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August 7, 2019

Westbrook youth programs among 26 nationwide awarded New York Life grants

PHOTO / TIM GREENWAY Donna Dwyer, executive director of My Place Teen Center in Westbrook, is shown in this 2015 photo from the Mainebiz archives. The center and another Westbrook nonprofit, Intercultural Community Center, are receiving a $100,000 grant from the New York Life Foundation.
By Staff

New York Life Foundation has awarded a $100,000 grant to two Westbrook-based nonprofits, My Place Teen Center and Intercultural Community Center.

The grant is one of 26 made to youth development organizations nationwide by the foundation.

The grant will support “out-of-school-time" programs to help middle school students transition to ninth grade, according to a news release.

My Place Teen Center works to provide a safe haven for youth ages 10-18, offering free after-school meals, resources and support. Intercultural Community Center’s mission is to improve the lives of immigrants through health, social and educational opportunities.

The New York Life Foundation in partnership with the Afterschool Alliance announced the grant. 

The awardees help underserved youth in 18 states. The grants mark the third year of awards made under the foundation’s Aim High education initiative. Altogether, this year’s grants bring the total awarded under the program to $3.45 million.

“The support from the New York Life Foundation will have a profound impact on the children in our community,” My Place Teen Center’s CEO and president, Donna Dwyer, said in the release. “The support will enable us to continue the year-round goal of providing comprehensive programming during a critical time when some youth face the prospect of having nothing to do and lack safe, stable choices.”

Research has shown that for underserved students, additional learning time in after-school, expanded day and summer programs leads to greater academic achievement, better school attendance and more engaged students. The transition from eighth to ninth grade is particularly critical to student success.

In May, My Place Teen Center announced its plans to launch a $6.5 million capital campaign to open a second teen center in Biddeford in July 2020.

About My Place Teen Center

My Place Teen Center is a year-round, free, after-school educational and development program for children between the ages of 10-18. Specializing in homeless, food-insecure, cognitively-delayed, low-income, immigrant, and refugee teens and pre-teens, the nonprofit in 2018 served 567 young people.

About Intercultural Community Center

Intercultural Community Center supports and improves the lives of immigrants by providing health, social and educational opportunities. ICC seeks to empower communities, families and individuals so they can become self-sufficient and contributing members of society. 

About the Afterschool Alliance

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization working to ensure that all children and youth have access to quality afterschool programs. 

About the New York Life Foundation

Inspired by New York Life’s tradition of service and humanity, the New York Life Foundation has, since its founding in 1979, provided nearly $280 million in charitable contributions to national and local nonprofit organizations. The Foundation supports programs that benefit young people, particularly in the areas of educational enhancement and childhood bereavement.

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