Danvers, Salem Community Groups Get $40K Mass Humanities Grants

DANVERS, MA — Danvers and Salem community organizations were among the 56 humanities programs that shared in $224,000 Mass. Humanities grants announced on Tuesday through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.

The grants are meant to serve communities that may be marginalized — exploring their culture, sharing their stories and having conversations about how to increase their role in society.

LEAP for Education, Inc. in Salem and the Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, Inc. in Danvers will each receive $4,000.

LEAP for Education empowers first-generation-to-college and underserved youth to graduate from college and succeed in education and life regardless of ethnicity or gender. The organization delivers innovative, academic, life skills, career and college success programs for middle school, high school and college students.

The Massachusetts Center for Native American Awareness, Inc. has a mission to assist Native American residents with basic needs and educational expenses, to provide opportunities for cultural and spiritual enrichment, to advance public knowledge and understanding that helps dispel inaccurate information and myths and to work toward racial equality by addressing some of the inequities across the state.

"The grants awarded this month represent our commitment to the organizations that strengthen our democracy," said Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities. "We believe access to the humanities is a fundamental right of every resident of the commonwealth as we grapple with the challenges facing our communities in 2020."

Mass Humanities has awarded more than $1.2 million in grants to 207 organizations in 2020.

Related Patch Coverage: Salem State Professor Named Mass Humanities Board Chair