Cummings Properties employees to select local charities for $1,000 donations

This month, Cummings Properties is once again inviting all of its regular full-time staff members to each select a local charity to receive a donation of $1,000 from the Company. This invitation is also being extended to all full-time employees at the firm’s not-for-profit affiliate New Horizons at Choate, according to the retirement community’s executive director, longtime Woburn resident Christine Coakley.

“Employee Directed Giving” began in 2012 as a pilot program for staff with at least 10 years of service. It has since expanded to include every regular full-time employee of the 44-year-old Woburn-based commercial real estate firm, as well as its affiliated New Horizons retirement communities in Woburn and Marlborough.

“Employee Directed Giving allows the Company to support local communities while honoring colleagues for all of their hard work and dedication,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ president and CEO.

Designated nonprofits must meet the program’s eligibility requirements. For example, funds may not be donated for religious, lobbying, or political purposes. In addition, the Company’s focus on supporting local communities means charities must be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town in which the employee lives.

Organizations are eligible to receive up to $5,000 per program cycle, if multiple staff members designate the same nonprofit. Knowing that the contribution comes at no cost to the employee, some local charities that have connections with Cummings staff members have begun reaching out and asking to be considered.

Cummings Properties has a direct presence in 10 greater Boston communities, including Woburn, where it manages Cummings Park on Washington Street, as well as the landmark TradeCenter 128 business campus and multiple other properties.

Forty-nine Cummings staff members reside in Woburn, including George Holland, who joined the firm 38 years ago, following his honorable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps. In the past, Holland has supported the Woburn Historical Society and the Jamie McKeown Boys & Girls Club of Woburn, recently renamed for the late Cummings Properties executive vice president, who was the first Boys & Girls Club alumnus to be named the Club’s president.

“My wife and I choose organizations that are important to us,” said Holland. “We spent most of our youth at the Boys & Girls Club and they helped to point us in the right direction in life. It is wonderful to be able to say thank you to them for all they have done for us.”

A total of 356 staff members are eligible to participate. Employees have until November 16 to select their nonprofit recipients. Checks will be delivered the week of Thanksgiving or shortly thereafter either through the mail or by hand delivery.

“We are delighted with how enthusiastically our colleagues have embraced this program,” said Clarke, “In many cases, whole families participate together, from researching and selecting a charity to actually hand delivering the contribution.”

More information about Employee Directed Giving is available at www.cummingsproperties.com/employee_directed_giving.htm

PHOTO: Cummings Properties employees, including George Holland (front row, left) and President and CEO Dennis Clarke (far right) are getting ready for another round of Employee Direct Giving.