Know a Student Who Needs Some Support?
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Mass Child provides financial support to local unions so members can buy clothing, school supplies, eyeglasses and other items that are not provided by schools, but which are fundamental to children’s success.
Educators across state helping students meet basic needs
Educators across state helping students meet basic needs
Massachusetts Teachers Association members used a union program this school year to purchase more than $55,000 worth of clothing and other goods to assist students who were experiencing financial hardships.
The educators used the MTA’s Massachusetts Child program, which provides grants to members who help students in preK-12 public schools. MTA members in the 2023-2024 school year used the funds to ensure that students had proper clothing, especially during the winter months, to address food insecurities and to make sure that students had items they needed to succeed in vocational programs.
In 1996, a group of MTA members launched the nonprofit charitable program – commonly referred to as Mass Child – with the idea that children are more likely to do better in school if they have their basic needs met first. Mass Child provides financial support to local unions so members can buy clothing, school supplies, eyeglasses and other items that are not provided by schools, but which are fundamental to children’s success.
Educators from more than 40 districts took advantage of the program during the 2023-24 school year.
Mass Child, which is supported entirely through donations, provides every local MTA preK-12 association with a minimum amount of $1,000, or up to $2 per member for local unions with more than 500 members, to purchase items for students. Thanks to a generous donation from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Mass Child created a Wellness Grant for educators to use to address the physical, social and emotional needs of students, allowing educators to purchase items such as athletic gear and exercise equipment, as well as to assist students participating in arts and sciences projects. Mass Child also provides grants for a reading program and assists with fees for extracurricular, school-based activities.
Over the years, MTA members have turned to Mass Child to help students experiencing various crises, such as sudden homelessness, and to make sure that children newly arrived in the country had warm clothing during the winter months and access to food.
The Mass Child Board of Directors — made up of current and retired educators — issued the following statement:
“Every day, educators are doing their best to help children grow and reach their potential. And for some children, reaching that potential is hampered because they lack the resources to have basic items such as a backpack, or eyeglasses or a warm winter coat. We are proud of the teachers, paraprofessionals, nurses, librarians, counselors and other school staff who take notice of their students’ needs and provide those children with the items that can boost their self-esteem and help them engage more fully in their schoolwork.
“We are thankful to everyone who has donated to Mass Child so we can keep this work going for years to come.”
Districts who accessed grants through the Mass Child program during the 2023-24 school year are: Amherst-Pelham, Arlington, Athol, Berkshire Hills, Blackstone-Millville Regional, Braintree, Brockton, Central Berkshire Regional, Chicopee, Everett, Framingham, Franklin, Grafton, Greenfield, Hampshire Regional, Ipswich, Lee, Lexington, Malden, Maynard, Montachusett Regional, Nahant, New Bedford, Newton, Pathfinder Regional, Quaboag Regional, Quincy, Randolph, Revere, Southbridge, Stoughton, Swampscott, Pittsfield, Plymouth-Carver, Wakefield, Waltham, Ware, Wareham, Watertown, Westfield, Westhampton, Winthrop and Worcester.