Every spring, the educational nonprofit Steps to Success in Brookline hosts a celebration and fundraiser to raise money for their yearly programming. That programming supports over 300 students a year who are living in public housing in Brookline. They are supported from fourth grade through college. The goal is to close the opportunity gap these students face by providing resources like afterschool programs, internships, and college retention programs.
This year the gala has been disrupted by the COVID-19 crisis. But it’s not being canceled; it’s going online. And it’s more important than ever that Brookline rallies to the cause.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Steps to Success students deeply. Grade school kids are being kept at home where reliable Internet connections and homeschooling are not guaranteed. Afterschool programming has also been temporarily suspended, and college students are losing housing and access to vital campus-based employment.
“The need right now for students from low-income families, in particular, is urgent,” says Shoma Haque, executive director of Steps to Success. “Vulnerable populations are often the ones who are most affected by the crises and particularly public health crises. We have students on college campuses across the country who are being given less than a week to pack up their things and get off campus.” The moving costs along are substantial financial burdens that the students weren’t able to plan for with short notice.
Funds raised during the virtual Steps to Success Celebration on April 29 will go towards aiding students with these unexpected costs and barriers to continuous and fruitful education. They will also go towards continuing the invaluable programming that Steps to Success enacts all year long.
“People have the assumption that Brookline is a homogeneously affluent community, and that’s not the case,” says Haque. “Poverty is growing in Brookline. The most recent census statistics show that 13 percent of our families live at or below the poverty line.”
The Steps to Success Celebration will now be put online in a series of videos featuring Haque discussing the organization’s programs, a talk by the keynote speaker Rev. Liz Walker, senior pastor of Roxbury Presbyterian Church and former WBZ-TV news anchor, and words from some of the students enrolled in the program. The videos will be accessible on Facebook and the organization’s website. Brookliners can provide a sponsorship for the virtual event or generally donate at any time.
Because of shutdowns and focus on the virus, many nonprofits around Greater Boston are suffering. By supporting Steps to Success in this increasingly important time, Brookline can rally behind all members of its community, not just those who can work from home and make daily lesson plans for their children.
“We want to make sure people realize that the town is multi-faceted, and not everyone has the needs or the resources that everyone else has,” Haque says. “And part of the reason we exist is to level that playing field.”
