The Home for Little Wanderers Chosen as an Official Charity for the 128th Boston Marathon® presented by Bank of America

Boston, MA (9/11/2023) - The Home for Little Wanderers announced today that it has been named an official charity for the 128^th Boston Marathon® presented by Bank of America and has received five bibs for the 2024 event. The Home is proud to be part of Bank of America’s inaugural partnership with the historic Boston Marathon and distinguished as a member of the 2024 Bank of America Boston Marathon Official Charity Program, due to its deep commitment to children’s wellbeing and to building healthy communities. Being a selected charity team for the 128^th running of the Boston Marathon presents a significant fundraising opportunity to support The Home’s mission to help children and families build permanent, positive change and shines a light on the mental health and wellness of kids on a world-renowned runners’ stage.

“Last year, I ran the Boston Marathon with my daughter, Sydney, to give visibility to the children and families served by our organization,” said Lesli Suggs, LICSW, CEO & President of The Home, who raised more than $20,000 for the organization. “I can’t think of another cause I’m more passionate about. We ran to raise awareness about the impact of abuse and neglect. To raise awareness of the impact poverty and lack of resources has on the ability of a family to meet the needs of their children. To raise awareness about the mental health crisis that impacts kids’ ability to thrive in school and in their communities.”

The funds raised by marathon runners support The Home’s core purpose of providing therapeutic services to children and their families who have backgrounds of trauma, abuse, and neglect with the goal of building permanent and healthy connections that help children sustain their wellbeing and keep children safe in their own communities. When children cannot remain with their families, The Home works to stabilize the family and provide the children with a safe temporary placement, close to their communities, with the goal of timely reunification. When reunification with their families is deemed impossible, The Home works to find the child an alternative placement and quality lifelong community connections. For older youth, funding will help to provide supportive services to young adults who have aged out of the foster care system. These services are designed to help such young adults identify and achieve goals in the areas of mental health and safety, education, employment, housing, and life skills.

The Home supports its runners by helping them set up their fundraising pages, assisting in creating a fundraising plan, sharing sample solicitation language and fundraising ideas, and holding regular meetings to track fundraising goals. The Home also provides its runners with a training program to help them complete the marathon safely and sets up a tent at Mile 17 to cheer on its runners.

The Home services youth from birth to age 26 through its 30+ community-based and residential programs in Massachusetts, New York, and New Hampshire. For more information, visit thehome.org.