Natick Couple To Match Up To $20K On ONEmetrowest Day

Press release from The Foundation for MetroWest:

Oct. 30, 2020

As the Foundation for MetroWest continues its most ambitious year-end campaign to date, it is asking the community to unite for ONEmetrowest Day, which will be held on Friday, October 30. If 100 donors contribute to the Foundation on that date, Susan and David Elliott of Natick, along with Wayland-based R.W. Holmes Realty, will provide a $20,000 matching donation.

Susan Elliott serves on the Foundation’s Board of Trustees, and recently retired after serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, a $50 billion wholesale bank. Susan also serves on the board of Needham Bank and is a board member and treasurer of the Bald Peak Land Company.

“This year has proven how important it is to ensure members of a community stand united and share responsibility for supporting their friends and neighbors in need,” Susan Elliott said. “ONEmetrowest Day presents a unique opportunity to not only take action to bring about tangible changes in our region, but to amplify that action by greatly increasing community participation and our collective financial impact.”

The Foundation has served as a connector, partner, and resource for the 33 cities and towns that make up the MetroWest region for the past 25 years. ONEmetrowest Day is part of the Foundation’s ONEmetrowest campaign, aimed at engaging 1,000 donors who are “all in” for the Foundation’s mission by December 31. More than 300 community members have already shown their support for the campaign since it launched in September.

“The Foundation has been committed to maintaining and improving the quality of life in our region for a quarter-century,” said Judy Salerno, executive director, Foundation for MetroWest. “Now, we’re asking our neighbors to come together for one cause on one day, and to take action to support the mission of our community foundation and its importance to our communities. We are all responsible for each other’s well-being, and ONEmetrowest Day is the moment for all of us to show it.”

The ONEmetrowest campaign is engaging the Foundation’s longstanding supporters as well as community members who are new to the organization’s mission by collectively exploring the issues, opportunities, and voices that unite the 33 cities and towns of the region. The campaign is mobilizing neighbors to increase engagement throughout the region, creating new connections to foster important discussion and debate, and strengthening support for the organizations and nonprofits that contribute to MetroWest’s unique community and character.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Foundation quickly pivoted its work and efforts to address the pressing needs in MetroWest. From food insecurity to personal hygiene to basic needs, the Foundation was there for its neighbors during the most critical time in its history, granting nearly $3.5 million in emergency relief funding to date. Though the Foundation was able to mobilize resources and quickly distribute funding to the region’s most vulnerable neighbors, there is still more work that lies ahead. ONEmetrowest Day will help ensure that important work is supported with ample resources from members of the community.

The ONEmetrowest campaign is an extension of the Foundation’s 2020 key initiatives, including emergency relief efforts, celebrating its 25th anniversary, and expanding Impact MetroWest with additional data on race and equity indicators in the region. The Foundation is also organizing a new series that will amplify diverse voices with unique perspectives and has just begun a series of virtual town hall events aimed at elevating meaningful and impactful discourse. The first town hall event was held on October 20.

For more on ONEmetrowest and information on how to donate, please visit www.foundationmw.org/onemetrowest-campaign.

This press release was produced by The Foundation for MetroWest. The views expressed here are the author's own.