BCNC Pao Arts Center receives Boston Foundation Open Door grant

Boston – The Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) Pao Arts Center announced today that it has received a $50,000 grant from the Boston Foundation to support their Senior Arts Initiative, through the Foundation’s Open Door Grants program.

“The Open Door grant will allow the Pao Arts Center to work more closely with seniors who live in Chinatown to develop programming that meets their creative, health, and social needs,” said Pao Arts Center Director Cynthia Woo. “We have spent the last two years starting relationships with senior groups and are excited that funding will allow us to create a welcoming, friendly, and important space for seniors to engage with all members of our populations, from children and students to artists.”

Through arts, culture, and education, the Pao Arts Center brings together community members across generations to reclaim a critical piece of Chinatown history and to create healthy families and vibrant communities. In partnership with Bunker Hill Community College, BCNC opened the Pao Arts Center in 2017 to be Chinatown’s first community-based arts center and Boston’s newly dedicated Asian American and Asian immigrant cultural space.

The Senior Arts Initiative engages older constituents ages 65 and above at the Pao Arts Center in developing age-friendly programming. In Spring 2018, the Pao Arts Center was approached by a group of seniors from the Golden Age Center’s Hong Lok House to use space for activities including tai chi and dance. Building on the momentum from this cohort of elders, the Arts Center will actively engage seniors in its programs committee, increasing their social participation.

Open Door Grants are competitive, one-year grants designed for organizations whose proposal is focused on Greater Boston and whose values align with those of the Boston Foundation. Grants are awarded quarterly, and are selected by staff through an inclusive evaluation process. Funds for this grant come from the Boston Foundation’s Permanent Fund for Boston, Greater Boston’s only endowed fund focusing on the pressing needs of Greater Boston. The Permanent Fund has been made possible by more than a century of gifts from those who seek to support innovative solutions to the region’s most pressing problems since 1915. ( By BCNC)