Letter from the Executive Director

February 2009

The House is Where the Heart Is

Thirteen years ago when the senior citizens of South Boston were in need of a space to gather, the building trades generously stepped up. Over the course of one day in 1996, where there had been a vacant lot, a building appeared. In an old fashioned barn raising, volunteer union labor made a place for the seniors served by the South Boston Neighborhood House to call home. They finished the job in a matter of weeks and our agency was gifted with a sturdy, beautiful facility.

Recently due to economic conditions beyond our control and with which we are all unfortunately familiar, the South Boston Neighborhood House has found it necessary to move all of our operations including administration and our after school and Adolescent programming into the same sturdy, beautiful building. We will be returning to the settlement house model with which we began our service over 108 years ago; everyone from seniors to toddlers under one roof. There was one complication. We could not afford to do the work necessary to refit the space.

In desperation, we placed a call to Mayor Tom Menino and shared our problem with him. He offered his assistance and put us in touch with John Lynch at the Office of Neighborhood Development’s Partners with Non -Profits Program. Mr. Lynch made us aware of which grant funds to apply for to help us with capital improvements. A generous gift from John Hynes and Gale International enabled us to keep the project afloat.

Next, Mayor Menino asked me to call Mike Monahan and Gary Walker at the IBEW Local 103 and Tom Flynn, Rich Neville, John Murphy, Frank Santa Fe, Dick Nihtila, Dave Leonardi, Mark Erlich and Tom O’Toole at the New England Council of Carpenters and explain our situation. Both unions immediately offered to help. They were closely followed by Ralph Harriman, John Laughlin and Paul MacLean of the Painters and Allied Trades District Council No. 35 and Neal Kelleher with the Sheet Metal Workers Local 17. Tom Quinlan and the guys from Floorcoverers Local 2168 were next to join the worthy endeavor. The talented architects at ADD, INC drew up the plans pro bono. In a fast and efficient manner, the building’s transformation began as carpentry apprentices honed their skills. Led by Dennis Sullivan more than 40 master electricians volunteered their time over 3 weekends to rewire the entire building. The painters and allied trades are finishing up their work any day and another miracle has been accomplished.

Companies like Walsh Mechanical Contractors, Lumber Liquidators, Atlantic Power and Light, Independent Floors and Pavilion Floors and Pappas Properties, none of whom are exactly booming with business right now, made donations of materials. The Furniture Trust found us lightly used office furniture for our new space.

Our country is in severe distress. Many of the union workers who have donated their time and skill are either underemployed or unemployed. In a show of selfless generosity, however they offered their help. Most of these individuals are not residents of South Boston. Some are even retirees. A sign up sheet was posted at the union hall and they simply joined our effort.

We are not the only beneficiaries of union help; many other charities local and national have benefitted from the help of the building trades. They seldom ask for or receive credit for their efforts. In fact, most people are not aware of the magnitude of the pro bono work donated by the unions. We have been stunned by the talent, good cheer, humor and kindness of the men and women we have had the pleasure of getting to know over the past few weeks.

This is our valentine to all of you. We are tremendously grateful. We could not have done it without you!

Sincerely,
Barbara McDonough Macdonald
Executive Director

January 2009

An Update on the South Boston Neighborhood House Plans

To our Neighbors and Community,

I thought that it was time to let our friends and neighbors know what is going on at the South Boston Neighborhood House. In an effort to consolidate our operations and weather today’s financial crisis, we are moving our administrative offices and our after school and teen programming to the 2nd floor of the Senior Center at 136 H Street. We will be leaving our traditional home “The Ollie” at 521 East 7th Street.

On Monday, January 12, the New England Carpenters Union Training Fund and its apprentices as well as the electricians of IBEW Local 103 began work at the Senior Center to refit the space for offices and classrooms on the 2nd floor as well as make some needed renovations to the seniors’ space on the first floor of the building. All of the work being performed by these skilled people has been donated.  We are very grateful for their help.

We had originally thought that the building would be ready for occupancy again the week of January 20.  As is usually the case, however, the work will take a little bit longer than expected.  We want everything to be as perfect as possible particularly for the seniors so their programming can continue without any more interruptions. Therefore, the building will be ready on February 9.  If it is ready sooner, we will let you know.

We are planning for the administrative offices to be moved during the week of February 16 and for the After School and Teen programs to begin there February 23.  We cannot stress enough that the seniors are not in any danger of losing their space or their programs.  All of their programs will remain the same if not better.

The children arrive at the After School program at @2:15 p.m. Monday through Friday and are gone by 5:30 p.m. Ollie staff transport children from their respective schools with the use of our Ollie vans and most parents come at the end of the day and bring them home. Seven children are driven home in our vans.  All of the child care and teen program participants will use the parking lot entrance. We have named the parking lot entrance “The Ollie” door.  The children will proceed directly up to the 2nd floor space where all of their activities will take place. We will have beautiful new classrooms and a new computer lab for their use and education. Parents will be directed to use The Ollie door only to pick up their children. Our Teens program opens at 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday and the program closes at 9 p.m. The teenagers will also use The Ollie door.

As most of you are aware, we have had to make some tough decisions. With this move we should be able to begin to see some light at the end of the tunnel.  I do not have answers yet as to what the scenario is for the sale of either the Gate of Heaven Parish Hall or “The Ollie.” As soon as we are a little further along in the process, community meetings will be held and I will keep everyone in the loop as much as I am able. We are looking forward to settling into our new home and continuing with the programs and services that make us “The Ollie.”  Please keep us in your prayers.

Sincerely,
Barbara McDonough Macdonald
Executive Director