Cambridge After-School Program (CASP)
PBHA's Cambridge After School Program (CASP) provides affordable and accessible after school programming for youth at the low-income Fresh Pond Apartments in northwest Cambridge. We serve approximately 30 students ages 8-14, most of whom are first- or second-generation immigrants. CASP offers academic programming in a combination of homework help (the first hour of the program) and educational workshops (the second hour of the program). Workshops range from building model rockets and water balloon slingshots to growing bean plants and making weekly library trips. We also run a variety of field trips including recent trips to a bookstore, the aquarium, and movie nights on the Harvard campus. The program runs Monday-Thursday from 3:30-5:30 pm.
Target Population
The program serves 3rd-8th graders at the low-income Fresh Pond Apartments in northwest Cambridge. Almost all of our participants are first- or second-immigration immigrants.
Program Operations
We leave the Harvard Square T station at 3 pm to travel to the Alewife station, from where we walk to the Fresh Pond Apartments and arrive by 3:30. We help with homework for (roughly) the first hour, and volunteers lead a game or activity for the second hour. At 5:30, the participants depart, and we take the T back to Harvard, arriving around 6 pm. We also have 1-2 field trips per semester, which usually take an entire Saturday afternoon or evening.
Mission
PBHA’s Cambridge After-School Program (CASP) strives for social justice in the Cambridge community by providing a safe, fun, and uplifting learning environment for youth near Fresh Pond. CASP focuses on providing affordable and accessible after-school programming for low-income Cambridge youth. CASP aims to alleviate the effects of socioeconomic disparities and empower Cambridge youth, helping them to realize their full potential.
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Volunteers should apply through the PBHA Application and select CASP. Directors will reach out after with next steps for joining the program, including PBHA-wide tutor training and CASP-specific orientation. We prefer volunteers to join at the beginning of the semester and commit to volunteering weekly for the whole semester, but please email casp@pbha.org if you would like to join in the middle of the semester.
We sometimes also run program during Harvard's J-term, where we accept volunteers only for the J-term period.
We accept local high school students in Cambridge to volunteer with us as well.
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We serve students in grades 3-8 living in or around the Fresh Pond Apartments. Please complete the PBHA Afterschool application form for each child.
The directors will contact you after filling out the form with more information about the program, including which days your child will attend, family orientation, and program norms and expectations.
