Our Team
MLBCC Board of Directors
Directions
Employment Opportunities
Support Maria L. Baldwin Community Center
Contact
Anti-Racism Work

About Maria L. Baldwin Community Center
Formerly called the Agassiz Neighborhood Council, Inc. and Agassiz Baldwin Community (ABC), Maria L. Baldwin Community Center, A Cambridge Corporation (MLBCC) is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt corporation that provides services and programs for Cambridge residents.

In August 2007, the agency changed its name to Agassiz Baldwin Community, A Cambridge Corporation to better reflect our citywide functions and constituency, as well as to honor a neighborhood luminary, Maria Louise Baldwin, first African-American headmistress in New England.

In May 2022, the Board of Directors voted to rename our organization the Maria L. Baldwin Community Center. We’ll continue to do business as our former name while we go through the legal processes to get the name officially changed.

Mission
MLBCC is a place that nurtures individual growth and creativity, builds connections, and serves as a forum for community advocacy.

We believe in:

• Welcoming and including everyone
• Lifelong learning
• Fostering a culture of creativity and cooperation

Our programs and services include:
—The Baldwin Neighborhood Council provides community members with the opportunity to have their voices heard as well as take action on a variety of issues and initiatives.  It meets monthly (except for July and August).  The Whistler, our community newsletter, includes the minutes from each month’s Council meeting as well as information about ABC’s programs, events, and other items of interest in Cambridge.
—Children’s Programs include afterschool, summer program, parent/child playgroups, and opportunities for middle school students to get work experience through our Youth Employment Program.
—Our arts programming includes Maud Morgan Arts (studios and classes for adults and children), Chandler Gallery, Community Artist Spotlight Space, and specialized arts instruction in our children’s programs.
—Community events and services include our annual Thanksgiving Potluck Feast, the Kids Only Holiday Sale, and Backyard Block Party. View our online calendar, as well as a Maud Morgan Arts-specific calendar. We also offer technical support for community initiatives, resources and referrals on neighborhood issues, and neighborhood archives.
—The Living Well Network, a grassroots, volunteer-supported initiative to help older residents stay in their homes as they age.  This network will include contiguous neighborhoods, Porter Square, Neighborhood 9, Mid-Cambridge, and abutting sections of Somerville.

History
Over fifty years ago, MLBCC began as a Cambridge Community School in the Cambridge Department of Human Services.  We offered programs for adults and children in the then-called Agassiz School after school hours. In 1985, we incorporated as a not-for-profit, retaining the contract for community school services (such as the afterschool program) and the community forum, Agassiz (now Baldwin) Neighborhood Council.  MLBCC purchased 20 Sacramento St., which we had rented from Harvard University, and grew our programs to include a gallery, preschool, and numerous community-building events, classes, and activities appealing to both those living in the neighborhood as well as a citywide audience.

Land Acknowledgement
Maria L. Baldwin Community Center is located on the traditional homeland of the Massachusetts people. We recognize their close neighbors the Wampanoag and the Nipmuc.

Visit Us
MLBCC is located in the Baldwin Neighborhood of Cambridge, between Harvard and Porter Squares, with a population of approximately 5,000.

We hold programs in three sites:

• Maria L. Baldwin Community Center, 20 Sacramento Street
• Maria L. Baldwin School, 85 Oxford Street
• North Hall, 1651 Massachusetts Avenue

Click here for directions.

Governing Documents
Download our IRS Tax Exempt designation form

To obtain our financial statements, visit our profile on ProPublica.