Around Town

Donation Drive & Free Store to be Hosted by Watertown Mutual Aid

By |

Watertown Mutual Aid announced it will host a Donation Drive and Free Store on Sunday, Nov. 7. The event will be at Ballroom in Boston, 100 Parker St. in Watertown. The Donation Drive will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Accepted items:

Winter coats (new/like-new)Cold-weather clothes for kids, newborn to young adult (new/like-new)Diapers and baby wipesMenstrual productsPersonal care items (shampoo, toothpaste, etc.)

Shop at the Free Store from 1-3 p.m. Free and open to all!

Around Town

Watertown Community Foundation Accepting Applications for Watertown Schools Program Grants

By |

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation:

The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) is pleased to announce they are accepting applications for the Watertown School Grant Program. This program focuses solely on Watertown’s public schools and seeks to support activities that improve instruction and learning.  For the first time WCF is partnering with Life Science Cares to fund STEM grants. The application form is available online. Eligibility

Applicants must be public entities or nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status.Organizations implementing programs within a school(s) are welcome to apply. It is also required that applicants review their proposed project with the school principal or department chair before applying.

Business

New STEM Education Fund Will Provide Grants to Watertown Teachers, Funded by Local Companies, WCF & Life Science Cares

By |

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Community Foundation and Life Science Cares Boston:

Life Science Cares Boston is collaborating with the Watertown Community Foundation and four Watertown-based life science companies to launch the Watertown STEM Education Fund, a special effort to fund science, technology, engineering & math programming in the Watertown Public Schools. Four corporate contributors — Arranta Bio, C4 Therapeutics, Forma Therapeutics & Landmark Bio — and Life Science Cares have committed a total of $15,000 in funding for teacher-driven requests for supplemental materials, books, equipment, special events and speakers, student programs and experimental school or district-wide initiatives. The fund builds on the Watertown Community Foundation’s annual school-based educational grants program and will increase total funding for the foundation’s grants this fall. “This exciting new partnership and funding commitment will expand our ability to support Watertown teachers through our annual education grant program. Each year we receive far more grant requests than we can fund, particularly in the area of science and technology. This STEM Fund will truly transform our grant giving capacity and provide teachers and our schools with more resources to support students in the classroom,” said Jan Singer, Watertown Community Foundation Executive Director.

Around Town

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

By |

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

By |

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

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

By |

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.

Homepage Featured

Community Foundation Offering High School Internships, Adding New Ones Focused on Philanthropy

By |

For the seventh year, the Watertown Community Foundation will help high school students from Town get internships, and in 2021 it will launch a new type of internship where interns will learn about philanthropy by serving on a board. The Community Foundation will welcome up to 18 interns this year. Most will be summer internships with local businesses and groups, and two will be the year-long internships where students will join the Foundation’s board. Watertown Community Foundation Executive Director Jan Singer said she believes the WCF will also benefit from the new program. “It’s definitely a two-way street,” Singer said.