Revere resident Leandra Rivera lauded by ABCD at Community Heroes Celebration

HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge offered keynote address

  On Friday, November 18, 2022, at the Seaport’s Omni Boston Hotel, Action for Boston Community Development (ABCD) honored 16 Community Heroes – volunteers, partners, collaborators and leaders who uplift underserved and under-represented people and families throughout Greater Boston and advocate for social, racial, economic and reproductive justice. This Community Heroes Celebration (CHC) was the first ABCD awards gala since 2019, and if featured keynote speaker Marcia L. Fudge – Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) – and WCVB-TV’s Karen Holmes Ward as emcee.

  ABCD’s President and CEO, Sharon Scott-Chandler, Esq., said, “ABCD has blazed a trail in every aspect of anti-poverty and social justice work in the Greater Boston area.” She continued, “I am honored and humbled to laud all of our 2022 Community Heroes in-person after three years. COVID may have kept us apart for a while, but it made us more agile, more resilient and more creative. We don’t do this alone. Collaboration is at the core of our work.”

  Revere resident Leandra Rivera was among the 16 Community Heroes nominated from across the region by ABCD neighborhood centers and programs for their selfless contribution of time, energy, expertise and compassion. Leandra became involved with ABCD through Hillsong Church Boston, partnering with ABCD’s Roxbury/North Dorchester Neighborhood Opportunity Center.

  She recalled a particular client interaction: “At our first backpack drive, I greeted a family who arrived late due to transportation issues. The youngest child was crying, and I got down on my knees to ask why. She was nervous that they were too late for a backpack. Learning that her favorite color was blue, I said, ‘Well then you are just in time’ as we walked to the backpack station and a volunteer handed her a new blue backpack. I loved watching her face light up as we moved from station to station, filling the backpack with supplies. She was so excited to show her siblings the new backpack and to start school. There is nothing that compares to those moments! ABCD will unlock a part of you that you did not know was there.”

A woman of the people

  Secretary Fudge’s career was forged in the fire of advocacy, equity and social justice: She has worked to help low-income families, seniors and communities across the country throughout her career. From 2008 to 2021 she served as U.S. Representative for the 11th Congressional District of Ohio.

  Secretary Fudge believes that U.S. housing issues are not solved through a one-size-fits-all approach, and she advocates for policies and programs that can adapt to meet a community’s unique housing challenges. Under her leadership, HUD is working to eradicate growing homelessness in our communities, to end discriminatory lending practices and to ensure that U.S. fair housing rules open the door for those who have been systematically locked out of home ownership, making the dream of homeownership a reality for more Americans.

  In 1999, Secretary Fudge was elected the first woman and the first African American mayor of Warrensville Heights, Ohio. During her two terms, she prioritized improving the city’s tax base and expanded opportunities for affordable housing. Her career in public service began in the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office, where she rose to the rank of director of budget and finance. Secretary Fudge earned a bachelor’s degree from The Ohio State University and a Juris Doctor from Cleveland State University, Cleveland-Marshall School of Law. She is a past national president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and a member of its Greater Cleveland Alumnae Chapter.

60th Anniversary, Diamond Jubilee

  The CHC gala coincides with ABCD’s Diamond Jubilee! Sixty years ago, in 1962, ABCD was a startup in the fight against poverty in America, launched with a $1.9 million grant from the Ford Foundation. In 1964, when Congress passed the Economic Opportunity Act, ABCD was designated as Boston’s official anti-poverty agency. ABCD built several senior housing developments with HUD 202 grants, has been a HUD-certified counseling agency since 2009 and provides many other housing programs and services.

  The diamond is symbolic of ABCD’s spirit and purpose as well as that of the Community Heroes – able to withstand heat and pressure and shine brilliantly thereafter. John J. Drew, who retired on June 30, 2022, after a storied 51- year career with the anti-poverty agency, 13 as president and CEO, was inducted into the ABCD Hall of Fame. A national leader in the community action and nonprofit sector, Drew led the expansion of Head Start programs and launched several new youth programs, including WorkSMART, a school year paid work and learning experience for disadvantaged youths. Financially astute, Drew facilitated ABCD’s acquisition of significant real estate, as well as initiated renovation and technology updates for state-of-the-art facilities for Head Start, ABCD’s two alternative high schools and the Urban College of Boston.

  Dr. Gary Gross, who served as ABCD’s medical director for family planning for 41 years before retiring in March 2022, received the Lifetime Health Equity Access Champion Award. A leader in essential and comprehensive family planning services, Dr. Gross helped form the Massachusetts Family Planning Consortium that outlined the initial grant application for Title X funding for Massachusetts, with ABCD as the grantee. He also partnered with Barbara Eck Menning, founder of RESOLVE, to establish the first-ever Title X funded program for early diagnosis and treatment of infertility within family planning sites, bringing traditionally out-of-reach care directly to the communities served by ABCD.

  About ABCD: A nonprofit human services community action organization, ABCD provides underserved residents of Boston and the Mystic Valley area with the tools, support and the resources they need to transition from poverty to stability and from stability to success. Each year the organization serves more than 100,000 individuals, elders and families through a broad range of innovative initiatives as well as long-established, proven programs and services. For 60 years, ABCD has been deeply rooted in every neighborhood and community served, empowering individuals and families and supporting them in their quest to live with dignity and achieve their highest potential. For more information, please visit bostonabcd.org.