The Children’s Room has been selected as one of the 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s new $100K for 100 program. The Arlington-based organization was chosen from more than 370 applicants during a competitive review process by the Foundation.
More than 250 people, including staff and board members from nearly all 100 recipient organizations, gathered at the Foundation’s first annual Grantee Reception on June 19 at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn. The elated attendees accepted their official award letters, posed for photos with Foundation representatives, networked with their peers, and celebrated the $10 million infusion of funding into greater Boston’s nonprofit sector.
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The Children’s Room’s exeutive director, Donna Smith Sharff, stated, “The grant from Cummings Foundation is an extraordinary gift. It will help us expand our services to grieving children, teens, and families by enhancing our peer support and educational programs, and providing free information and referral services to families seeking support.”
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Minuteman Senior Services, which helps elders and their family caregivers locate appropriate eldercare assistance in Arlington and several surrounding communities, was also selected to receive a grant.
All of the selected charities serve local communities, with 50 percent of the grants being awarded in Middlesex County, 30 percent in Suffolk County (including Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, and Roxbury), and 20 percent in Essex County. Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director, noted that the narrow geographic priority area reflects a desire to give back in the areas where the grant funds were derived.
Swets explained, “As the primary beneficiary of commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties, the Foundation is very committed to the 10 communities in which the firm manages buildings, as well as the hometowns of its 350 staff members. We are delighted to support The Children’s Room in its admirable efforts to support families that have experienced a catastrophic loss.”
The diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including underserved populations, education, healthcare, homelessness, and social justice. Many of the grants will be paid over two to five years.
About The Children’s Room
The Children’s Room (TCR) is the largest independent nonprofit organization in Massachusetts dedicated to creating safe, supportive communities so that no child, teen, or family has to grieve alone. The organization currently provides direct ongoing grief services to 87 adults and 193 children and teens from 41 local communities. Visit childrensroom.org for more details on TCR’s programming.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings of Winchester, Mass. With assets exceeding $1 billion, it is one of the very largest grant-making foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including two New Horizons senior communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single grant to date was $50 million to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
