Charlestown

Fundraising and renovations
By Mike Barresi

In 1998, Harcourt General donated $1.5 million and the Putnam Senior Executive Fund donated $1 million to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston to “achieve a level of comfort with technology,” Whitlock said.

She said that collaborating with partners has aided the development of the club. “MIT and the Media Lab have developed software for use by professionals throughout the world,” she said. And they have “software and other technological peripherals usable for children, especially poor children.”

Whitlock’s work with community partners paid off in 2001 when the Charlestown club began major renovations. These were the first major changes the club had witnessed since 1917, when a second floor was added to the original building.

Local and state businesses as well as private donations funded the $5.3 million project.

Helped in large part by a $1 million donation by the company whose name adorns the new building, Keane, Inc., and $450, 000 from the Kresge Foundation, the Keane Children’s Center is equipped for the 21st century.

Eighteen months after the project began, a grand re-opening was held on September 15, 2003.

Next: Inside the computer clubhouse