LISC, the Patriots & NFL Huddle Up to Award 12th Field Grant in Massachusetts to Brooke Charter School in Mattapan

2.15.2022 — LISC StoriesPress ReleasesCapacity BuildingSports and Recreation

Brooke Charter Schools was selected to receive a $250,000 to install a new artificial turf field at their campus in Mattapan. The grant from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), made possible through the support of the New England Patriots and the NFL Foundation, is part of $6 million in field refurbishment awards allocated this year. The field will serve about 1,200 students and flag football players.

LISC's NFL Grassroots Program – a partnership between the NFL Foundation and LISC, the nation’s leading community development support organization – has supported the construction or renovation of 416 football fields nationwide since 1998. During that time, the NFL Foundation has granted nearly $58 million to revitalize playing fields in underserved neighborhoods. Fields are newly built or significantly renovated, with improvements such as irrigation systems, lights, bleachers, scoreboards, goal posts and turf. Grassroots grants are issued once established funding thresholds are reached for each project.

The program has funded 12 community fields in Massachusetts since its start, totaling just over $1.7 million in grants. The grants include recent field improvements at Madison Park Technical Vocational High School and the John D. O'Bryant School of Mathematics and Science in Roxbury and improvements underway at Duggan Field in Springfield for students of John J. Duggan academy and the community as part of Duggan Park.

This field is a huge asset to our community and will help ensure that our students and neighbors have access to the outdoor recreation space we all need, especially at this challenging time.

— Jon Clark, Brooke Charter Schools