Salesian Missions Funds Don Bosco Community Center
Aid for education and nutrition programs
(ANS – New Rochelle – November 3, 2026) – Don Bosco
Community Center, located in Port Chester, N.Y., received donor funding to help
support education and nutrition programs from November 2025 to July 2026. The
funding came from Salesian Missions of New Rochelle.
The funding directly supported 70 youths in kindergarten to
grade 8 who are from low-income and primary immigrant families. These families
rely on the center for academic support, safe afterschool supervision,
enrichment programs, and healthy nutrition. Most youths come from households of
3 to 6 members, and the parents generally have a high school education or less,
work in low-wage jobs, and often face language barriers and food insecurity.
Thru the afterschool program, youths received homework help
and took part in STEAM and recreation activities. The center provides after-school
academic support and enrichment for approximately 30 children, ESL classes, and
college access mentoring for approximately 20 first-generation students.
The center’s nutrition program provided hot meals for the
youths and their families. Funding also supported the soup kitchen that
provides nutritious meals to individuals, families, and elderly community
members facing food insecurity. This helped reduce hunger and strengthen family
support. The center serves close to 4,300 hot meals each month.
During the past year, the center also introduced a culinary
skills and ServSafe certification program to provide men, women, and youths in
the community with practical job skills and training. The program has generated
strong interest, and there is currently a waitlist of more than 45 individuals
hoping to participate.
Two of the youths who were supported thru the center’s
college program gave an interview with News12 Westchester. Andrea Barjas
explained, “I’ve been a part of the Don Bosco Scholars for two years, and
they’ve helped me thruout the whole process.” Diego Umanzor said, “I feel like
people believe in me. People around me are rooting for me.”
Don Bosco Community Center serves youths and families that
are often vulnerable and struggling, empowering them to build lives of dignity,
stability, and hope. Programs feed, educate, and support families to offer a
chance for a brighter future.
Source: MissionNewswire
