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Soumen Ganguly and Sutanuka Lahiri

Soumen, a telecommunications consultant, and Sutanuka, a graduate student in nursing, moved to Brookline in 2012.

Soumen explains, “A colleague happened to mention The Brookline Center, and it piqued our interest. We were intrigued that there could be such a wide-ranging community resource so close to home. Attending the Center’s Believe in Brookline Kids gala, we heard two inspiring speakers, youth whose lives had been transformed through the Center’s services.

“Talking it over afterwards, we decided to make The Brookline Center a focus of our philanthropy. We were looking for a cause that was local, and this is as local as it gets. Brookline is a community that has very deep roots, but it’s also changing quickly. There’s a thread of continuity that the Center brings. There are folks who’ve been clients for years and space for those who are new to Brookline.”

Sutanuka adds, “In many medical contexts, people experience more of a transactional relationship, where you go to the doctor because of X and so X is what you work to solve. At the Center, they understand that X is often just part of many things a person needs. They dig deeper to explore how to solve Y and Z, if there are related issues, too. That impresses me.

“We intend to be here for a long time, with a child who will be entering the public schools soon. We get so much from living here, and we want to contribute what we can in return.”

More than a third of the care that The Brookline Center provides is in services not covered by private or public insurance. Philanthropy bridges critical funding gaps, reduces waiting lists for in-demand programs, fuels the growth of innovative, patient-centered programs, and provides the care of the type, duration, and frequency each person needs.