Mayor Walsh announces start of SuperTeen Program

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today announced the start of enrollment for the Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) summer SuperTeens Program. Youth ages 13-14 in the SuperTeens program will have the opportunity to attend weekly leadership development workshops, gain work experience in BCYF community centers and participate in field trips to Boston's arts and cultural institutions.  

"This program gives younger teens real work experience that will prepare them for future education and employment," said Mayor Walsh. "They'll also have the opportunity to make new friends, visit a variety of places in their City and attend workshops designed to empower them with important life skills. I encourage all our teens to apply for this great program."

"Mayor Walsh is committed to providing meaningful opportunities and resources for Boston's youth to level the playing field by building the foundation for the future success of each one of them," said Boston's Chief of Health & Human Services, Marty Martinez. "We know that teen employment can be a launch pad for a lifetime of success, so 13-14-year-olds who join SuperTeens will receive real work experience along with the workshops and field trips."

Sponsored by Comcast, and The Foundation for BCYF, program goals include providing hands-on work experience and/or service experience for each youth, engaging youth in high-quality leadership development workshops based on BCYF's Youth Development Outcomes, and learning based field trips that will aid in the development of life readiness and resiliency to help prepare them for their upcoming academic year and future employment.

"Throughout my experience with the SuperTeens Program, I was very grateful to be involved because of the various workshops and field trips," said Angeline Santiago, age 15 from Mission Hill who was in the program for two years. "I always learned something new in the workshops and I loved the field trips because without them I would have never explored Boston the way I did these past two summers."

The SuperTeens program will run six weeks beginning on Monday, July 9 and ending on Friday, August 17.  Participants must be at least thirteen years old on or before July 9 to participate and will receive a stipend at the end of the summer for successful completion of the program.  All SuperTeens applicants must complete an online application on BCYF's website at Boston.Gov/BCYFby April 30, 2018. Slots are guaranteed for 250 youth.

The SuperTeens Program will operate at the following BCYF community centers:

• BCYF Blackstone, 50 W. Brookline Street, South End;
• BCYF Charlestown, 255 Medford Street, Charlestown;
• BCYF Condon,  200 D Street, South Boston;
• BCYF Curtis Hall (Girls-only,) 20 South Street, Jamaica Plain;
• BCYF Flaherty Pool, 160 Florence Street, Roslindale;
• BCYF Gallivan, 61 Woodruff Way, Mattapan;
• BCYF Hennigan, 200 Heath Street, Jamaica Plain;
• BCYF Holland, 85 Olney Street, Dorchester;
• BCYF Hyde Park, 1176 River Street, Hyde Park;
• BCYF Jackson Mann, 500 Cambridge Street, Allston;
• BCYF Madison Park, 55 Malcolm X Boulevard, Roxbury;
• BCYF Marshall, 35 Westville Street, Dorchester (center opens May 1;)
• BCYF Mattahunt, 100 Hebron Street, Mattapan;
• BCYF Menino, 125 Brookway Road, Roslindale;
• BCYF Ohrenberger, 175 West Boundary Road, West Roxbury;
• BCYF Paris Street, 112 Paris Street, East Boston;
• BCYF Perkins, 155 Talbot Avenue, Dorchester;
• BCYF Pino, 86 Boardman Street, East Boston;
• BCYF Quincy, 885 Washington Street, Chinatown;
• BCYF Roslindale, 6 Cummins Highway, Roslindale;
• BCYF Shelburne, 2730 Washington Street, Roxbury;
• BCYF Tobin, 1481 Tremont Street, Mission Hill;
• BCYF Vine Street, 339 Dudley Street, Roxbury (program will be located at BCYF Madison Park Community Center due to ongoing renovations at BCYF Vine Street.)  

About Boston Centers for Youth and Families

Boston Centers for Youth & Families (BCYF) is the City of Boston's largest youth and human service agency. BCYF operates 36 community centers in Boston that offer a variety of engaging and enriching programs for people of all ages created through community input and need. BCYF also oversees many citywide programs including the nationally-recognized violence intervention and prevention Streetworker Program and SuccessLink, Mayor's Summer Jobs Program.