About Us
SCI Dorchester @ DotWell is an initiative to build civic engagement and social capital in Boston's largest and oldest neighborhood, Dorchester. SCI Dorchester's mission is to strengthen our community by connecting diverse individuals and organizations through civic engagement initiatives. Examples of our initiatives include:
- the MyDorchester.org website
- the eBlast, a weekly e-newsletter that reaches over 2,000 subscribers
- the DotWell Volunteer Program
- the Dorchester Youth Council
- partnership with the Dorchester FAMILY School Initiative
- and all sorts of great community events, such as the Safe Love Dance, the Trick or Treat Canned Food Drive and MyDorchester Night
SCI Dorchester @ DotWell was started by Social Capital Inc. (SCI) as their first flagship location. We are coordinated through a partnership between Social Capital Inc. (SCI) and DotWell, which is a collaboration between Codman Square Health Center and Dorchester House Multi-Service Center that facilitates integrated clinical and community services at both health centers and that addresses health disparities, builds social capital, and meets the complex needs of the Dorchester community. Funding support for SCI Dorchester has come from the Boston Globe Foundation and the Miller Foundation. Staff support comes from the Massachusetts Service Alliance and AmeriCorps. For more information about SCI Dorchester @ DotWell's staff and AmeriCorps members, click here.
What is "Social Capital?" The concept that "relationships matter" is what social capital is all about. The more active we are in our community, and the more connected we are to our neighbors informally, the better off we are both personally and as a community.
The term "social capital" encompasses a range of activities including volunteering, joining community groups, and participating in our democracy.
For more information on the concept of social capital and its importance, click here.
How does SCI Dorchester build social capital? Social capital-building action can be found all over Dorchester, along the Washington Street corridor in Codman Square and on Dorchester Avenue in Fields Corner, in Adams Village, in Ashmont Hill and in Uphams Corner. Community enthusiasts are building social capital and increasing civic engagement on the doorsteps of beautiful, historic Victorian homes and on the bulletin boards of Dorchester laundromats, at monthly neighborhood and civic association meetings, at health centers, and at youth group gatherings. With all the programs and services, resources and opportunities available here, SCI Dorchester's team helps those who live, work, play and/or learn here connect with and benefit from the many resources and opportunities - community activities, programs, businesses and sevices - available here. SCI Dorchester matches volunteers to volunteering opportunities, spotlights worthy endeavors, leads family-school partnerships, coordinates youth-led activities and programs, links residents to resources, and even spotlights local businesses that are positively contributing to their community. For more information on how SCI Dorchester connects individuals and groups to increase Dorchester's social capital, click here to read about our four priority areas for programming.
