The Fenway neighborhood is well known as the home of the Red Sox, but not for basic community amenities:  It’s missing a school branch and a public library, to name a few. Fenway Community Center, an independent nonprofit that fosters arts, wellness, enrichment, and civic engagement for residents of all ages, attempts to fill that gap. 

 “Our mission is to be a connector—we aim to engage residents with each other, with resources, with city departments and with things happening in the neighborhood,” said Mallory Rohrig, the center’s executive director.

From bingo nights to movie matinees to slow-flow yoga, the center offers activities for all ages. One of its most heartwarming programs is the drop-in playgroup every Friday morning from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. “It’s an opportunity for neighborhood families to come together and have a space where their kids can play and they can get to know each other—there’s not a ton of resources for families in the area,” Rohrig said. 

In 2016, after years of residents self-organizing community events throughout the neighborhood, The Abbey Group purchased a building on Boylston Street that became Fenway Community Center’s dedicated space.

 “Before this building went up, there wasn’t any dedicated city-run community center,” Rohrig said. 

Now, the biggest issue the center faces is making its presence known. Perhaps too distracted from the flashy games or overwhelmed by the constant and fast changes in the neighborhood, many Fenway residents remain unaware of the resources and programming available to them. The center primarily relies on word-of-mouth and community engagement to reach visitors.

“The more people that attend and tag us in their story [on the center’s Instagram and Facebook pages] or bring a friend, the better we can spread the word about what we offer,” said Rohrig. 

Another way that the organization gains visibility is through community partnerships.

“One of our biggest and long running programs is a food distribution that we do as part of our involvement with Fenway Cares,” Rohrig said. “It is a collective of six different neighborhood nonprofits that does food distribution biweekly in the Fenway neighborhood – we all help to promote each other’s work,” she added.

Although visibility remains an ongoing challenge for the center, Rohrig adds that she’s happy with the work she and her colleagues have been doing for the past years.

“I’m proud of the breadth of programs that we’ve brought to the center and started back up, not just in terms of type of program, but also in terms of the type of the audience that would be attending the program. I think we’ve done a lot more to better reflect the makeup of the neighborhood and to have programs that appeal to those different ages.”

Nina Wolf, the center’s community program assistant, shared a similar sentiment.

“Making the seniors laugh at bingo, having them know my name and knowing theirs—it’s something I’m really proud of.” 

In current days, when perhaps more than ever the world can feel fragmented, the Fenway Community Center is a place where bonds are built and strengthened.

“If you’re looking for a place that really cares about people and cares about you as an individual, check out the community center,” said Michael Borelli, a part-time staffer who helps with events. “Everyone here is looking for community and love.”