Cummings Employees Give $56,000 To 28 Woburn Nonprofits

From Cummings: Cummings Properties, the Woburn-based commercial real estate company, just donated $484,000 to hundreds of local nonprofit organizations via its Employee Directed Giving program. Through this annual philanthropic initiative, employees are invited to select a local nonprofit to receive a $1,000 donation in their honor.

In Woburn, 28 nonprofits received a collective $56,000 in funding: Armenian Assembly of America, Devereux Foundation, Dwelling Place, Friends of Woburn Travel Basketball, Friends of Woburn Veterans, Goodyear Elementary School, Hurld Wyman Elementary School, Jamie McKeown Boys & Girls Club, Joyce Middle School, Malcolm S. White Elementary School, Mission Ready, Nupath, Resources for Human Development, Shamrock School PTO, Shannon Lee Meara Foundation, Society of St. Vincent De Paul at St. Charles Church, Supportive Living Inc., Tanner Ta Ta Foundation, Visiting Nurse Association of Middlesex-East, VNA Hospice Care, Woburn Baseball Diamond Club, Woburn Council of Social Concern, Woburn Feral Cat Coalition, Woburn Fire Department, Woburn Guild of Artists, Woburn Memorial High School, Woburn Public Library Foundation, and Woburn Youth Soccer Association.

In 2018, Employee Directed Giving benefitted 335 nonprofits in 99 local cities and towns. Now in its seventh year, the program is designed to give back in the areas where Cummings Properties employees live and work.

New this year, the 140 colleagues with at least 10 years of seniority were invited to select a second nonprofit to receive an additional $1,000. The program was also expanded to include part-time staff with at least five years of seniority, whereas it was previously open to full-time employees only.

“This significant program expansion created even more opportunities for colleagues to think and talk about philanthropy, and to have a significant positive impact on local causes that are meaningful to them,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ chairman and CEO.

Dave Harvey, an account manager at Cummings, directed his $1,000 donation to Devereux Foundation, an organization that provides foster care services for children who have been abandoned or removed from their homes due to abuse and neglect, or who have lost their families in other tragic circumstances.

“I chose Devereux because I used to work for an organization that served young men with foster home backgrounds,” said Harvey. Oftentimes, they just needed a little guidance, and were so thankful for people who were willing to help.”

Each eligible organization can receive up to $5,000 per program cycle, allowing multiple staff members to choose the same nonprofit. This year, Woburn Council of Social Concern and Tanner Ta Ta Foundation were two of 12 recipients to receive the maximum $5,000 donation.

Employee Directed Giving is open to employees of Cummings Properties, as well as its affiliated retirement communities, New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough. Selected nonprofits must meet a few eligibility requirements and be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town where the colleague lives.

More information, including the complete 2018 Employee Directed Giving recipient list, is available at www.cummings.com/edg.

Cummings Properties manages a portfolio of 11 million square feet of commercial space in 11 suburban communities north and west of Boston, including Woburn, where its largest campuses are West Cummings Park and TradeCenter 128.

Image via Cummings