The Cambridge Community Center (CCC) was founded in 1929 in the Coast neighborhood of Cambridge by a group of Black pastors because the local YMCA was for white men only at the time. In the 93 years since, CCC has served generations of children, youth, and families and continues to be a frontline resource for the most under-resourced, under-represented residents throughout the city of Cambridge. O
ur longest standing program is the year-round Out-of-School Time Program, which includes after school and summer offerings for ages 5-13. We offer children and families diverse learning opportunities, programs, and services to close the opportunity gap and address generational and systemic disparities due to race and socioeconomic status. Family engagement is an important component of our program delivery model. At the Center, we don’t just enroll children in our programs, we enroll entire families. In addition to our school-age offerings, we have a variety of programs for teens and the wider community. Our teen programs, such as The Hip Hop Transformation, the Mental Health ACCESS (Advancing Culturally Competent Education to Stop Stigma), and Dottin University Basketball provide Cambridge teens with 21st Century Skills while unleashing their curiosity and creative abilities. Our community programs include our annual Thanksgiving Luncheon, which attracts over 200 seniors from the community each year, and widely-known initiatives such as the Cambridge Winter Farmers Market and The Coast Kitchen, our free community dinner that brings seniors from the community together every month. Finally, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, we launched our safe-distance Food & Supply Pantry, which operates out of our gymnasium and has served up to 1,000 households each week. Over 15,000 individuals utilize our facilities throughout the year whether they depend on our services, are enrolled in our programs, or host events and community gatherings catered to under-resourced community members. Many of the staff and youth in our programs come from families that have been involved with the Center for four or even five generations, enriching our Center with a strong sense of history, family, and community.
