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Help support the Butler Extended Day Program

For more than 30 years, the Butler Extended Day Program (BEDP) has provided professionally staffed, reliable and affordable before- and after-school care to the Butler community. We’ve all seen first-hand how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted family schedules, school building access, and policies for educators and caregivers. Since BEDP’s initial closure in March, the program’s small, permanent staff has worked hard to provide safe virtual and limited in-person services for Butler students while also trying to maintain the viability of this small nonprofit organization that we believe is a vital part of the Butler community. 

As winter sets in, and a return to full BEDP operations is still many months away, BEDP urgently needs to fill a short-term revenue gap of $40,000 in order to survive, and to be ready to reopen when it is safe to do so. 

We are all eager to resume our normal routines of work and school, and with a vaccine on the horizon, we’ll get there soon.  We want to ensure BEDP will still be there for all of Butler’s children whenever it’s safe to reopen. 

BEDP offers Butler’s diverse community a nonprofit model of before- and after-school care, with tuition rates significantly more affordable than its peer programs at other Belmont elementary schools. In addition, BEDP is able to offer Butler families more than $20,000 in full or partial tuition scholarships each year, helping to create an inclusive environment for Belmont’s working families. BEDP is beloved by participating children and families, offering a healthy mix of enrichment activities, homework help, and free play. 

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, BEDP’s small staff has taken thoughtful and informed measures to continue serving the community while also maintaining the organization’s financial health.  

Program innovations have included: 

—Virtual classes in cooking, coding and chess;
—The creation of online resources and at-home enrichment ideas for children and families;
—An outdoor program for Fall 2020;
—A successful application for a forgivable loan through the Paycheck Protection —Program to preserve staff payroll and benefits; and
— Reduced operating expenses to the furthest extent possible.  
 
As Butler parents and members of the BEDP Board, we all know the huge role BEDP plays in supporting the childcare needs of working families in our community. Butler families rely on BEDP—and now BEDP is relying on all of us.

The BEDP staff and board are looking at longer-term options to help ensure the ongoing stability of the program. In the short term, we’re calling on all BEDP families—past, present, and future—to consider supporting this nonprofit organization with a tax-deductible donation through our GoFundMe. 

Your donation in any amount can help BEDP fill that $40,000 funding gap and ensure that BEDP remains a strong and thriving resource for Butler families this year and every year. Thank you for your support!

P.S. Thanks to a provision of the CARES Act , you can get a tax credit for up to $300 in eligible charitable donations made in 2020, even if you don’t itemize your deductions!
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Donations 

  • Lu Chen
    • $100 
    • 3 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $50 
    • 3 yrs
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Fundraising team (3)

Norah Piehl
Organizer
Raised $1,250 from 3 donations
Belmont, MA
Butler Extended Day Program
 
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Alexandra Machado
Team member
Raised $1,500 from 4 donations
Casey Otis
Team member
Raised $1,200 from 4 donations
This team raised $10,165 from 49 other donations.

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