To understand the mission behind Agassiz Village, we must go back to 1910 and the small village of Kashoffka, Russia (now Kashivka, Ukraine).

Ten-year-old Hersh Baraznik was mourning the loss of his beloved mother—called "Hannah the Saint" by the people of their village. Unable to cope with his new stepmother, he left home, beginning a two-year journey through Russia and Europe in which he took odd jobs to survive. In 1912, he stowed away on a ship heading to America.

When the vessel landed in Portland, Maine, Hersh tried to find a job to support himself, but he was unsuccessful. He decided to head to Boston, where he knew a large immigrant community existed, and there found work selling newspapers on a street corner in Beacon Hill.

The life of a newsboy was not easy. In fact, it was dangerous and physically demanding, requiring Hersh to withstand rain, bitter cold, and snow. On several occasions he was found nearly frozen in the street, saved by the kindness of strangers who helped and generously supported him by buying his newspapers. 

After spending many years on his street corner, his luck changed when he was nominated by his fellow newsboys for a Suffolk University scholarship. Hersh, who had by then adopted the Americanized name of Harry Burroughs, went on to earn a law degree and become a very successful attorney in Boston.

However, even as his success grew, Harry never forgot about his fellow newsboys and the other street traders whose lives were filled with endless work and little joy. He believed that given an opportunity to change the course of their lives as he had been given, they, too, would flourish. And so, in 1928, he founded the Burroughs Newsboys Foundation in Boston.

The Foundation offered the boys classes in music, art, government, and several trades. It also gave them the chance to learn life skills, become financially literate, and receive much-needed medical attention. Most importantly, it offered moral support for these youth who had suffered hardship for so long. 

While the Foundation was a success, Harry was not content. He also wanted the boys to experience the one thing they never had, something he fondly remembered from his days in Kashoffka: the outdoors. 

And so, in 1935, with the help of benefactor Maximillan Agassiz, he founded Agassiz Village for the impoverished inner-city children of Boston who had never known the joy of experiencing nature.

Today, we proudly carry on Harry's mission to help prepare children for life's journey by providing enrichment programs that build confidence and self-esteem so they can walk confidently into their future.

For more on the history of Agassiz Village, see our Timeline.