Our Mission
Room to Grow promotes equity and opportunity by helping children thrive from the start. We do this by equipping families with crucial resources needed throughout a child's first three years of life.
Our Vision
Strong starts in childhood lead to strong outcomes in life.
Where It Began
In the 1990s, Room to Grow founder Julie Burns was working as a social worker when she noticed a gap: while abundant resources for school-aged children existed, few programs offered comprehensive support to families during a child's most important developmental years, from birth to age three. Julie understood that this window is a period of accelerated brain development, and that positive, nurturing experiences within a family during this time can set the foundation for a lifetime of growth.
Room to Grow New York, 2005
With a one-room storefront, one full-time staff member, and a community of supporters who donated high-quality baby and toddler items, the first Room to Grow Family Center opened in East Harlem, New York, in the fall of 1998, later moving to Manhattan and landing in the South Bronx in 2019.
Room to Grow Boston, 2008
After welcoming families and growing a network of supporters, Room to Grow opened its first Boston Family Center in 2005. Now, in 2026, we’re beginning a new chapter with a new home in Roxbury. Learn more and help us make this new Family Center possible.
For nearly 30 years, Room to Grow has continued to grow — welcoming more team members, families, and community partners along the way. But the heart of our program, promoting equity and opportunity during a child's earliest years, has never changed.
