A two-year grant awarded to the Wareham Boys and Girls Club is helping to launch a major onsite youth initiative at the Brandy Hill affordable housing complex off of Minot Avenue.

The grant, provided by MassHousing, in combination with scholarship funds committed by Preservation Housing Management, Preservation of Affordable Housing, and the Wareham Boys and Girls Club, will allow children between the ages of seven and 13 to engage in an array of structured educational and recreational activities during the summer vacation and after-school, both at the Brandy Hill site and at the Club, according to a Boys and Girls Club press release.

Brandy Hill is home to 137 very low-income children and youth under the age of 19.  The average income for families living at Brandy Hill is $16,410 with 25% of the families reporting incomes of less than $10,000 per year, the press release indicates.

Barbara Sullivan, director of the Wareham Club, says that though Boys and Girls Club fees are low, the transportation required by parents to pick up their children at the end of the day in conjunction with the fees have been barriers to Brandy Hill families.

Lack of participation in community programs has isolated these youth and left them home after-school and during vacations with no structured activities to occupy themselves, according to Sullivan.

Up to 10 children are being recruited to participate in the Wareham Boys and Girls Club six-week summer program. The grant will provide transportation to and from Brandy Hill from July 11 to August 15.

Beginning in September, the Boys and Girls Club will offer an after-school homework assistance program based on its “Power Hour” program at the Brandy Hill community room for one-and-a-half hours on weekdays during the school year.

The Boys and Girls Club anticipates that an average of 25 children will participate in the homework assistance program each day. Two older teens from the site will also be recruited and trained to assist younger children with their homework.