Tufts Employees Give Grants to 9 Medford Groups
The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) committee recently awarded grants to nine organizations in Medford. TNSF collects donations from university employees throughout the year and then awards grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts’ host communities (Somerville, Medford, Grafton and Boston’s Chinatown) and actively engage Tufts volunteers in their work.
A committee of Tufts administrators, faculty and staff meets annually to review proposals and select grant recipients. In 2013 there was a total of $19,300 available to distribute through TNSF. The committee received 69 proposals representing more than $105,000 in requests and selected 29 programs and projects for awards. Members of the TNSF committee base their decisions on a desire to address the most pressing needs in the communities and to encourage expanded involvement of Tufts volunteers.
The Medford grant recipients for 2013 are:
– Boys and Girls Clubs of Middlesex County — $300 to purchase t-shirts for the Medford Clubhouse’s Running Club
– Coalition for Arts, Culture, and a Healthy Economy (CACHE) — $300 for assistance with production costs of the annual Circle the Square, a festival bringing free music, arts and activities to Medford Square
– Columbus Elementary School — $400 to support the school’s annual Science Night
– Community Cupboard Food Pantry of the Unitarian Universalist Church — $2,000 for continued support for local families that use the pantry
– Heading Home — $500 to support the Medford Family Life Education Center’s educational programs
– Medford Council on Aging — $400 to purchase books for book club participants who cannot afford them
– Medford Family Resource Coalition — $500 for costs associated with their Outreach to Medford Families Project
– Mystic Valley Elder Services — $1,000 to support the Senior Nutrition Outreach Program’s food pantry
– Outside the Lines Studio — $250 for art supplies for clients.
– Information from Tufts University