755 South First Street                                         Telephone: 508.996.2691
New Bedford, MA 02744                                      Fax: 508.990.1057

Map and Directions

Our center had its origins in the mid 1850's, was incorporated in 1868, and in 2009 stands proudly as one of the largest youth agencies in the city of New Bedford. Our expectations are that all of our children who currently attend and the thousands of adults who attended through the years will draw on some of the values experienced while at Dennison as they pass through a life filled with difficult daily choices.  

	We apologize while our web site remains under construction. We are digging for more information to give you the most current information.	Mission Statement In the 1850's our basic charge was caring for the flood of poor and needy citizens and recent immigrants flooding into the South End of New Bedford. Our philosophy of caring remains the same, now dedicated to youth development, and is grounded in the belief that young people’s individual strengths and capabilities can guide them to mature, productive adulthood with encouragement, commitment and experiencing a positive value system every day. The Dennison programs and activities are experiential opportunities for young people to expand their horizons and realize their full potential. Dennison is committed to training staff in current youth development practices and works towards ensuring that all youth have a voice and an opportunity to succeed.
	School Age Day Care Program	Neighborhood Drop-In Center
	Our Latchkey Program began originally in 1986 and funding is granted through the State of Massachusetts Voucher Management Program locally directed by P.A.C.E. Inc. To inquire about eligibility for school age day care slots in our program, please contact P.A.C.E. at (508) 999-9930. Referrals are made from P.A.C.E. to Dennison and then you would contact Joseph Neves, Program Director, at our center. This is a state licensed school age day care program through the State of Massachusetts EEC, Early Education and Child Care. Our license is renewable every two years and we must meet stringent requirements for renewal. Requirements for licensing include mandatory staff to child minimum ratios presently set at 13:1. Mandatory ongoing staff training requirements, especially in first aid, CPR, and programmatic courses, along with safety issues are a prerequisite. We now have 65 slots designated for this program and these are for school age children from the first grade until age 13. The program is designed to be more structured than our regular drop-in program. Our staff transport children by van or school bus directly to Dennison. They are not allowed to exit the building until the homebound bus route begins. We drop each child off directly with their parents or guardians at their house at the end of the day. The buses leave Dennison at 5:15 pm on school days, and during the summer and school vacations the Latchkey Programs hours are 7:30am-5:00pm They have accessibility to all of the programs offered at Dennison. The sports and phys. ed programs, computers and homework time, to playing video games after school, are available for all Latchkey children.	Dennison Memorial Community Center, a United Way agency, is open to any child between the ages of 6 and 16. Parents or guardians must fill out an application form and submit that with an annual fee of five dollars for their childs' membership. For that, children are entitled to take part in all of the activities and programs of the drop-in program. Programs are geared towards age appropriate activities and include both educational and recreational activities. The hours of operation for children are from immediately after school until 8:30 P.M. Children in the 6th grade and under are expected to exit the building at 6:00 P.M. Junior high school and high school students have programs available after 6:00 P.M. in the gymnasium building. Sample of Programs Computer Resource Center Homework/Tutoring Center Activity Room Phys. Ed/Gymnasium Playground/Outdoor Games Arts and Crafts Karaoke Video Games and Movies Pool, Ping Pong, Table Soccer Tournaments Summer Field Trips Summer Lunch Program

* Quick Fact* Did you know that Charles W. Morgan, a famous whaling captain, was our largest initial contributor. You can view the whaling ship that carries his name at Mystic Seaport and Museum. Throughout these pages you can view pictures of our children, check out the history of Dennison, and find out all about our programs.

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