The Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts (CFNCM), a public charity serving the philanthropic interests of donors in the north central region of the Commonwealth, has awarded $102,652 in grants to local nonprofits through the Nashoba Valley Health Care Fund. The purpose of the fund is to advance the community health of residents in 11 communities: Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley and Townsend.

“Our region is fortunate to have impactful organizations serving a wide range of health care needs for our residents,” said Stephen Adams, president of the Community Foundation. “We hope these grants will inspire others to deepen our impact by donating to the Nashoba Valley Health Care Fund.”

The breakdown of grants is as follows:

  • $20,000 to the Ellie Fund to provide direct financial assistance for cancer patients and their families, as well as support for intentional collaboration to reach more underserved and minority patients.
  • $12,000 to the Ashby Fire & EMS Department for scholarships for local residents to complete EMT and Advanced EMT certification.
  • $11,000 to DetecTogether to support cancer detection education for firefighters.
  • $10,000 to Advocates to support free behavioral healthcare for older adults whose treatment is not covered by Medicare.
  • $10,000 to CASA Project for its Shine the Light program, which provides training for volunteers to assist children exposed to parental substance abuse.
  • $10,000 to YWCA Central Massachusetts to support its Domestic Violence High-Risk Teams, which work within the community's domestic violence response system to identify the most dangerous cases to increase victim safety and offender accountability while closing systemic gaps.
  • $7,500 to MAB Community Services for supportive services for older adults with vision loss, including vision rehabilitation, peer support groups, mental health counseling, assistive technology training and volunteer services.
  • $7,500 to Minuteman Senior Services to support programming for seniors, including a meal program, Medicare counseling, money management training, protective services and caregiver support services.
  • $7,500 to The NAN Project for targeted education, prevention and intervention strategies for students and educators at the Bromfield School, using a peer-to-peer model to reach middle and high school students.
  • $7,152 to the Albert Harris Center to support its Mind Body Nourish program for seniors, which provides behavioral health sessions, access to fitness center classes and intuitive eating workshops.

The Community Foundation’s grant programs seek to improve the quality of life in North Central Massachusetts by supporting initiatives that have a capacity for long-term viability, offer thoughtful plans of action and outcome measurements and leverage collaborations.