Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Using Resilience Funds to Help Food Pantry, Fund Coordinator

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Just weeks after creating the Resilience Fund to help Watertown weather the Coronavirus outbreak, the Watertown Community Foundation has awarded money to help make sure residents have food, and to fund a coordinator to help those in need of assistance. The fund started with $40,000 from the Foundation’s unrestricted fund and donations from board members and staff. That amount has increased to more than $60,000 thanks to donations from individuals, local businesses and foundations, said WCF Executive Director Jan Singer. The money is intended to help people who are struggling due to the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. Some of the funds have already been distributed to help restart the operation of the Catholic Coalition Food Pantry in East Watertown, and to hire a part-time coordinator to help match people with the assistance they need.

Around Town

Two Watertown Groups Get COVID-19 Grants from Tufts Health Plan Foundations

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The following information was provided by the Tufts Health Plan Foundation:

Tufts Health Plan Foundation has identified the first 21 organizations to receive support from the $1 million it has committed to community efforts on behalf of older people affected by coronavirus in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut. “This first wave of funding addresses one of the most pressing concerns facing older people — food insecurity,” said Tom Croswell, Tufts Health Plan president and CEO. “These organizations are working on the front lines to meet critical needs and are well-positioned to respond to emerging priorities. Our communities depend on them, now more than ever.”

The organizations include area agencies on aging that provide meals and other support services to older people, food banks, and community organizations that are serving as hubs for collaborative regional responses. They include:

Massachusetts        $150,000

The Boston Foundation, COVID-19 Response Fund $25,000The Food Bank of Western Massachusetts $25,000The Greater Boston Food Bank $50,000Union Capital Boston, COVID-19 Fund $15,000Watertown Community Foundation, Community Resilience Fund $ 5,000Watertown Food Pantry (via Watertown Council on Aging) $ 5,000Worcester County Food Bank $25,000

Rhode Island                $125,000

Meals on Wheels of Rhode Island $25,000Rhode Island Community Food Bank $50,000United Way of Rhode Island, Rhode Island COVID-19 Response Fund $50,000

New Hampshire        $110,000

Granite United Way, COVID-19 Relief Fund $15,000Monadnock United Way, COVID-19 Relief Fund $15,000The New Hampshire Food Bank $50,000United Way of Greater Nashua, COVID-19 Emergent Needs Response Fund $15,000United Way of the Greater Seacoast, COVID-19 Family Fund $15,000

Connecticut                $100,000

Agency on Aging of South Central Connecticut $10,000Connecticut Food Bank $50,000North Central Area Agency on Aging $10,000Senior Resources Agency on Aging $10,000Southwestern CT Agency on Aging and Independent Living $10,000Western Connecticut Area Agency on Aging $10,000

“Communities and leaders are uniting to face this challenge,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president for corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan.

Around Town

Community Foundation Starting New Fund Respond to Impacts of the COVID-19 Emergency

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Looking for ways to help people in Watertown who are adversely impacted by the Coronavirus, the Watertown Community Foundation has created a new fund. Jan Singer, executive director of the Community Foundation, said the response to the Community Resilience Fund already been positive. The Foundation boards met remotely using Zoom to put together plans for the fund. “We know that this is going to be very difficult for a lot of people and it’s going to last for a while, we are assuming at this point,” Singer said. “We met together as a board and came up with an idea for the Resilience fund.

Charity

Sign Up for the 2020 Watertown Town-Wide Spelling Bee

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The 10th annual Watertown Town-wide Spelling Bee is coming up and teams can sign up now. This year’s spelling bee will be on Sunday, March 29 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and it will be held at the Hosmer Elementary School Auditorium. The money raise during the spelling bee will go to help the Watertown Public Schools. The spelling be is open to all Watertown elementary school students in grades 1 through 5. To register team of three students costs $60, and T-shirts are available for $15.

Schools

See Which Groups Got Education Grants from the Watertown Community Foundation

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The Watertown Community Foundation announced it has awarded grants totaling $34,385 to initiatives supporting Watertown Public Schools. Grantees were notified this week just before the end of the 2019 school year. Grants will be implemented in spring of 2020 and or fall of 2020. 

The funds distributed through the School Based Grant Program focus on solely on Watertown’s public schools to support activities that improve instruction and learning.  

2019-2020 Education Grants  

21 School based grants totaling $34,385 were given for: 

WHS College VisitsWHS Robotics TeamWHS SPEAK ProgramWHS WCAMP – Watertown College Application Mentoring ProgramWHS/WMS/General Public Undocumented and Unafraid: Lessons from a DreamerWHS/District Musical Instrument Purchase and Repair ProgramWMS One School One BookWMS Grade 8 Dynamic Earth Heat Flow Traveling Program through Museum of ScienceWMS Garden/ Nature Club Spring /Fall 2020WMS 7th Grade Thematic Social StudiesWMS 3Doodle Modeling in Middle School Technology Education and EngineeringLowell -Grade 1 – Discovery Museum Traveling Science Workshop -SoundCunniff- Grade 5 – 10 Oculus Go Devices for Virtual Field Trips and Immersive EducationLowell PreK -5-Len Cabral Storytelling AssemblyLowell- K -Force and Motion Workshop presented by the Discovery MuseumCunniff ESL -After-School Enrichment Activities for ESL StudentsDistrict Grade 3- Gore PlaceDistrict PreK-5 – Purchase of the book One World, One Day, by Barbara KerleDistrict Pre-K- Districtwide Pre-K Science EnrichmentHosmer Gr. 5- The Courage Campaign: Movement & Self-Discovery WorkshopHosmer – International Week 2020

For questions, please contact Jan Singer at jan.singer@watertownfoundation.org.  

The Watertown Community Foundation, a public, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, works to build and sustain a vibrant, close-knit community in Watertown – now, and for future generations. To accomplish this, WCF raises funds from individuals, families, businesses, and foundations; awards grants to nonprofits and community projects; and builds networks of donors, grantees, program participants, and stakeholders. 

WCF Board of Directors 

David Siegel and Darshna Varia, Co-Presidents; Robert Airasian; Albrik Avanessian; Emily Barclay; Eleanor Donato; William B. Ford; Ashley Morris; Mary Ann Mulligan; Antonia O’Hara; Anthony Paolillo; Maria Panaggio-Phillips; Lora Sabin; Robert Shay; Elaina Themistos; Lauren Coughlin Unsworth; and Kathryn White.

Charity

Watertown Community Foundation Awards $14.5K in Health Grants

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The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) is pleased to announce the awarding of the Fall 2019 Healthy Watertown Grants.  A total of $14,500 will be distributed in support of organizations that work to create new or existing programs to keep our community healthy.    

Five of this year’s grantees address the growing challenge of food insecurity among all ages within our community.  These include support of preschoolers and their families with Communities United: Cooking with Kids and Families Program, helping the Watertown Boys and Girls Club provide Healthy Lunch and Snacks during School Vacations, a Summer Supper Club for Seniors and funds for the SNAP Match Program at the Watertown Farmers Market. 

Grantees include: 

Watertown Police Free Community Narcan Program  

Communities United: Cooking with Kids and Families  

Boys and Girls Club – School Vacation Healthy Lunch and Snack Program  

Watertown for All Ages: Travel Resources for Older Residents  

Watertown Council on Aging: Summer Supper Club for Seniors 

Watertown Council on Aging: Food Pantry New Shelving 

Zen Art II For Mind-Body Wellness for Seniors  

Watertown Farmers Market SNAP Match Program  

W.A.T.E.R  Erase the Stigma: Recovery is Possible (Education) Event 

For questions, please contact Jan Singer at jan.singer@watertownfoundation.org.   

The Watertown Community Foundation works to build and sustain a vibrant, close-knit community in Watertown – now, and for future generations. To accomplish this, WCF raises funds from people and partner institutions, awards grants to non-profits and community projects, and builds networks of donors, grantees, program participants and stakeholders. 

Since its inception in 2003, WCF has awarded over $1,000,000 in grants to programs and organizations serving Watertown.  

WCF Board of Directors  

David Siegel and Darshna Varia, Co-Presidents; Robert Airasian; Albrik Avanessian; Emily Barclay;  Lauren Coughlin Unsworth; Eleanor Donato; William B. Ford; Antonia O’Hara; Maria Panaggio-Phillips; Ashley Morris; Mary Ann Mulligan; Tony Paolillo; Lora Sabin; Robert Shay;  Elaina Themistos; and Kathryn White. 

Charity

See How to Donate to Watertown Organizations on #GivingTuesday

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Tuesday, Dec. 3 is Giving Tuesday, and if you would like to give locally, here are a few opportunities. The following came from the donation information provided by these Watertown-based groups:

Watertown Community Foundation

There is no better way to see the true impact of your donation than to give where you live. We hope you’ll think of the Watertown Community Foundation on #GivingTuesday. Make a local impact every single day of the year.

Around Town

Watertown Food Drive Provided Food for Hundreds of Residents

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The Watertown Community Foundation’s food drive held in October brought in hundreds of bags of donation. Here are just some of them. A food drive organized by the Watertown Community Foundation this October, in conjunction with Watertown schools and businesses provided hundreds of bags of food for the two local food pantries. The directors of the food pantries thanked the organizers and people who donated to the drive. “Just want to say that we are so grateful for everyone’s help, we have very well stocked shelves which is wonderful with winter coming,” said Beverly Concannon, director of the St.