About

Concord-Carlisle Community Connections (CCCC) is a mentoring program that takes place in the spring semester of the school year and is sponsored by the Concord-Carlisle High School in Concord, MA. Founded in 2013 by retired businessperson John Fossett, the program’s first two pilot years, school years 2013-14 and 2014-15, served 41 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors in intergenerational relationships with 49 mentors from the local business and professional community. CCCC's third year saw an increase in the student enrollment and mentor participation, with 31 students being served.  The CCCC now aims to connect even more students with community professionals in mentoring partnerships, continuing to build its roster of available prospective mentors.

Following his retirement in 2011, after serving in several senior roles at Middlesex Savings Bank, John sought to find a way to give back to the community. Aiming to seize the opportunity to help young people in the very early stages of career exploration, he worked with then CCHS Principal Peter Badalament to develop an offering forging a connection between high school students and local professionals, with the aim of sharing knowledge and experiences that would enrich the lives of both parties. Together they discovered that many students wanted to reach outside of their daily academic routines to find inspiration and learning through real-life interactions with people from business and other disciplines. They also found that many retired and mid-career professionals were yearning to share their experiences as a means of furthering their contributions to the community.

Following the 2019-2020 school year, John has phased out his participation as Program Director, but will continue to serve as the community liaison for mentor outreach and recruitment.  John passed the torch of Program Director to fellow Concord resident Gavin Morrissey starting in the 2020-2021 school year.  Gavin served in this role through the 2022-2023 offering of the program.  Steve Wells, a Special Education teacher at CCHS, will continue to serve as the Program Coordinator/Faculty Advisor.

The program was seed-funded by The Concord-Carlisle Community Chest Cornerstone Fund with a $7,000 grant. In 2014-15, CCCC received grant funding from the Concord Education Fund to support the development of this website and strategic planning initiatives.

To read more about our program, please read the following articles on WickedLocal, the website for the Concord Journal, and the Carlisle Mosquito:

CCHS mentor program pairs students with community professionals (December 11, 2019)

'Connections' program expands into second year  (September 7, 2014)

Community Connections program to be launched at CCHS  (November 23, 2013)

For more information on this program, please contact Steve Wells at swells@concordcarlisle.org

Visit the CCCC Facebook page