Watertown Community Foundation Interns Gain Valuable Experience

How do high schoolers get that critical first work experience? Last summer, the Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) and the Watertown High School Guidance Department piloted an internship program for local teens. For meaningful summer work experience at a business or organization of their choice, students earned a modest stipend. The pilot was intended to cover four students, but the number of outstanding applications led WCF to increase funding and five were selected. “I learned so much from participating….

Watertown Community Foundation Offering Grants for Health Programs

Groups interested in applying for a grant of up to $2,500 for health-related programs in Watertown can attend the Watertown Community Foundation informational meeting. 
The Foundation sent out the following information:

The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) announces its health-related grant program to support local nonprofits, programs, and projects. The “Healthy Watertown” Program will award grants designed to help organizations that serve Watertown develop new or continue existing programs with a health focus, broadly defined. Eligible organizations may apply for grants up to $2,500. These grants are funded by a grant to WCF from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. The application deadline is Oct.

Watertown Community Foundation Has Volunteer Opportunities

If you’re interested in volunteering, or want to use your skills to help your community, check out these volunteer opportunities at the Watertown Community Foundation. If you’re interested in only some of the activities listed under a position, let us know — these can be split up among multiple people. Some are ongoing volunteer activities and others are one-time projects that may take a few weeks or a few months. Hours are flexible; you can volunteer whenever is convenient for you, except for occasional meetings that we will coordinate around everyone’s schedule. Webmaster/Social Media :

Maintain WCF website; perform weekly check to see if content is up to date and post updates and new content with input from board members
Manage WCF’s Facebook presence (and any other social media you’re interested in)
Estimated to be a 1-2 hour commitment per week

Information technology specialist(s):

Turn WCF’s donor and mailing list spreadsheets into a web-accessible database that is easy to update (Estimated commitment: 10-20 hours total)
Help with setup and rollout of Office 365; help us improve our team site and put together an education/training campaign for users (Estimated commitment: 10-30 hours total)
Ongoing maintenance of our Office 365 infrastructure (Estimated commitment: 4 hours per month)

If you’re interested or want to learn more, email info@watertownfoundation.org

Community Foundation Awards $74K in Grants to Local Groups

On June 16, at a reception for its 25 spring grantees, the Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) celebrated by distributing checks totaling $74,050.  In the twelve years since WCF was founded, WCF has awarded over $600,000 in grants to organizations serving Watertown. WCF Grant Committee Co-Chair, Rob Kelly, stated, “The Foundation is extremely happy to be able to recognize and financially support the outstanding contributions that these programs and organizations make to our vibrant community.”

All of the grants are funded from WCF’s Arsenal Education Income Fund. 13 Educational Program Grants totaling $23,550 were given to:

Friends of Watertown Music to ensure that instruments are available for Watertown’s free instruction program that starts in fourth grade. Historical Society of Watertown to publish a Watertown self-guided bicycle tour booklet, “Wheels Along the River.”
Improbable Players to present six theater workshops about substance abuse prevention and healthy choices for Watertown Middle School eighth graders. Perkins School for the Blind for their Watertown newspaper accessibility project.

Local Foundation Awards Grant to Help Music in Watertown Schools

The Watertown Community Foundation awarded a grant to help the music program in the Watertown Public Schools. The Friends of Watertown Music announced this week that they were awarded one of the Watertown Community Foundation’s 2015 Educational Program Grants. “Our $2,250 grant will be used to purchase musical instruments and repair existing instruments so that more children will be able to participate in the excellent instrument program which is offered for free to all students in Watertown’s public schools, starting in fourth grade,” the Friends said in an announcement. Find out more about Watertown Community Foundation on their Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/WatertownCommunityFoundation – or visit the Watertown Community Foundation’s website www.watertownfoundation.org.

Watertown Groups Hosting Healthy Aging Forum at Coolidge Apartments

The next Watertown Healthy Aging Forum will take place on June 24 at the Apartments at Coolidge School. The event on Wednesday, June 24, 2015 from 7-9 p.m. (6:30 sign-in) at the Auditorium at the Coolidge School Apartments, 319 Arlington St., Watertown. The event is open to the public. Learn lessons from 5 towns where many people live to 100
We’ll view and discuss Blue Zones* videos
What key steps can all of us, youngsters – middle aged – or older, take to live healthier, longer lives? Can Watertown apply these lessons?

Watertown Community Foundation Seeks Paid High School Interns

The Watertown Community Foundation will pay high school students to have summer internships, and the deadline is coming soon! The Watertown Community Foundation sent out the following information:

Wanted: High School Students for Paid Summer Internships! The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) is providing four high school students who live in Watertown with the opportunity to have a paid summer internship with a local organization or company of their choice. This should help open doors for students to pursue opportunities with a variety of businesses, organizations, or agencies. It is a great way for high school kids to explore a career field of interest.