AROUND THE VALLEY

Community Foundation Annual Meeting Highlights Homelessness in the Community and Impact of Philanthropy

Nearly 200 residents, business leaders and nonprofit professionals attended the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF)’s 2019 annual “Homelessness and Hope” meeting on June 13 at the UMASS Lowell Inn & Conference Center.

GLCF Board Chair Chet Szablak opened the event speaking about the impact of charitable giving on the local level,  citing the foundation’s $1.95 million in grants and scholarships distributed to the community in 2018, and it continued with remarks from GLCF President and CEO Jay Linnehan as he discussed the power of partnerships to address the growing issue of homelessness in downtown Lowell.

“Last June, the GLCF board voted to support and facilitate an initiative to address homelessness in the downtown. Since then, the foundation, under the adept leadership of the City Manager Eileen Donoghue and the City of Lowell, along with CTI, the Lowell Plan and SMOC (South Middlesex Opportunity Council) regularly meet as the leadership team charged with the important task of creating an action plan to address this critical issue.”

Align Credit Union Announces Support of “A Bed for Every Child” Initiative

Align Credit Union announced their support of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless’ “A Bed for Every Child” initiative. Over the course of several months, the credit union participated in Build-A-Bed events, collected donations from Members in their seven branches and helped increase awareness of the program through marketing and social media efforts.

“Most of us take for granted the bed we sleep in each night but there are thousands of Massachusetts children growing up in poverty who have no bed of their own,” said Robyn Frost, the organization’s executive director. “A bed is a very basic need that many low- to no-income families simply cannot afford.”

Lowell House Addiction Treatment and Recovery Awarded a Unique Four-Year Grant for Recovery Coaching Academy

Lowell House Addiction Treatment and Recovery (ATR) is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through the Cummings Foundation’s “100K for 100” program.

Lowell House ATR is a 47-year-old cornerstone of the service provider community in Merrimack Valley providing a variety of outpatient, day treatment, case management, residential recovery, sober and transitional housing programs. Recovery coaching and the new Recovery Cafe are two major initiatives of the organization in recent years.

Mill City Grows Raises Money for Fresh Food and Education Access

On Friday, June 14, more than 450 attendees came out to support Mill City Grows in their efforts to improve fresh food access and food education in Lowell. The event raised $169,000 for the organization’s food access & education programs. As part of the event, a Fund A Need Campaign was launched to expand our popular Farm to Table Cooking Classes which bring families together in the kitchen to prepare and enjoy fresh, nutritious meals and learn more about integrating wholesome ingredients into their home cooking. Photos by Meghan Moore