On Thursday, May 19, College Bound Dorchester will host We Are College Bound, the organization’s annual gala. Up to 400 people will gather to celebrate the nonprofit’s 12^th year of working with young people, using education as a means to transform lives and change the neighborhoods of Dorchester from within. Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO, James Rooney, will be honored for his dedication to the organization and work to create opportunities for youth in our communities.

Based in the Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood, College Bound Dorchester targets young men and women, ages 17 to 27, who have been failed by the system and deemed “least likely to succeed.” The nonprofit works with students to pass their HiSET exam, get into community colleges, earn associates degrees, find living wage employment and stay within their urban neighborhoods to help shift the culture.

The night will begin with a cocktail reception and will celebrate students students who participated in College Bound Dorchester’s programming. They will share stories of going from high school dropout to student in college. Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Senator Lina Dorcena Forry are also expected to attend and make remarks.

For too many, College Bound Dorchester is the last hope for an education and the ability to earn a living wage. Since 2012, the organization has enrolled more than 100 young people in college with a retention rate above 60 percent, which is significantly higher than national norms. College Bound Dorchester helps to shift the system toward a college-bound culture in Dorchester. The goal: Dorchester youth graduating college is the norm, not the exception.