Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Gets Biggest Grant Ever, Using it to Support 3 Organizations

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The Watertown Community Foundation will help three local organizations with grants over $100,000 after the foundation received the largest grant in its history. The money will go to Metro West Collaborative Development, Watertown Boys & Girls Club, and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. The funds came to the Watertown Community Foundation in a grant from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Community Foundations Grant Program for COVID-19 Relief. “This $400,000 grant is the largest single grant that our foundation has ever received,” said WCF co-president Darshna Varia. “We have been able to distribute the funds quickly and directly to where they are needed most.

Charity

Watertown Community Foundation Supports Dozens of Local Groups with $129K in Grants

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The Watertown Community Foundation provided the following announcement:

The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) has awarded grants totaling $129,500 to initiatives in two categories. One: WCF’s Program Grants awards grants designed to help organizations that serve Watertown develop new or continue existing programs with an educational focus (broadly defined). These are programs that operate outside of the Watertown’s public schools. 

Two: WCF’s Institutional Grants are designed to help institutions central to the Watertown community by providing funds to maintain critical programming and retain paid staff.  Grants under this program impose neither restrictions on the use of funds nor any program requirements.   

Eligible organizations apply for a maximum of $5000 for program grants and a maximum of $7,500 for Institutional grants. The grants are funded by the Foundation’s Watertown Arsenal Education Fund. WCF Grants Chairwoman Mary Ann Mulligan explains, “WCF received a record number of applications, and we are delighted to more than double our spring grant awards to the largest amount given to date. It has been the most challenging year for so many of our community-based organizations and we hope this increased grant funding will help them restore and even expand the vital services, supports and innovative programs they provide to the Watertown community.” From dance classes for special needs students to stress reduction workshops, planting pollinator gardens to an outdoor arts market, this year’s Program Grants cover a wide array of projects that encompass all ages and abilities.

Charity

More Than A Dozen Watertown Residents to Ride Pan-Mass Challenge

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Pan-Mass ChallengeOne of the 6,000 riders taking part in the 2021 Pan-Mass Challenge, which raises money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The following announcement was provided by the Pan-Mass Challenge:

On Aug. 7 and 8, more than 6,000 riders, including 13 participants from Watertown, will take part in the Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a two-day 211-mile bike-a-thon across Massachusetts, with the goal of raising $52 million for cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (Dana-Farber). The PMC is the nation’s single most successful athletic fundraiser, donating 100 percent of every rider-raised dollar to Dana-Farber as its largest single contributor, accounting for 64 percent of its Jimmy Fund’s annual revenue. For the first time since 2019, more than 6,000 riders from 47 states and 11 countries will once again hit the road together during the first weekend of August with the common goal of making an impact in the fight against cancer.

Charity

Crowd-Funding Effort Started to Prevent Watertown Woman with Medical Issues from Being Foreclosed

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A crowd-funding campaign has been started in an effort to prevent a Watertown woman with severe medical problems from losing her home. Alyssa Pinzone started the GoFundMe campaign to help her mother, Angela, raise $15,000 to stop the foreclosure of her Watertown condominium. The mother of two had a car accident in 2018 and continued to have medical issues, which were originally misdiagnosed. Angela has not been able to work, and her bills have been poling up, Pinzone wrote on the GoFundMe page. Pinzone wrote on Facebook:

“I made a GoFundMe for my mom in hopes to help save her home from being foreclosed.

Charity

Watertown Group Hosts Walk for Peace on Mother’s Day, Raises Nearly $5K for Peace Institute

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Watertown Walk for PeaceWatertown Walks for Peace held their own Mother’s Day Walk for Peace around town in 2021. The group raised the most money in seven years. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Walks for Peace:

The 2021 Watertown Walks for Peace (WW4P) initiative has raised over $4,800 to support the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute in Dorchester, exceeding its original $3,000 fundraising goal by at least 60 percent. The funds are being raised as part of the Institute’s annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. Largest Sum Raised in Seven Years

The $4800 total is the largest amount raised by Watertown Walks for Peace in its seven years of joining the annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace.

Charity

Donation Drive & Free Store Hosted by Watertown Mutual Aid on May 16

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Donations of clothes, diapers, toiletries and other times will be accepted during a donation drive on Sunday, May 16. Wayside Youth and Family Support Network and the Watertown Community Foundation will host a donation drive on May 16 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ballroom in Boston, 100 Parker St. in Watertown. Items being collected include: new and like-new children’s warm-weather clothes (newborn to young adult), new youth goggles, summer activities and games, seed packets, working fans, diapers and baby wipes, feminine products, and personal care items (shampoo, toothpaste, etc.). Following the drive, there will be a free store from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., open to all.

Around Town

Watertown Group Supporting 25th Annual Mother’s Day Walk for Peace, Raising Funds

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The group from Watertown Walks for Peace participated in the 2019 Mother’s Day Walk for Peace. This year there will be a symbolic walk in Watertown. The following information was provided by Watertown Walks for Peace:

For the seventh consecutive year Watertown residents will once again join in the Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace, supporting the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute and its services to families and communities affected by gun violence. This year is the 25th anniversary of the Mother’s Day Walk for Peace and, like last year, will once again be a virtual fundraising event because of the pandemic. This will be the seventh year in a row that Watertown Walks for Peace (WW4P) is participating in the annual Mothers’ Day Walk for Peace.

Around Town

Watertown Woman Honored by Boston Celtics as a “Hero Among Us”

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Watertown’s Cathy O’Grady was named a Hero Among Us by the Boston Celtics for her work with the Sophia’s Angels Foundation. The following announcement was provided by the Boston Celtics:

The Boston Celtics recently honored Watertown resident Cathy O’Grady as a ‘Hero Among Us’ for her role in spreading joy throughout the community and helping others in need. 

For over a decade, O’Grady has been serving the community through random acts of kindness and the generous donations of blankets, toys, food, and winter essentials for those in need, as well as masks throughout the pandemic. She is the founder of Sofia’s Angels Foundation, which has recruited hundreds of volunteers and raised thousands of dollars to spread joy in the lives of others. 

For her compassionate service, commitment to the community, and heart for giving, the Boston Celtics chose to honor Cathy O’Grady as a ‘Hero Among Us’ at their April 7th game against the New York Knicks.