Tag: families

  • For 60 Years, Hill House Remains a Hub of Beacon Hill

    Several families engage their children in athletic programs, such as indoor tennis, during the winter. Photo by Ryan Owens.

    Little footsteps patter across the hardwood floor, while instructors and volunteers attempt to get everyone in line. Toddlers yell with excitement, interrupted by the occasional anxious cry-turned-laughter.

    This is the regular symphony at Hill House, a nonprofit Beacon Hill community center that serves families throughout the downtown Boston area. Founded in 1966, Hill House – whose slogan is “Your backyard in the city” – has been providing families, particularly their children, with physical and intellectual enrichment through a variety of activities and weekly programs.

    “We were founded 60 years ago by the Beacon Hill Civic Association,” said the center’s chief executive officer, Katherine Snider.

    The association was a group of families concerned about their neighbors moving to the suburbs and abandoning downtown.

    “This group of parents said, ‘How are we going to make Boston more livable for families? What do we need to do?’” Snider explained.

    Hill House began at 74 Joy St., but the demand and needs from families continued to grow. The organization later expanded to 127 Mount Vernon St, a former firehouse near the Boston Public Garden where the main operations currently take place.

    Former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino sold the building to Hill House for a single dollar, and a group of families came together to have the former firehouse undertake the necessary renovations to make it safe for children.

    Jamie Kelly, programs director, said Hill House provides an opportunity for her to pursue a lifelong passion.

    “I have always enjoyed working with children, and I thought I would be a teacher at one point,” Kelly said. “Then I was looking to relocate to Boston, and Hill House is just an outstanding organization that really drew me in.”

    “I realized that there’s so much that I can learn and so much that I can give, and it’s been that way ever since,” Kelly said.

    Diana Fabbrucci, a South End parent of two and recent board member, said Hill House gives her ease of mind that her children will be in good hands.

    “I’m a very overprotective parent,” Fabbrucci said.  “[Hill House] is a safe place. There are no other adults in the building. That …makes me feel really comfortable.”

    From ninja warrior training to painting and from Dungeons and Dragons games to cooking, HIll House offers an array of programs and activities six days a week.

    Most of HIll House’s programs are designed for younger participants, particularly those anywhere between age 3 and 12. However, there are also programs targeting seniors and other groups, such as expecting and new mothers.

    Hill House has thrived through multiple generations. People who start as children become volunteers and then parents who bring their children to Hill House to engage in the same community that they once did. It’s “my community,’’ Fabbrucci explained.

    “I feel like I am part of the organization because I’m so invested and my kids are doing so many of their programs,” Fabbrucci said.

    People who use the center grow up familiar with Hill House’s mantra – give back to the community.

    “It’s a partnership,” Kelly said. “It’s families turning to us for something…and then they’re on our soccer field next week.”

    “A lot of families that will be part of those programs have lots of means,” Fabbrucci said. “They will be part of the programs, but they also will contribute to Hill House so that they can make programming accessible for everyone.”

    Hill House offers a scholarship fund for individual families and people from underserved communities, the officials said. It also promotes volunteer opportunities on its website.

    Snider said the center’s next focus will be on locating space to facilitate new programs and finding capital supporters to fund the project and maintain the buildings.

    On a recent day this month, several parents and children took refuge from the cold to test their swings in indoor tennis.

    In another area of the building, other children could be seen huddling with an instructor as they tapped into their artistic abilities, such as sketching, painting and crafting.

    Fabbrucci said that being at the Hill House is a “wonderful feeling.”

    “I’d hope it lasts for another 60 years,” Fabbrucci said of the center.

  • Free Culture Access Surges: Boston Family Days Program Triples in Size

     Mayor Michelle Wu announced an expansion of the Boston Family Days program last month that will provide more students and families free entry to multiple cultural venues this fall.

    City officials say the program has grown each year since it was introduced as BPS Sundays in February 2024. That first year, six cultural institutions were open on the first and second Sunday of each month. Today, students and families may visit 23 venues. Last year, 65,000 people were provided free access to cultural events and performances. The Boston Ballet, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Huntington Theatre plan to provide more than 2,500 tickets this fall.

    Sage Morgan-Hubbard, director of learning and management at The Museum of African American History, said the program and experiences have resonated with young people.

    “We’ve had more young people come out, and our Juneteenth was probably our best visitation day,” she said. “We had like 450 people … of all different ages.”

    As one of the smallest museums in the program, Morgan-Hubbard said the additional traffic will advance the organization’s effort to spread a message of empowerment through education. Tours begin at the Abiel Smith School, the nation’s oldest public school to educate African American students exclusively. Among other exhibits, visitors can explore the African Meeting House, where prominent figures such as Frederick Douglass spoke to crowds, and abolitionist and writer William Cooper Nell attended school.

    When the Museum of African American History joined the initiative last year, it incorporated performing arts into its programming. The museum partnered with dance group Jean Appolon Expressions, and the Front Porch Arts Collective – a Black theater group, as well as others.

    “I think there’s nothing more transformative than having live arts because you know all your senses are engaged,” said Morgan-Hubbard. “They’re just much more interesting ways for young people to learn about different topics and be exposed to different art forms than sometimes a regular tour.”

    The Boston Family Days program was originally open only to Boston public school students and their families. Private school students and families are now eligible.

    Bostonians gathered on a recent Saturday at RoboBoston, Mass Robotics’ annual block party, held this year in the Seaport District. The free event showcased robotics from more than 50 institutions and companies throughout the city. While separate from the Boston Family Days program, the event attracted technology enthusiasts, families and students, including Jovie Slagle, a mother from Quincy, who said she was vaguely familiar with the city-sponsored program. But it sounded interesting.

    “I’d like to see some arts too,” said Slagle, who mentioned that disciplines such as math and science are important to childhood education, but creative expression is another powerful way to open their minds.

    The Huntington Theatre is tucked between the neighborhoods of Fenway, Back Bay and the South End. The theater joined the city program as part of the expansion, which staff members say is a continuation of an investment in Boston’s art scene.

    “It was pretty easy … we want in,” said Meg O’Brien, the theater’s director of education.

    Huntington staff members and representatives of other performing arts venues met with city officials last summer. The goal was to integrate theaters into a program originally designed for museums.

    The working group faced challenges. Museums allow visitors entrance at any time, while theaters operate with a fixed number of seats and specific performance schedules.

    A plan to expand the program was unveiled this spring. In May, the Huntington Theatre hosted two family days for “The Light in the Piazza” directed by its Artistic Director Loretta Greco. The events fueled optimism for the fall, according to O’Brien.

    To accommodate theaters, the city will release a rolling schedule of upcoming performances instead of set times throughout the fall. That way, families can decide when they are free rather than schedule an event in advance. “The goal is to make it feel as inviting and as welcoming as possible so that they actually do come out and spend the time with us,” O’Brien said.

    The city will continue the program through June 2026, according to a press release from the mayor’s office.

    “I would want to see more programming at the institutions themselves,” said Sam Fidler, director of administration and finance in the mayor’s Office of Arts and Culture. “I think that is something also that we’re in the process of working on.”