"We could have better snacks, more books, more supplies," Shumway said. "I could make a list."

And while the Mission Hill program is a volunteer organization, Shumway said she thinks that other afterschool providers will also benefit greatly from the partnership.

"I'm sure there are programs out there who just need to hire one more teacher," Shumway said.

Working the Neighborhood

While Harvard's investment has been praised as a sincere effort to help Boston schoolchildren, the partnership also represents a continuation of the University's efforts to better community relations with areas that figure prominently into the University's expansion plans in the future.

By focusing its initiative on the neighborhoods of Allston/Brighton, Mission Hill and Fenway, the University has placed its emphasis on areas of Boston where it already has a presence and a strong possibility of further development.

"There's an element of altruism, but I don't mind admitting that it's very much in Harvard's institutional self-interest to be doing things like this, because there's a very direct connection between the health of the University and the condition of our cities," said Vice President of Government, Community, and Public Affairs Paul S. Grogan. "Certainly we hope there will be short and long-term benefits to being involved."

The purchase of over a hundred acres of land in Allston over the last decade has raised city awareness of Harvard's presence in Boston, making town-gown relations a continual concern.