News & Events

News:

  • ABC Channel 40 features interviews about Roca's Springfield's launch.

    Yusef Il-Deen, Assistant Director of Roca Springfield, and Molly Baldwin, Executive Director of Roca, are interviewed on this clip about preventing youth violence: "The key to the program's success is being relentless.

  • Roca Springfield part of News22's coverage of the Mayor's Walk.

    Channel News 22 reports on Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno's neighborhood walk; Molly Baldwin and Roca are interviewed: We help them learn to change their behavior so they can work, and become positive contributing members of the community.

  • Editorial on Roca featured in the Springfield Republican newspaper.

    Roca to give Springfield youth an alternative to gangs: "When it comes to fighting gangs and violence, Molly Baldwin is relentless, even if she doesn’t carry a badge. "

  • Roca Springfield featured in the Springfield Republican newspaper.

    Jim Kinney writes about Roca in the Saturday edition of the Republican: "Chelsea-based Roca program setting up shop in Springfield to help Western Mass. youths."

  • Zaida Gonzalez, Roca's 5th Annual Breakfast Honoree, featured in the Boston Globe.

    Joan Vennochi writes about breaking the cycle of poverty and violence that destroys so many young lives in urban America in her article: "Fragile Dreams, Small Victories on Mean Streets."

  • Roca's 5th Annual Breakfast raises over $230,000!

    Roca hosted over400 people to hear Sister Helen Prejean, the author of the national best seller and inspiration for the Academy Award winning movie, Dead Man Walking, who delivered the keynote address at its fifth annual fundraiser. The morning was an inspiration to all who attended. Read more about it here and see Boston Latino TV's coverage of the event here.

  • Roca Wins $2.3 Million Federal Grant from the Department of Labor.

    As the sole recipient in MA of this “Pathways Out of Poverty" grant—as the group of funding awards is known, authorized by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009— Roca will launch 3G Jobs! (“From Green Gangs to Green Jobs”). Based on Roca’s nationally recognized Intervention Model for Very High Risk Youth, 3G Jobs! is a road toward economic self sufficiency through a unique, green pathway out of poverty.

  • Roca featured in Coalition for Juvenile Justice Report.

    The future for youth involved with the justice system could be dramatically improved by applying the principles of positive youth development (PYD) practice to the juvenile justice systems and services. A new report, Positive Youth Justice: Framing Justice Interventions Using the Concepts of Positive Youth Development, from the Coalition for Juvenile Justice, explores the tremendous potential of helping court-involved youth develop their pro-social strengths and attributes, and increase their abilities to contribute to healthy, safe family and community life. Roca is featured!

  • The W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation features Roca in its Grantee Spotlight.

    Check out the right sidebar to see Julio's story, profiled by the The W. Clement & Jessie V. Stone Foundation for its web site and newsletter.

  • Roca featured on the Philanthropy News Digest NPO Spotlight.

    Roca is honored to be recognized by the Philanthropy News Digest (PND), a daily news service of the Foundation Center. The Digest is a compendium of philanthropy-related articles and features culled from print and electronic media outlets nationwide.

  • Roca receives $150,000 from the State Street Foundation.

    Roca today announced that the State Street Foundation will award the organization a $150,000 grant to help fund its High-Risk Youth Intervention Model in East Boston. Roca designed the High-Risk Youth Intervention Model to help young people engaged in destructive behavior to become more productive members of society.

  • Roca receives $100,000 "Out of the Blue" Grant from the Boston Foundation.

    The Boston Foundation makes an unrestricted, unsolicited grant to an organization that demonstrates extraordinary leadership and ability to create and sustain high-impact programming that sets a standard for other non-profits and serves the community as a whole. Roca was selected because it has shown a commitment to rigorous evaluation, data-driven decision making and program design, as well as to a continual process of strengthening and refining its own work.

  • Roca's Young People Featured on the Commonwealth Conversations Blog!

    The Governor's Office of Civic Engagement came to Roca to talk to Roca's AmeriCorp groups about their thoughts on Massachusetts, everything from the strengths and weaknesses of local high schools to the high cost of college.

  • Join Anisha Chablani for a Social Solutions Webinar

    Social Solution presents "Becoming a High Performing Organization: State of the Field and a First Look at the Outcomes and Effective Practices Portal" with Kristin Anderson Moore (Senior Scholar, Child Trends), Anisha Chablani (Deputy Director, Roca), and Mary Kopczynski Winkler (Research Associate, Urban Institute). Email Caitlin ODonnell for more information.

  • National Grid Supports Roca’s Youth Intervention Model

    The National Grid Foundation awarded Roca $20,000 to support Roca’s High Risk Youth Intervention Model which utilizes intensive youth-adult relationship-building to leverage young people into a process of personal change, and to help them connect to education, employment and life skills opportunities.

Events: