The Care Center

When you give to The Care Center, you stand up for the simple idea that people of means and people in poverty need the same things. As in the best college preparatory schools in the country, we do whatever it takes to see that our students succeed. 

Your support helps teen mothers pass the high school equivalency exam but that's just the beginning. 75% of our graduates go on to college - a statistic that rivals the best schools in the country.

We accomplish this with a powerful combination of arts, humanities, athletics, high expectations, and persistent convincing messages about the importance of education, particularly higher education.

Class sizes are small, and the student-teacher ratio is low, allowing for substantive connections between adults and young people. The arts bring forth unimagined possibilities, and the athletic component becomes a hands-on lab that illustrates the lessons of physics and mathematics. Our expectations are high and our support of students is exceptional.

This fall, in partnership with Bard College, we will open the nation's first college for young mothers. Designed for Care Center graduates, Bard Micro-College Holyoke will be housed within The Care Center and feature our proven supports (daycare, transportation, counseling, encouragement and camaraderie.)

We will continue to offer The Clemente Course in the Humanities with Bard College, open to all low-income women in the community. Enrolling students from age 18 to 68, the Clemente Course offers two semesters of college-credit bearing classes in art  history, philosophy, literature, writing, and American  history. All at no charge to students.

This wouldn't be possible without your support. The Care Center relies on caring people like you to make our programs exceptional.

More than 100 people benefit from our programs every day.