About us
Bird Street Community Center (legally incorporated as "Upham's Corner Community Center, Inc.") is a private, nonprofit organization (501 (c)3, providing high quality after school programs for children ages 5-13 and youth ages 10-22. We serve more than 1300 youth who primarily reside in Dorchester, Roxbury, Mattapan, Hyde Park and Jamaica Plain. Our Center provides all of the wrap around services that develop well-rounded, healthy children, youth and young adults, including: academic support, leadership training and experience, workforce development and employment, arts & humanities, life skills, community service, violence prevention, case management, recreation and organized sports. We encourage and promote intellectual, physical, personal, and social/emotional development.
our Founders
Gregory Payne
Lead Pastor
Spencer Kimball
Director of Women's Ministry
Lauren
Recruiting
Lauren is the business operations manager for management consulting company. She is looking forward to her role in recruitment and community development for the Bird Street mission.
Silver
Editing Assistance
Silver is looking forward to helping the students at Bird St. come up with good, memorable, and persuasive PSA videos.
Alyssa
Events Manager
Alyssa enrolled at Emerson College in Boston 2012 seeking her Master’s degree. She has been active in Emerson’s civic engagement initiates such as Rediscover Rosarito, and The Bird Street Community Center project.
History
In the early 1900s we opened our doors as the Bird Street Gym, owned and operated by the City of Boston. Budgetary constraints forced the City to close the gym in the 1970s. The residents of Upham's Corner, recognizing a serious community need, organized to reopen the facility in 1978 as a non-profit youth center through a then-unique private-public partnership with the City of Boston, run for a decade by volunteers.
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​Bird Street Community Center is the "hub" for children and youth who seek intellectual, physical, emotional, and personal growth and well being. Courts, social service agencies, schools and families trust Bird Street to help the community's low income/high risk children achieve important life goals and grow into young adults who are community change makers and leaders. Bird Street is a major provider of intentional programming for out-of-school and after school activities. Generations of children have found a safe and caring place for growing and developing character and skills.