The mission of The Prospect Hill Community Foundation (PHCF) is to provide academic enrichment and professional development programs to the residents of Prospect Hill Terrace and the surrounding Waltham community, free of charge. The cornerstone program is the youth academic enrichment and mentoring program. Typically, this program is run after-school each day and serves elementary and middle scho
ol-age youth. Educational enrichment activities are conducted by Brandeis University and Bentley University volunteers and visiting groups. Volunteers also serve as mentors and role models who motivate the children to strive for academic success. These weekly interactions and structured activities promote respectful social exchanges, bolstering the children’s social and emotional learning skills and empowering them to take on challenges in school. PHCF also offers a homework drop-in program, where local teens can access free after-school academic support for high school academics. University mentors work one-on-one with each participant to address the educational needs, focusing on math, reading, writing, and science. The young adult empowerment program offers youth ages 12 to 17 unique programming tailored to academic, personal, and professional development for young adults. University students serve as mentors and work with teens to design meaningful experiences for participants and the community. Prospect Hill Terrace is an income-restricted housing development comprising 140 households earning less than 60% of the area median income. The community, which includes nearly 200 children under age 18, is rich in diversity, with more than 12 nationalities represented and nine languages being spoken. The youth academic enrichment program, in particular, serves many children who come from single-parent households where academic support is not available due to language barriers and/or the parents’ education limitations.
