For 10 years, this nonprofit has enriched underprivileged Framingham youth
FRAMINGHAM — Kevin Lopez knows firsthand how helpful a community resource like Hoops and Homework would have been for himself and his community when he was growing up in the neighborhood where he now works.
More: Framingham's Hoops and Homework has a 'catch' in program director Kevin Lopez
“I don’t really have words to describe what trouble I could have got out of having something like this in the area — not just me," said Lopez, who was hired last year as the nonprofit's program director. "My friends, my family, people that I know that were raised in the area definitely would have benefited from something like this.”
The enrichment and education program is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year.
More: Hoops and Homework in Framingham receives $100K donation from Braintree's Flatley Foundation
Hoops and Homework is a neighborhood organization that serves more than 30 students ages 5-14 in two Southside locations — at 12 Interfaith Place and nearby 9 Pusan Road. Free of charge, students can get help with reading and homework or just hang out at the center and play outside.
Decade of growth
Founder Herb Chasan was recently awarded the Framingham Senior Heroes award in recognition for his work in after-school and summer programs for Framingham youth. Chasan has seen the enrichment and education program grow a lot in the past decade, from scrounging for donations to staying afloat to more recently accepting six-figure donations.
Chasan and Lopez share some key goals for the organization's next 10 years: expanding the ages they serve, creating more of a community center vibe by keeping the centers open and staffed later in the evenings and expanding their offerings within Framingham and beyond.
More: Hoops and Homework expands its Interfaith Terrace location
Hoops and Homework will be piloting some youth night programs this summer for ages 14 and up to “get a feel for the interest and strategize around that,” Lopez said. It's currently using operating funds but is also preparing to apply for grants to help fund the expanded hours for older youths.
“Staying alive for 10 years, it was a big accomplishment,” Chasan said. “We’re still going strong. We have two full programs — right now summer programs — and during the year it’s after-school programs.”
Hoops and Homework began in 2012 with $81,000 in funding secured through Town Meeting — before Framingham had adopted a city form of government. After the first year, the organization had to depend on donations but because it was new, few people knew it existed.
More: Hoops and Homework reopens after pandemic pause
Eventually, Hoops and Homework began getting grants and larger donations and Chasan said the organization is now financially sustainable.
It has built a basketball court, a new learning center and playground. It's the only community center after-school program in the city that is licensed by the state.
A 'catchy' name
Chasan said he came up with the name when he was talking to Mary Ellen Kelly, then Framingham's chief financial officer.
“She said, ‘Well, you’ve got to help them with their homework. You’ve got to keep them busy and sports would be good, too,’” Chasan said. They combined the two: “sports in terms of hoops, basketball — and (Hoops and Homework) is catchy.”
Lopez said it's important not just for the kids participating in the program but for people in the community to see a person of color directing Hoops and Homework.
“I saw this as an opportunity for me to step in and be that face that kids can look up to,” he said. “For me to come up from that area and now lead an organization like that speaks volumes without me even opening my mouth.”
Lopez said the organization now has staff and volunteers that reflect the diversity of the area. He said he has drawn on his background as assistant dean at Keefe Regional Technical School and as a youth program coordinator and program manager at various organizations as he looks to the next decade of Hoops and Homework.
“It is just that melting pot down there, so that was very nice that he can really get into it and link with the people and the parents and the kids,” Chasan said of Lopez. “He has a connection, growing up with those neighborhoods down there.”
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hoops and Homework helps underprivilegd Framingham youth for 10 years
