BOSTON, August 15, 2016 – Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) has received a grant of $250,000 to develop the One Chinatown Arts Center from Liberty Mutual Foundation. The Center is located at 66 Hudson Street and is part of the One Greenway complex.
(L to R) Dina Chu, BCNC Board of Directors; Selina Chow, BCNC Board President; Vincent Yee, Co‐Chair of Liberty Mutual Employee Resource Group, “Leading & Empowering Asian American Professionals” LEAAP, and LM Manager of Application Portfolio & Software Development; Giles Li, BCNC Executive Director; Melissa MacDonnell, President of the Liberty Mutual Foundation; Klare Shaw, National Director of Programs, Liberty Mutual Foundation and Eugene Mahr, BCNC Board Vice‐President. (Photo by Alex Gagne)
BCNC will create the One Chinatown Arts Center that promotes the cultural identity and history of this community, supports community-based artists, provides access for low-income families to cultural resources, and enriches Boston’s arts sector.
“Our neighbors at BCNC offer services to 2,000 families annually and we are happy to give them the resources necessary to continue being a much-needed pillar of the community,” said Melissa MacDonnell, President of the Liberty Mutual Foundation. “With programs ranging from day care, music classes, youth leadership, English-language learning and family services, BCNC holistically nurture its neighborhood.”
The 5,050 square foot 1CAC will feature a studio theater, gallery, classrooms and community space. Construction is scheduled to take place in the summer of 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in the winter of 2017.
“Liberty Mutual has been a long-standing supporter of BCNC, so we are indeed grateful for their enduring commitment to children and families in this neighborhood that we both call home,” said Eugene Mahr, BCNC Board Vice-President.
BCNC is using a “Creative Placemaking” approach for this project, which is an evolving field of practice leveraging “arts, culture and creativity” to serve a community’s interest, while driving change, growth and transformation. This approach improves the “quality of place”. BCNC programs are excited about using the new building to build bridges between old and new residents of the Chinatown neighborhood and the Greater Boston community. The new space will offer a place for traditional and contemporary art presentations.
About Liberty Mutual Insurance:
Headquartered in Boston, Mass., Liberty Mutual is a diversified insurer with more than 50,000 employees and operations in 30 countries and economies around the world. As we’ve expanded, so too has our philanthropy. In 2015, Liberty Mutual and its employees contributed $50 million to our community through our philanthropy. Today, we support nonprofits through our Liberty Mutual Foundation: Serve with Liberty, our global employee service program; and Give with Liberty, an annual campaign where Liberty matches employee contributions to charities most important to employees and their families.
About Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center:
Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) is the largest nonprofit social service provider dedicated to Asian families in the Greater Boston area, supporting over 2,000 children, youth, and adults each year at three locations in Boston and Quincy. The mission of BCNC is to ensure that the children, youth, and families we serve have the resources and supports they need to achieve greater economic success and social well-being. BCNC helps families access the resources and services available to them, provide opportunities for them to learn and acquire skills, and create a community of mutual support and encouragement. For more information, go to www.bcnc.net.