Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Awards nearly $30,000 in School Based Grants

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The Watertown Community Foundation has awarded grants totaling $29,288.21 to initiatives supporting Watertown Public Schools. Grantees were notified just before the end of the 2018 school year. 

Grants will be implemented in spring of 2019 and or fall of 2019.  This latest round of grant making brings the Foundation’s 2018 grant distribution to $148,883. 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.  

2018-2019 Education Grants  

20 Watertown Education Grants totaling $29,288.21 were given to: 

Friends of Watertown Music Purchase and Repair Program District Program for This is Gore Place – 2 nd  year of local history project for third graders.  Growing and Sustaining School Garden ProgramsCunniff School for In-School Enrichment Programs Lowell School Discovery Museum Light and Laser Traveling MuseumHosmer School for International Week, Science Night, Math Olympiad, After School Learning by Design, Hosmer Connections -Motivating Materials for Purposeful Play, Hosmer Welcome ProgramWatertown Middle School for Voice and Choice in Verse, Garden Project, Social Studies Education-Using Google Cardboard, Watertown WeekWatertown High School for Courtyard Update, SPEAK Project (Sharing Personal Experience and Knowledge), College Field Trips, LEAP School Supplies Store, Graduation Night Party

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; Anthony Paolillo; Maria Panaggio-Phillips; Lora Sabin; Robert Shay; CL Tian; Elaina Themistos; Lauren Coughlin Unsworth; and Kathryn White.

Around Town

See Who Got Health Watertown Grants from the Community Foundation

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The Watertown Community Foundation sent the following announcement:

From indoor gym equipment for Watertown Head Start Program to keep pre-schoolers moving all year long to healthy lunches for vacation camps at the Boys and Girls Club leveling the field for all, The Watertown Community Foundation has announced the recipients of this year’s Healthy Watertown grants.  

“We are THRILLED to have received the Healthy Watertown Grant for the Watertown Boys and Girls Club. We have been hoping to do this initiative for years, and finally we will be able to offer healthy lunches during our vacation camps.” — Mary Kern WBGC

Seniors will have a chance to take Zen Art classes plus attend a summer supper club.  Firefighters will get Mental Health First Aid training through Wayside Youth & Multi Service Center. “Thanks so much for this award. We are very excited to be able to offer MHFA to the firefighters!” — Laura Kurman

Lt. Dan Unsworth will continue to help community members and their families cope with opioid addiction and challenges facing their families with the Free Community Narcan Program. Watertown For All Ages will begin their study on transportation needs for seniors and every senior in town will get a chance to find out how to cook and eat healthy with Seasoned, a new magazine from CHOP CHOP Magazine.

Around Town

Community Foundation Seeks Applicants for Healthy Watertown Grants

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The following announcement came from the Watertown Community Foundation:

The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) announces the release of the Fall 2018 Healthy Watertown Grants to support organizations that work to create new or existing programs to keep our community healthy. A total of $10,000 will be distributed through these health grants. Past Healthy Grant awardees have included: Local food pantries; nutrition and meal programs for seniors; programs and services fostering healthy aging; programs designed to combat the opioid crisis and provide services and supports for individuals and families struggling with substance use disorders; and
health-related programs for infants and their families. Eligible organizations may apply for a maximum of $2,500. The average amount awarded will range from $500 to $2,500.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Kicks off 15th Anniversary Celebration at Faire on the Square

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For 15 years the Watertown Community Foundation has given money and organized volunteer events to help the community, and Saturday the group will hold a celebration at the Town’s biggest gathering of the year — the Faire on the Square. As in the past, the Foundation will have a booth at the Faire, but this year there will be even more activities, and prizes for lucky raffle winners, said WCF Executive Director Jan Singer. She hopes to see some familiar faces, and hopefully some new ones. “We’ve been around for 15 years and for some we are still a well kept secret. We don’t want to be,” Singer said.

Schools

13 WHS Students Get Summer Internships Through Watertown Community Foundation

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The Watertown Community Foundation provided the following piece:

The days of lolling at the town pool are just a memory for this year’s Watertown High School internship awardees. No sooner had school ended than students began rolling up their sleeves to:
• dig in the community gardens
• teach acting skills to youngsters
• learn the legal profession
• perfect their presentation skills
• spend one-on-one time with seniors
• measure trees in town
• greet hospital patients and their families

In 2015, when the Watertown Community Foundation and the Watertown High School Guidance Department launched this unique summer internship program for our town’s high school-age students, we had no idea how quickly it would grow! From just five students in 2015, it has nearly tripled to a record 13 students in the program this summer. Watertown students find an internship that can provide them with meaningful work experience. They commit to working 120 hours over the course of the summer and are paid a stipend at the end of the work experience.

Around Town

Dozens of Groups Awarded Grants from Watertown Community Foundation

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The Watertown Community Foundation provided the following announcement:

Watertown Community Foundation held its annual spring grant awards evening at the Mosesian Center for the Arts on Thursday June 7. The following grants were
awarded in two categories: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. Charles River Conservancy — Conservancy Volunteers Program
The Charles River Conservancy supports the Conservancy Volunteer’s programs efforts in the Charles River Parklands in Watertown. The Plumbing Museum — Comedy Play Fest at the Plumbing Museum
The Plumbing Museum will present a program of short plays inspired by materials in the Plumbing Museum and bring theater to new audiences in an unexpected venue.

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Merging with Watertown Education Foundation

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The following information was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

The Watertown Community Foundation and the Watertown Educational Foundation joined forces and cemented their two-year school grant partnership with a merger of the organizations in February 2018. Together, they combine over forty years of fundraising and grant making to the Watertown Public Schools. This official unification provides the Watertown school community a consolidated source of support for innovative educational programs and activities. The merged organization will continue to be known as the Watertown Community Foundation and the President of the Watertown Educational Foundation, Elaina Griffith, joined the board of the Watertown Community Foundation. “For the past two years, the Community Foundation and the Educational Foundation have run a combined school grants program.

Charity

See Photos from the Fifth Annual Watertown Helps Out Day of Service

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Three hundred people came out on Saturday to volunteer at 22 locations during the fifth annual Watertown Helps Out! State Sen. Will Brownsberger and State Rep. Jonathan Hecht helped kick off Watertown’s annual townwide day of service at Hosmer Elementary School, then people went to work on their project. Community non-profits identify projects they need done. This year five new projects were added. The projects included gardening and yard work, assembling raised beds, cleaning trash from bicycle paths and parks or washing furniture in a community center.