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Shining A Light On Our 31 Nights of Light 2024 Organizations!
News
For the 16th consecutive year, Prudential Center brings 31 Nights of Light to life to put a figurative spotlight on participating non-profit organizations.
A favorite tradition year after year, 31 Nights of Light celebrates 28 local non-profits (and 3 holidays) all December long.
Every night of the month, the top of Prudential Tower is lit a different color in support of that night’s partner. Inside the Center, organizations can opt to flip our large symbolic switch, providing additional awareness and a chance to celebrate their hard work.
Keep reading to learn more about the 28 organizations lighting up the sky this holiday season:
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1 | BOSTON BRUINS FOUNDATION – GOLD
Celebrating its 21st year of impact, the Boston Bruins Foundation collaborates with charitable organizations that demonstrate a commitment to health and wellness, education and athletics. The Foundation strongly believes that advocating for children and families across these areas will create a strong support system that will ultimately lead to the betterment of our community. December 1 also marks the centennial celebration of the first NHL game played by the Boston Bruins.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 2 | HOSPITALITY HOMES – TEAL & ORANGE
With a deeply rooted history in Boston for more than 40 years, Hospitality Homes supports patient-centered care in Boston, beyond the hospital, to provide a safe harbor in a time of crisis. The organization matches out-of-town patients from all over the country and world with volunteer host homes and donated apartments, finding patients and their caregivers a place to stay during their medical treatment. Hospitality Homes serves patients regardless of age, diagnosis, ethnicity, religion, income level, gender identity, sexual orientation, ability or hospital.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 3 | ACE OF GREATER BOSTON – TEAL, PURPLE & GOLD
The ACE Mentor Program of Greater Boston is a volunteer-driven organization that introduces high school students to the professions of Architecture, Construction management, Engineering, and the trades. The flagship program is a free, collaborative after school program that brings students from multiple schools together at six sites around Boston, as well as virtually. Each year, dozens of volunteers from the industries coach student teams through an end-to-end interdisciplinary design project (ie. renovating a subway station or improving a neighborhood’s resilience to climate change). Students can participate for up to four years, trying out a different “profession” each year or sticking with a topic of interest. In addition to the after school program, ACE also curates summer internship opportunities as well as raises money for scholarships to support college or formal training in the trades.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4 | SOCCER WITHOUT BORDERS MA – BLUE, WHITE & GREEN
Through in-school, after-school, weekend, and summer programs, Soccer Without Borders Massachusetts (SWB) supports newcomer and immigrant youth to overcome barriers via participation in sport, to gain a sense of belonging and to build social capital. SWB delivers year-round TEAM programs and intentionally-designed leagues across Eastern Massachusetts, as well as summer programs in cities such as Springfield to support specific newcomer populations. SWB actively participates in the Massachusetts sports-based youth development community, partnering to ensure that every youth has a safe environment to play, learn, and grow.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 5 | FOOD FOR FREE – GREEN & GOLD
Beginning in 1981, Food For Free has been improving access to healthy food through innovative programming and partnerships to overcome barriers and strengthen the community food system. Food for Free believes that access to healthy food is a fundamental right and envisions a future where everyone in the community – regardless of age, income, or ability – has consistent access to fresh, healthy, delicious food.
Through a combination of food rescue and transportation services, the organization gives food programs year-round access to fresh fruits and vegetables, while its direct service programs bring food to students, seniors, and others most at risk of hunger. Each program addresses not only short-term hunger, but also the long-term health effects of food insecurity and poor nutrition, while reducing food waste.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 6| VOLO KIDS FOUNDATION – BLUE & WHITE
The Volo Kids Foundation uses the power of play to build communities of active, resilient, and confident kids. Volo Kids accomplishes this by creating safe, youth-centered programming that provides a platform for youth mentorship, familial health and wellness, and communal wellbeing. The nonprofit’s program removes barriers to athletic participation, such as limited financial resources and transportation, and is open to children of all races, genders, and experience levels.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7 | CATCHING JOY, INC. –RAINBOW
Founded in 2008, Catching Joy is a youth-led 501c3 nonprofit that promotes volunteerism and acts of kindness beginning with kids, teens, and families. Catching Joy organizes hands-on service projects to share the responsibility and joy of giving. In the last 14 years, they have mobilized an estimated 100,000 people to get informed, get involved, raise their voices, and take action for positive change.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 8 | ASTHMA AND ALLERGY FOUNDATION OF AMERICA – BOSTON – TEAL
Celebrating its 45th anniversary in 2024, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, New England Chapter is dedicated to the control and cure of asthma and allergies. The nonprofit helps people live active, healthy lives with asthma and allergies, including food allergies. AAFA New England actively engages in advocacy outreach to help all those affected by Allergies and Asthma by supporting the following bills in both the Massachusetts and Federal Government.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 9 | BINA FARM CENTER – BLUE, PINK & WHITE
BINA Farm Center brings together individuals of all ages with and without physical, developmental, cognitive, and mental health challenges by offering a variety of equine-assisted therapeutic, clinical, recreational, educational and complementary programs. With centers in Lexington and Wellesley, BINA provides an environment that supports individuals to thrive personally and within their communities.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 10 | CIRCLE OF HOPE – GREEN & PURPLE
Based in Needham, Circle of Hope provides infants, children, and adults experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity in Boston and Metro West with clothing and necessities in order to preserve and enhance overall health and personal dignity. By continually providing seasonally appropriate clothing, shoes, linens, and hygiene essentials to 28 homeless shelters, healthcare clinics, schools, and community programs, Circle of Hope gives the most vulnerable members of our community the opportunity to protect themselves from the dangers of illness and disease that come from being homeless in New England.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11 | CITY YEAR GREATER BOSTON – RED
City Year was founded in Boston in 1988 as a national service program to unite young adults from diverse backgrounds for a demanding year of full-time community service. The now international organization has grown from 50 corps members in Boston to more than 3,000 members serving in 29 US cities, as well as in South Africa and the UK. City Year Greater Boston provides improved outcomes for students in under-resourced schools as well as the cultivation of the next generation of leaders through their alumni.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 12 | BOSTON CHILDREN’S CHORUS – ORANGE, RED & GOLD
Launched in 2023, Boston Children’s Chorus (BCC) harnesses the power of music to connect our city’s diverse communities, cultivate empathy, and inspire social inquiry. Internationally recognized for their innovative programming, passionate artistry, and ability to connect to audiences, Boston Children’s Chorus showcases the talent and passion of the diverse young people of our city through vibrant, jubilant, and powerful performances. BCC presents over 50 performances per season in a wide range of public and private events. They have performed in venues from Boston Symphony Hall, TD Garden, and Royal Albert Hall in London, to the Sydney Opera House, and the White House as well as alongside high-profile artists including Idina Menzel, Hugh Jackman, and Leslie Odom Jr.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13 | AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR SUICIDE PREVENTION – BLUE
As a part of American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP)’s growing nationwide network of chapters, the AFSP Massachusetts Chapter brings together people from all backgrounds who want to prevent suicide in our communities. Grassroots work focuses on eliminating the loss of life from suicide by: delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those individuals who have lost someone to suicide.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14 | THE JOEY FUND – BLUE & GOLD
The Joey Fund, which works in partnership with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, is an independent fund established in November 1986 in memory of Joey O’Donnell, a courageous fighter and victim of cystic fibrosis. Together the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and The Joey Fund supply financial support for both patients and research. In times of extreme sickness or need, New England cystic fibrosis patients and their families have a unique opportunity to receive financial assistance for CF related problems through The Joey Fund and various cystic fibrosis clinics throughout Massachusetts.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 15 | COMMUNITY ART CENTER, INC – PINK, PURPLE & ORANGE
Founded in 1937, the Community Art Center is a neighborhood institution committed to cultivating an engaged community of youth, whose powerful artistic voices transform their lives, their neighborhoods, and their worlds. The Art Center has established an excellent track record of providing creative and challenging learning opportunities to youth, aiming to develop the next generation of civically engaged, community-minded leaders, and problem-solvers. This is done by providing a supportive family-like environment with intensive social, emotional and academic help structures built-in. Mental health and transportation services are available, and three full meals a day. Generations of families have passed through the Art Center’s programs that focus on drawing, writing, and dancing, photography, pottery, and video. The media and design computer labs enable the organization to evolve traditional art forms by using new technologies.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 16 | LBFE BOSTON, LITTLE BROTHERS – FRIENDS OF THE ELDERLY – RED
LBFE Boston is a community-based nonprofit that helps relieve and prevent social isolation by bringing intergenerational, digital equity, and arts programs to older adults in public/affordable senior housing and community centers. Since opening its Boston doors in 1979, LBFE Boston has been working to improve the lives of older adults who often have limited access to transportation, language barriers to navigate, and few family members or friends nearby. Priority is given to older adults living independently at, or below, the poverty line. Weekly programs are offered without charge and without regard to race, gender, creed, nationality, or sexual orientation.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 17 | BREAKTIME – BLUE & WHITE
Breaktime’s mission is to break the cycle of homelessness by equipping young adults with the job and financial security they need to establish housing security. By providing employment, wraparound services, and financial support, Breaktime works to ensure that every young person has the tools they need to achieve job, financial, and long-term housing security.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18 | CASA MYRNA VAZQUEZ, INC. – PURPLE & GREEN
Casa Myrna is Boston’s largest provider of shelter and supportive services to survivors of domestic violence, providing safety, resources, advocacy and information since 1977. The organization also operates SafeLink (the statewide domestic violence hotline), and promotes domestic and dating violence prevention through awareness and education.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 19 | MAKE-A-WISH MA – BLUE
Make-A-Wish MA creates life-changing wish experiences for children with critical illnesses. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 500 children in Massachusetts and Rhode Island are newly diagnosed with critical illnesses each year. The vision is to grant the wish of every medically eligible child.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 20 | LOUIS D. BROWN PEACE INSTITUTE – PURPLE
For 30 years, the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute (LDBPI) has served as a center of healing, teaching, and learning for families and communities impacted by murder, trauma, grief, and loss. LDBPI was founded in 1994 to honor and continue the peacemaking work of Louis D. Brown, a 15-year-old sophomore who was caught in a fatal crossfire shootout near his home in Dorchester in December of 1993. Today, the organization serves as an integral partner to the City of Boston and other cities across the country in transforming society’s response to homicide.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21 | PARKINSON’S FOUNDATION NEW ENGLAND – TEAL
Parkinson’s Foundation New England makes life better for people with Parkinson’s disease (PD) by improving care and advancing research towards a cure. Whether you are newly diagnosed with PD or have been managing it for years, are a care partner, family member or friend of someone with PD, the foundation’s New England chapter is here to help those living in MA, CT, RI, NH, VT, ME.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22 | BREAKTHROUGH T1D – BLUE & WHITE
Breakthrough T1D (formerly JDRF) is the leading global type 1 diabetes research and advocacy organization. Breakthrough T1D helps make everyday life with type 1 diabetes better while driving toward cures. The organization does this by investing in the most promising research, advocating for progress by working with the government to address issues that impact the T1D community, and helping educate and empower individuals facing this condition.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23 | KESEM AT MIT – BLUE & GREEN
Kesem at MIT supports children through and beyond a parent’s cancer. The flagship program, Camp Kesem, is a free, week-long, sleep-away summer camp where children ages 6 to 18 who have been impacted by a parent’s cancer, can come together. Beyond camp, Kesem provides year-round support with Friends and Family Days and Through and Beyond Programming.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24 | MGH FUND – BLUE, TEAL & WHITE
Massachusetts General Hospital has always pushed the boundaries of what is possible. Building on more than 200 years of bold breakthroughs. Donations to the MGH Fund immediately go to work to help Massachusetts General Hospital to continue to advance research in new drug therapies and protocols, make breakthroughs in treatments, provide unsurpassed patient care and expand MGH’s service not only throughout New England, but also the globe.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27 | GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE – GREEN & PURPLE
Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) has awarded over $20 million towards Lyme and tick-borne disease research programs to date. GLA-funded projects have led to unprecedented advances in prevention, diagnosis and the treatment of tick-borne illnesses. GLA-funded researchers have decoded the Lyme genome, discovered how the disease can survive antibiotic therapy, and now understand far more about what makes the Lyme bacterium different than any other type of infection.
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28 | LUNGEVITY – WHITE
LUNGevity is the leading nonprofit that’s transforming how people are diagnosed and live with lung cancer through research, education, and support. LUNGevity has: driven research that better detects and treats lung cancer, removed barriers and accelerating access to care, generated patient insights through data, and connected the global
lung cancer community.
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29 | CHILDREN’S BRAIN TUMOR FOUNDATION – GOLD
The Children’s Brain Tumor Foundation (CBTF) was founded in 1988 by a group of dedicated parents, physicians, and friends to improve the treatment, quality of life, and the long term outlook for children with brain and spinal cord tumors. In addition to providing funds to research a cure, the organization is the nation’s leader in quality of life programs for families impacted by brain and spinal cord tumors. CBTF supports families from the day of diagnosis and throughout the brain tumor journey.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30 | PROPA CITY COMMUNITY OUTREACH – BLUE & PINK
Propa City Community Outreach (PCCO)’s mission is to provide education, advocacy, public awareness and support services to families in our community experiencing all types of loss. This includes: #TeamSimeon Family Circles, which supports families who are experiencing pregnancy related grief & loss; Propa Talk For Teens that gives the youth a voice to advocate for their healing; and Healing Sessions where PCCO provide a positive space for work colleagues, family, church or community organization to experience and rediscover healing modalities that heal mind & body through expression, communication and creative hands on activities.