Tufts Donates Money to Eight Medford Groups
Money from Employee Fund Dedicated to Help School’s Host Communities
The Chevalier Theatre Organ Society was one of the grant recipients. The Chevalier Theatre is pictured above.
– Allison Goldsberry
Tufts University announced today that eight Medford organizations will receive more than $5,500 in grants from an employee fund for the school’s host communities.
The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) collects donations from the school’s employees throughout the year and distributes the funds to community-based, charitable organizations in Tufts’ host communities of Medford, Somerville, Grafton, and Boston.
This year the fund raised $22,000 and awarded the money to 34 programs and projects in those communities. In Medford the Brooks School PTO received $250 for their Read-a-thon; the Chevalier Theatre Organ Society received $200 to support the 2008 Medford Family Concert; Community Cupboard Food Pantry of the Unitarian Universalist Church received $2,000 for food staples; the Medford Boys and Girls Club received $500 to purchase health and fitness equipment; the Medford Family Resource Coalition received $750 for classroom supplies and the Fifth Annual International Family Festival; Medford Health Matters received $400 for youth stipends for the Team TADD Community Initiative Project; Shelter Inc.’s Medford Family Life Education Center received $1,000 for educational and recreational supplies; and the Mystic River Watershed Association received $750 toward the purchase of an Aquafluor monitoring device.
A committee of Tufts administrators, faculty, and staff reviewed 47 requests totaling $72,000. According to Tufts, the committee looks for groups and projects that address the most pressing needs in a community and that have few other options for support, as well as actively engaging Tufts volunteers.
“Given the strength of this year’s proposals, the 2007 funding decisions were especially difficult. The TNSF committee appreciates the importance of each proposal and wishes the more requests could be funded. While there are many other ways that the university tries to support our host communities, we hope to increase employee contributions to the TNSF for the future,” said Tufts Community Relations Director Barbara Rubel.
More…