Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts announces a series of grants
Fitchburg, Massachusetts (July 17, 2008) – With its latest round of grants focused on youth recreational and academic opportunities, The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts awarded 8 new grants, with three going to Fitchburg and Leominster programs, Summer Up, Elm Street Congregational Church and Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network.
“We are especially pleased that these grants will help our youth as well as other important programs that will improve the quality of life across the region,” noted Phil Grzewinski, president of the Foundation.
This is the third year the Foundation has funded the Summer Up program, which provides over 450 students summer school and recreational support in addition to job readiness training in Fitchburg, Leominster, Gardner and Winchendon. In addition, the initiative has over 100 students, from low income households, working in the program.
According to Patricia Gregson, vice president of access and transition at Mount Wachusett Community College and the program administrator for Summer Up, the Foundation’s $20,000 grant is helping address disparities in access to summer school among the most at-risk youth.
In the Twin Cities region, the program operates out of the Boys and Girls Club facilities, Riverside Village Apartments in Leominster and in Fitchburg from the Green Acres Village apartment complex and Park Hill Park.
“Based on the last two years results, more than half of the youth thought they contributed to their community because of the program and nearly three quarters reported a reduction in risky behaviors,” noted Gregson.
A $20,000 grant to the Elm Street Congregational Church in Fitchburg, MA will fund a five week program for high risk young people to attend camp on Lake Wyman in Westminster, MA. They will receive high level of intervention and support. According to Pastor Reverend Stephen D. Mayo, the church’s youth programs has become as a driving force behind the marked decrease in crime in its neighborhood.
The purpose of this camp is to develop leadership capacity so young people can sustain their current efforts at developing a neighborhood youth leadership team and continue to run the summer camp program yearly.
At the camp, they will create a set of safe and encouraging conditions for the children through community building activities, personal development planning and coaching.
The church is an anchor for the Tri-City Anti-Gang Initiative currently funded through the Executive Office of Public Safety's Charles E. Shannon Grant Initiative.
Montachusett Interfaith Hospitality Network (MIHN) in Fitchburg will use their $20,000 grant to house and feed approximately 20 homeless families with children. MIHN is a coalition of congregations in the Fitchburg, Leominster, Lunenburg and surrounding areas that provides temporary shelter and transitional housing to families in crisis.
According to Arthur Heusser, director of the Network, the goal is to recruit one or two new churches by conducting outreach with new congregations, which will expand the group’s volunteer base by 30 to 60 people.
“The work of MIHN could not be done without the efforts of its 300 volunteers,” noted Heusser. Each of the eleven congregations appoints a coordinator, who recruits 25-30 volunteers to cook the evening meal and provide overnight, weekend and holiday coverage at the shelter, which is located at MIHN operates out of two buildings located in Fitchburg, MA.
In addition five other grants were made. The Athol Area YMCA “YouthReach! After School & Summer Programs” received a $12,500 grant for the Foundation’s general endowment. The program reaches vulnerable young people and provides a safe, fun and nurturing environment that provides leadership development, academic support, sports, health and wellness, in addition to the arts and humanities.
Quabbin Mediation, Inc. received $20,000 from the Foundation to expand a pilot program called Veterans Mediation, which helps individuals who served in the military, along with their families resolve conflicts through mediation. The money will be used to train 20 new mediators, who are also veterans.
The Village School in Royalston, MA received $5,000 to expand its summer programs, Nature Arts and Play, ages 4-8; Science and Art Experience, ages 6-12 and Summer Art Intensive, ages 8 and up, for children who attend HOPE, an afterschool program in Gardner, MA.
The Sterling Music Exchange, Inc. will use their $10,000 grant to target marginalized young adults, in the Nashoba and Twin Cities regions, who are disadvantaged as a result of mental health isuues, low self-esteem, race or income level. The students are introduced to music and are engaged in a series of ongoing informal community performances.
BWRI, a program of the YWCA of Central MA, Inc., will develop “High Risk Response Teams” so it can better identify "high risk" cases of domestic violence. The $15,000 grant from the Foundation will help fund a staff position to service the program in Ayer District Court jurisdiction.
Later this fall, the Foundation will announce a series of mini-awards as part of its overall grantmaking.
Since its inception, the foundation has awarded nearly $12 million in grants and distributions from 77 funds that have been established by individuals, families and organizations.
