Pictured left to right: Rachael Umbrianna, Associate Principal at Brockton HS; Mark Mendes, SVP/Commercial Lending Center Manager at Rockland Trust; Andrea Borowiecki, Vice President of Community Giving and Engagement at Rockland Trust and Executive Director of the Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation; Kevin McCaskill, Principal at Brockton HS; Gerry Nadeau, Rockland Trust Foundation Board Member; Jack Yunits, President at Brockton Rox; Jim Smith, FVP, District Manager at Rockland Trust
February 3, 2026 - The Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation is proud to donate $25,000 to the Brockton Education Foundation to support the Brockton High School (HS) Saturday school program. The donation will help fund free breakfasts for the students before each session’s scheduled programming.
One of Massachusetts’ most populous cities, Brockton has one of the highest SNAP enrollment rates among all cities in the state and roughly 30 percent of all households in Plymouth County report food insecurity. With research showing that proper meals and nutrition support learning, cognition, academic performance, and improved attendance among students, providing complimentary breakfast is a vital element of the Saturday school program.
“In addition to playing a tremendous role in student focus, motivation, and academic success, the free breakfasts we offer before each session provide real relief to families that struggle with food insecurity,” said Kevin McCaskill, Principal of Brockton High School. “We are incredibly grateful to Rockland Trust for this generous donation and for their commitment to supporting students and families in the Greater Brockton community.”
The Saturday school program serves a variety of functions, including educational enrichment, credit recovery, SAT prep, career technical education, and attendance remediation. It is a 20- to 22-week curriculum of three-hour sessions, each one accommodating over 350 students. With small class sizes and teaching practices and strategies based on each student’s performance, the program is designed to maximize academic outcomes, providing the supplemental learning and support they need to meet their various goals.
“Every student deserves to start the day with a proper meal,” said Andrea Borowiecki, Vice President of Community Giving and Engagement at Rockland Trust and Executive Director of the Rockland Trust Charitable Foundation. “We are proud to support this program and to help remove barriers to learning by ensuring that students enrolled in Brockton HS’s Saturday school program have the nourishment and fuel they need to succeed.”
