Local community foundations award more than $181,000 to advance Nashoba Valley health

Living Water Fellowship in Ayer received a $5,000 grant from the Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund for Stone Soup Kitchen. Stone Soup Kitchen team packing food before the pantry opens to clients.

Lowell, MA – The Greater Lowell Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts recently awarded $181,211 in grants to 16 local nonprofits from the Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund to help improve residents’ health in area communities.  

Priority was given to proposals pertaining to prevention of health problems, access to healthcare, elder, youth, and adolescent health, mental health, and health care service provision. Recipients of the grants were selected by the Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund Advisory Committee, comprised of local leaders in business, health care, and education.

“The Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund provides impactful grants,” said Jay Linnehan, president and CEO of the Greater Lowell Community Foundation. “We greatly appreciate the hard work and diligence of the volunteer advisory committee in prioritizing the health needs of residents in our local communities.”

“The Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare Fund plays an important role in the quality of life in our region,” said Stephen Adams, president of the CFNCM. “We were impressed by the caliber of the applicants and are pleased to be able to support their efforts across areas including food insecurity, healthcare access, shelter, mental health services, and more.”

Nashoba Valley Healthcare Grant Recipients

  • Able to Serve-New England, Inc (Lowell): Hope for Women with Children in Nashoba Valley – $1,500
  • Advocates (Framingham): Supporting the Mental Health Needs of Local Seniors – $20,000
  • Ashby Fire and EMS (Town of Ashby): Improvement of provider training and skill maintenance in rural EMS system – $6,313
  • Boys & Girls Club of Lunenburg (Lunenburg): BGCL After-school (Covid) Program – $10,000
  • Clear Path for Veterans New England (Devens): Brain Retrain Neural Mapping, an Integrated Health and Wellness Program for Veterans – $20,000
  • Doctor Franklin Perkins School (Lancaster): Perkins Behavioral Health Services in the Nashoba Valley – $15,000
  • Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts, Inc (Acton): Critical Home Repair Program Supporting Economically Distressed Families from Nashoba Valley – $20,000
  • Habitat for Humanity of Greater Lowell (Westford): Critical home repair program for seniors. – $10,000
  • Littleton Community Farm (Littleton): Growing for Expanded Hunger Relief – $9,598
  • Living Water Fellowship (Ayer): Stone Soup Kitchen Ministries – $5,000
  • North Star Family Services, Inc. (Leominster): North Star – Family and Children Wellness Initiative -$20,000
  • Our Father’s House (Fitchburg): Ensuring Health Wellness in Homeless Children – $16,000
  • Townsend Ecumenical Outreach (Townsend): Healthy Food For Vulnerable Populations – $7,800
  • United Methodist Action Reach out in Mission by Youth: Elder Services Home Repairs in Westford, Chelmsford and Groton – $5,000 
  • Virginia Thurston Healing Garden, Inc. (Harvard): Equitable Access to Psychosocial Therapeutic Services for Cancer Patients, Families & Caregivers – $10,000
  • VNA Care Network, Inc. (Lowell): Removing Barriers to Health: Nursing and Social Work Case Management – $5,000

The Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund provides annual distributions to nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and other agencies to advance the health of residents in 13 communities: Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend, and Westford. 

For more information on the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, please visit www.glcfoundation.org. 

About Greater Lowell Community Foundation
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF), founded in 1997, is a philanthropic organization comprised of over 350 funds, currently totaling over $50MM, which is dedicated to improving the quality of life in 20 neighboring cities and towns. The Community Foundation annually awards grants and scholarships to hundreds of worthy nonprofits and students. It is powered by the winning combination of donor-directed giving, personal attention from its staff, and an in-depth understanding of local needs. The generosity of our donors has enabled GLCF to award more than $25 million to the Greater Lowell community.

About Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts
The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts was created in 2001 to serve the charitable interests of donors in Ashburnham, Ashby, Athol, Ayer, Barre, Bolton, Clinton, Devens, Erving, Fitchburg, Gardner, Groton, Harvard, Hubbardston, Lancaster, Leominster, Littleton, Lunenburg, New Salem, Orange, Pepperell, Petersham, Phillipston, Princeton, Royalston, Shirley, Sterling, Templeton, Townsend, Warwick, Wendell, Westminster and Winchendon. For more information, visit cfncm.org.

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