| Though it might seem antithetical to the media refrain, over the course of a year, the staff – and readers – of Banker & Tradesman see a lot of good news. Our weekly online feature, Community Good Works, never lacks for material. A roundup of all the good things our readers have accomplished, it highlights the many, many contributions the financial and real estate industries make to the communities in which we all live and work.
This holiday season, Banker & Tradesman is highlighting some of the wonderful donations, projects and support we have seen this year. As one year passes into another, we look back at the good things that happened, and hope for many more next year.
From the staff of The Warren Group, we wish all of our readers a very happy and healthy holiday and new year.
Massachusetts Credit Unions
Pictured, from left: Steve Jones, Jeanne D’Arc Credit Union; Charlene Bauer, Metro Credit Union; Association President Paul Gentile; Nicole James, RTN Federal Credit Union; Robyn Frost, MA Coalition for the Homeless; Paul Marotta, Hanscom Federal Credit Union; Jon Reske, UMassFive College Federal Credit Union; Debra Lee Surface, St. Jean’s Credit Union; and David Plantier, MassMutual Federal Credit Union.
The credit unions of Massachusetts in February continued their support of the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless with a $135,000 donation, the total of funds collected throughout 2014.
Seventy credit unions throughout the state supported a wide variety of fundraising activities over the year. The biggest individual contributions came from Waltham-based RTN Federal Credit Union with more than $34,600, and Hanscom Federal Credit Union, located at Hanscom Air Force Base, with a donation of more than $33,800.
“The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is grateful to the Massachusetts credit unions for the strong partnership we have in helping low- and moderate-income households throughout our state to avoid being homeless,” Coalition Executive Director Robyn Frost said in a statement. “It is the financial assistance that the coalition receives from credit unions across our state that allows us to be there when families and unaccompanied youth are in need.”
Massachusetts Association Of Realtors
The Massachusetts Association of Realtors Charitable Foundation in September announced the 2015 recipients of its fall Housing and Homeless Assistance Grants. The following eight charities were nominated by local Realtor associations and then selected to receive a share of $14,000 in grants based on their initiatives to provide affordable housing, shelter and other emergency care services within Massachusetts:
- The Home for Little Wanderers, Boston
- Neighbors in Need, Lawrence
- Pernet Family Health Services, Worcester
- Redfield House Services for Young Parents, Pittsfield
- St. Vincent DePaul Woburn
- St. David’s Episcopal Church Paper Pantry, South Yarmouth
- Veterans Transition House, New Bedford
- The Women’s Lunch Place, Boston
“Realtors want to recognize, honor and support the amazing work these eight charities are doing in their communities,” MAR Charitable Foundation Chairman Diane DeCiccio, Realtor at OPEN DOOR Real Estate in Sterling, said in a statement. “We hope these grants will help the recipients continue to make positive changes in the lives of the people they serve.”
The foundation’s board of trustees created the Housing and Homeless Assistance Grant Program in 2000 to encourage Realtor support for local nonprofit groups and their initiatives to provide affordable housing, shelter and other emergency care services within the commonwealth. Each local Realtor association in Massachusetts is able to nominate housing or homeless assistance charitable organizations from their jurisdictional area for a monetary grant from the foundation. Grants are awarded in the spring and fall of each calendar year.
Needham Bank
Pictured, from left: Mark Whalen, CEO, Needham Bank; John Antonucci, superintendent of schools, Westwood, and member of the Needham Bank Advisory Council; Sheryl Goodloe, Westwood METCO director; and Jack McGeorge, chairman of the Needham Bank board of directors.
Needham Bank in October announced it will provide $40,000 in funding, spread among four school districts serving five local communities, to enable them to continue full METCO participation during the 2015 -2016 school year.
METCO is the country’s oldest continuously operating voluntary desegregation program. It facilitates opportunities for inner city youth to attend suburban schools. The program was hit with significant spending cuts as the state struggled to balance its budget.
“Given all that has been going on in places like Charleston, South Carolina, Ferguson, Missouri and elsewhere in this nation, we came to the conclusion that stepping forward to keep this valuable program viable in the towns we call home was the right thing to do,” Needham Bank CEO Mark Whalen said in a statement. “METCO’s stated purpose is to decrease racial isolation and increase diversity. We wholeheartedly support those goals and wanted to provide tangible evidence of our commitment.”
Five communities Metro West communities received the funds: Needham, Dover, Sherborn (as part of the Dover-Sherborn Regional School District), Wellesley and Westwood.
“Lots of companies talk about thinking globally and acting locally, but I think this is one of those rare cases where that is precisely what is happening,” Westwood Public Schools Superintendent and Needham Bank Advisory Council member John Antonucci said in the statement. “This funding will have an immediate, measurable impact on our students’ lives.”
METCO – officially the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity – has provided tens of thousands of Massachusetts students a chance to experience a more diverse educational setting. “The program has a proven track record of bringing people together, fostering better understanding and providing enhanced opportunity,” statewide METCO Director Joan McGuire said. “Needham Bank serves as a wonderful example of giving back to the community, while also looking beyond community boundaries.”
Sherin and Lodgen
To celebrate Thanksgiving and give back to the local community, a group of 30 attorneys and staff from Boston law firm Sherin and Lodgen LLP volunteered over a three-day period to serve lunch to veterans at the New England Center and Home for Veterans (NECVH). In addition, the firm made a contribution to the center to support capital improvements and educational training.
The NECVH is in the midst of a $31 million renovation of its downtown Boston facility that will create a sustainable and adaptable, state-of-the-art building to serve all veterans, but particularly women. The project is being funded through public partnerships and the use of federal, state and city dollars. Sherin and Lodgen represented The Life Initiative, one of a consortium of lenders involved in the construction financing of the NECHV renovation project. Douglas M. Henry, managing partner, and Bethany A. Bartlett , a partner in the firm’s real estate department, led the legal team that handled the $3.9 million bridge loan financing related to Massachusetts State Historic Tax Credits and capital campaign pledges.
Suffolk Construction
-Roxbury, MA, November 18, 2015-Scholar Athletes officially opened its new headquarters at 57 Magazine St. in Roxbury, MA today.Photo by Cindy M. Loo
Acrowd of more than 90 students, supporters and donors turned out in November to celebrate the opening of the new headquarters for Scholar Athletes in Roxbury, an organization created by Suffolk Construction to reduce the opportunity gap for urban public high school students. SA has grown to provide school-based learning “zones” and individual tutoring to nearly 4,600 public high school students in Boston and Springfield; SA has a 92 percent college acceptance rate and 99 percent of Scholar Athlete zone members have postsecondary education plans. The ribbon-cutting celebration for the new headquarters at 57 Magazine St. was emceed by 17-year-old Vanessa Nedd of Mattapan, a Scholar Athlete zone member, a two-sport athlete and senior at John D. O’Bryant High School.
Scholar Athletes was cofounded in 2009 through a public-private partnership. The new headquarters in Roxbury will serve as a home for central office staff, provide space for training staff and tutors and a safe space for high school zone members to participate in workshops and college counseling.
Wolf & Co. And Country Bank
The team from Country Bank and Wolf & Co.
A team of officers from Wolf & Co. and members of the board of trustees of Country Bank traveled to Haiti in October as part of a mission of the Be Like Brit Foundation. During the seven-day excursion, the group built a home in the community of Grand Goave, while connecting with children at the foundation’s nearby orphanage.
Housing is still greatly needed more than five years after the earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation. The team from Country Bank did it all, from clearing the lot, hand-pouring the foundation, and framing and finishing the structure. All the lumber, concrete and water to the two remote building sites were carried by hand by the teams.
A group of volunteers gets the walls in place.
In addition to their time building, the teams toured the Mission of Hope International facilities, including a school, computer lab and library. They also attended church with the children on Sunday and came back to serve lunch the following day.
The orphanage was built in memory of 19-year-old Britney Gengel, the Rutland, Massachusetts native who died in the 2010 Haiti earthquake while on a service trip with her college, Lynn University.
Country Bank and Wolf & Co. were the first two businesses to travel to Be Like Brit on a corporate team building trip.
