of 15 for-sale town-homes, 56 rental units, and a 3,000 square foot restaurant with outdoor terrace. Over half of the units will be affordable to those

Speakers: Impact Adv. Member Robert Schmidt,
Sen. Anthony Petruccelli, Mayor Marty Walsh, NOAH ED Phil Giffee, NOAH Board President Ernani DeAraujo Esq. & Councilor Sal LaMattina

earning less than 100% AMI. It is fully zoned and permitted by the City.

The street-scape will be beautified with new trees and lighting, and a "pocket" park will be created adjacent to a new community room. Designing for climate change and flood resiliency has been a priority from the start. We will continue to maintain the site, cutting down weeds, securing the buildings, and paying taxes. For those of you who couldn't make it to our Kick-Off announcement event, we recorded the speakers. You can watch the video on NOAH's YouTube channel by clicking the photo of the Mayor, above.

CCAG Youth Leadership Development

Kudos to our NOAH youth crew for their great work at the "Our Garden" community garden on Border Street! The beautiful garden has vegetables, fruit trees, flowers and more. Once weed-strewn, vermin-infested, and a hang-out for vagrants, our youth have transformed this space into a community garden and orchard, with a wonderful 12,000 square foot outdoor classroom. This summer, the youth initiated a new zero carbon approach to management of the green-space, utilizing no gasoline or electricity. At the Garden, they have been hand-cutting the grassy areas with weed-whips and hand mowers. They hope to advance this all-manual, zero carbon maintenance concept at parks throughout the City. Another project at the site involved scrubbing down the retaining walls and resurfacing them as 'brick' to match the surrounding architecture. Another involved obtaining resident advisers to help educate them about fruit tree pruning and planting, landscape maintenance and masonry work. The teens also organized a meeting with Police Captain McCormick, creating a special security program with the Boston Police Department, the neighboring church and the community gardeners.

The Community Garden is only one of many ongoing initiatives successfully undertaken by NOAH youth. They have helped implement community clean-ups, family programming at the Urban Wild, climate change mitigation awareness events and public art installation, trash and litter campaigns, a sugar profile of 15-year-old area residents for the Boston Public Health Commission, and public outreach and polling initiatives. They have walked the entire perimeter of East Boston, barring airport and inaccessible locations. They found that the neighborhood has roughly 15.5 miles of shoreline; and that 88% of that is fenced off with barbed wire or otherwise inaccessible to community residents. In doing this work, they recorded potential micro-beach areas and canoe/kayak launching areas. Stay tuned for more of their fabulous projects and outcomes!

Shoe Shop Place in Middleboro

NOAH & The Neighborhood Corporation (TNC) in Taunton partnered to receive State DHCD funding to redevelop a historic shoe mill in Middleboro.

The rehab will result in 24 affordable units of family housing in a historic wooden mill building. It is one of the few examples of this type of wooden building within a residential neighborhood in New England. The apartments will be sun-filled, with new large windows which match the historic character of the building. The project has a 40b Comprehensive Permit from the Middleboro Zoning Board of Appeals, and has received funding and approvals from the Mass Historic Commission and the National Park Service. It will be located very near amenities such as shopping, parks, downtown, and schools. Construction is planned for early 2015.

Thank You to Our Funders!

All of us at NOAH want to say a big 'THANK YOU' to our recent funders, including: Abt Associates, the Alfred E. Chase Charity Foundation, Bank of America, N.A., Trustee, Alternatives for Community & Environment (ACE)/EPA, BJ's Foundation, Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation, Bushrod H. Campbell & Adah F. Hall Charity Fund, Cappuccio Construction, CHAPA, Charlestown Productions, Citizens Bank, the City of Boston, Conservation Law Foundation/MET, East Boston CDC, East Boston Dental Associates, East Boston Foundation, East Boston Main Streets, English for New Bostonians, Greg Comeau, the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, Harvard Memorial Church, the Hyams Foundation, Karla Praag, Kelly Square Pub, Kiwanis Club of East Boston, Mass. Division of Banks, NFMC/NeighborWorks America, Rose Fiore, Sailors' Snug Harbor of Boston, Spinelli Ravioli, TD Charitable Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, and Webster Bank. We want to give a special 'shout out' to Dellbrook Construction, who kicked off our CITC (Community Investment Tax Credit) campaign with a $10,000 investment!

Without our wonderful supporters, we could not maintain our client services or programs at their current levels. With them, we continue to create and maintain more sustainable neighborhoods, community services and affordable housing than ever before!

Student Jose Alvarez; Felix Arroyo, Boston Chief of Health & Human Services; Students Scarlett Mitchell (also a NOAH Board member); Maria Grande; & Victor Grande

Tech Goes Home Graduates

Participants in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program pilot technology training course - Tech Goes Home - completed the fifteen-hour training and necessary course work and were awarded diplomas at a ceremony at Faneuil Hall. Tech Goes Home is an innovative training program aimed at increasing computer and technology literacy in under-served communities.

Graduates reported feeling proud of their accomplishments and excited about the opportunities they now have to connect online with family and their community, as well as to gain access to jobs and important public information. They were also able to purchase Chromebooks at reduced rates.

The sign our special guest is holding reads: "I don't always invest, but when I do, I choose NOAH. Help NOAH, my friends."

We're Looking for Donors Interested in More Than Doubling their Dollars...

Doubling their charitable dollars, that is! NOAH has been awarded a total of $260,000 in Community Investment Tax Credits (CITC's) by the State for a two-year period. The 2014 allocation is $110,000; and the 2015 allocation $150,000. The award is a 50% tax credit designed to attract financial supporters of over $1,000 each. Individuals and corporations can participate. Any excess state tax is refundable in the form of a credit, and out of state donors can participate. Many thanks again to Dellbrook Construction, who recently participated with a $10,000 donation!

Donations are also eligible for the federal charitable tax deduction. For instance: If a 35% tax-bracket CITC donor were to give NOAH $1,000, they'd receive a state tax credit of $500 and a possible federal tax deduction of $175, for a total out-of-pocket donation of only $325.

HOW DOES IT WORK? It's easy! If you are able to provide a donation to NOAH of $1,000 or more, we would be very grateful. Please click here to contact us or click here to open our CITC brochure with more information.

CBE Director Chris Marchi with Mayor Marty Walsh

NOAH & Youth Win Greenovate Award!

NOAH and its Youth team were presented an award at this year's Greenovate Boston Community Summit. Mayor Martin J. Walsh presented certificates to all eleven 2014 Greenovate Boston Award winners, who included businesses, community organizations, non-profits, residents and institutions. Winners were selected for their impressive sustainability achievements and commitment to 'greenovating' Boston.

NOAH was chosen for its Community Climate Preparedness activities. The City noted that "...NOAH has been working throughout East Boston to raise awareness about storm surge and climate vulnerability. NOAH and their Youth Organizers have taken a data driven experimental approach; measuring awareness before and after literature drops and messaging, which has allowed them to test the effectiveness of their efforts. NOAH has raised awareness from 12% to 60% in some of East Boston's most vulnerable communities. Last fall they executed a large-scale art installation in Maverick Square. NOAH collaborated with Susan Israel, a local artist, who worked with NOAH's Youth Organizers and the children of the Paris Street Recreation Center's After School Daycare Program to create an installation on the MBTA's Maverick Station and the new East Boston Health Center building demonstrating potential flooding from storm surge and sea level rise." This was the second time NOAH and the NOAH Youth won a Greenovate award; they had received one in 2008, as well. Congratulations to the team!

Children's & Youth Soccer Program

For the past five years, NOAH's Children's & Youth Soccer Program has addressed local families' need for safe and positive children's activities during the 'after camp' hours of 3 - 6 PM weekdays in July and August. It provides free athletic training and instruction for over 60 local children and youth ages 6 - 14. East Boston teenagers are hired and trained as instructors, providing positive role models for the children in a supportive mentor relationship. Attendees learn good sportsmanship, teamwork, and effort as they compete with other local teams in scrimmages and games.

This year's Soccer Program was another great success, due in no small part to the expert management of NOAH Community Organizer Manlio Mendez, who overcame difficult scheduling and facilities challenges early in the year, when both LoPresti Park and the American Legion Field (the two traditional sites for the program) were simultaneously under construction. He partnered with the Salesian Boys and Girls Club, which graciously donated its athletic fields to allow the program to begin on ti

me and then move to the American Legion Field once construction was finished.

Manlio has also organized the East Boston soccer community throughout the summer, working to engage five locally-based teams to compete in the Mayor's Cup this October, in the under-10 and the under-12 tournaments. NOAH's players will comprise two of these teams. GOOD LUCK! GO NOAH!

NOAH Board of Director Michael Zaldumbide of
Citizens Bank volunteering at Financial Capability course

Financial Capability Program

NOAH held a FREE 8-hour Financial Capability course in September. Topics included financial goal setting, maximizing household income, saving, spending wisely, borrowing appropriately, and protecting assets. The sessions were held in both English and Spanish in two different classrooms. Thirty-four graduates gained an understanding of basic consumer banking products, personal credit scores, budgeting, and more. Those receiving a certificate of completion are eligible to participate in NOAH's free individual financial coaching programs. For more information, please contact Carrie Tennant, Esq. at 617-418-8264.

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Upcoming Events

First-Time Homebuyer Classes

The next Spanish First-Time Homebuyer course will meet on Saturday, September 20 & Saturday, September 27 from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM at NOAH. The next English First-Time Homebuyer course will meet on Saturday, October 18 & Saturday, October 25 from 9:30 to 2:30 PM at NOAH. To receive a City of Boston certificate, attendees must be present at all class sessions. 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. The cost for the group course is $35 per individual or $45 per couple (registering together). Also, now we are offering individual online course sessions in both English & Spanish. For more information, please call Christinne Flores at 617-418-8263.

Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention Clinics

Our next bilingual Loan Modification/Foreclosure Prevention clinics will occur on the following Monday evenings: September 22, & 29 and October 6, 20 & 27 from 5:30 to 8 PM 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 contact Christinne Flores at 617-418-8263.

Make a BIG impact with a SMALL Donation!

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Thank you for your interest in NOAH!

You can find out further information about NOAH on our web site at www.noahcdc.org.