Charitable Contributions for 2020

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$7,531 to Arc of the South Shore, a Weymouth-based agency that provides services for children and adults with cognitive, physical and other intellectual and developmental disabilities. Our grant this year was used to help launch their Farmers’s Market Employment Project, and it allows for installation of a greenhouse and repair of existing raised planting beds. Participants will be involved in selecting plants, tending to their care, harvesting the produce and attending Farmer’s Markets, continuing the Arc’s efforts to support individuals in acquiring vocational skills leading to paid employment in the community.

$1,500 to Boston Arts Academy Foundation, which supports the Boston Arts Academy (BAA), Boston’s only public high school for the visual and performing arts. BAA provides a diverse, primarily low-income student body access to a college-preparatory arts and academic education not otherwise available to them. The school supports six artistic areas, one of which is Theater. All theater students participate in the scene shop learning under a professional scenic designer. Freshmen learn to safely use hand and power tools, identify hardware, and follow dimensions on technical drawings, while sophomores may choose to work on building sets and props for school productions. Our grant was used for power tools and a dust collection hood for this scene shop.

$3,900 to Boston Higashi School, a Randolph non-profit serving children and young adults with autism deficit disorder. In its commitment to help students reach their full potential, the school uses a  broad and balanced curriculum. It includes a vocational element that begins at the Junior High level with an emphasis on soft skills such as following directions and developing a sense of responsibility, and continues into High School with practical employment training. Our grant was used to purchase a pottery kiln that the school will use in their Emergence Program. In that program students are able to secure employment education in the community for up to 20-30 hours per week, better enabling them to pursue employment opportunities after graduation.

$20,000 to Cardinal Cushing Centers, which since 1947 have provided innovative approaches to education for thousands of children with intellectual disabilities. One of Cushing’s most successful training programs is their culinary arts program, which is based in their Hanover facility and operates at both their main kitchen where meals are prepared and served to staff and students, and at their Bass Cafe which is open to the public. These programs have proved to be very successful, both in terms of student interest and in securing competitive employment for the students. This year’s MCMA grant was used to replace an aging, unreliable steamer in Cushing’s main kitchen, which was able to remain open throughout this Covid year to provide meals for residents, staff and students.

$13,350 to Carroll Center for the Blind in Newton. For over 75 years this organization has worked effectively with those with vision loss, helping them to learn the skills needed to be independent in their homes, classrooms and workplaces. MCMA’s grant was used to purchase iPads and iPad keyboards laptops for their direct program service staff. Technology features into all of Carroll’s programming, from summer training for teens to comprehensive job training for adults looking to return to work after vision loss. All require training on up-to-date technologies, and iPads have been found to be both popular and effective.

$6,500 to Challenge Unlimited, which uses therapeutic horseback riding at its Ironstone Farm in Andover to benefit children with a wide range of physical, emotional and cognitive disabilities. Their programs also serve a range of individuals that include veterans with PTSD, teens at risk, adults with disabilities, people in recovery from addiction, and many others. Those programs, though, are located in several buildings scattered throughout the farm, and an ongoing (and time wasting) problem had been outdated or incompatible computer equipment spread among those buildings that impaired communication and efficiency. Our grant, building upon our previous year’s grant, was used to complete the upgrade of those systems so they can function effectively.

$4,985 to the Children’s Center for Communication - Beverly School for the Deaf in Beverly. Founded in 1876 to serve deaf and hard of hearing children, this school expanded its mission in the 1970s and began accepting hearing children with communication challenges and deaf children with learning and developmental disabilities. Our grant this year enabled the purchase of

new technology equipment (iPad Pros and Apple pencils) for their STEAM Lab curriculum. The Lab works with an Interactive Smart Board, and the new equipment allows students to mirror from their device directly to the board to share their communication skills, coding work and 3D projects.

$1,849 to Citizens Inn to purchase a continuous-feed automatic food processor/dicer. This Peabody-based organization works to help families and individuals across the North Shore who are experiencing a housing crisis or food insecurity, with programs designed to help them prepare for and transition to a sustainable life.  It also partners with Northeast Arc to provide employment training in the food service area for people with disabilities. One of its programs (Haven from Hunger) operates a food pantry and runs a community-meals program that served over 15,000 meals in 2019 and faced far greater demands in this past Covid year. Our grant has hopefully helped them meet those demands.

$8,193 to the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in South Yarmouth, a nonprofit that offers a wide range of programs, and serves as both arts and community center. Our grant was directed toward its Education Wing, where they work to provide those with special needs and challenges (from intellectual and physical disabilities to homelessness to substance abuse) with creative activities that will help them develop skills and find employment on Cape Cod. More specifically, it was used to purchase wood turning and other equipment to expand their Rise and Shine program for youth at risk.

$5,964 to Dearborn Academy, which in 2017 had to relocate from its historic location in Arlington to a newly renovated facility in Newton, necessitating a complete make over of its shop programs. Students at this special education day school arrive with a variety of concerns that include impulse-control, learning disabilities and mental health issues. Dearborn considers vocational and shop programs to be vital to their success with these children, and our grant was used to continue the upgrade and expansion of their shop programs, this year with a focus on equipment for their Media Production shop.

$2,143 to the Doctor Franklin Perkins School in Lancaster, a 122-year old institution that provides year-round residential, educational and day treatment for children and adolescents who struggle with a wide range of mental health diagnoses. Our recent support has been directed to the school’s Adult Transition Program, which provides academic and hands-on vocational training for transitional age youth (age 17-21). But Perkins also operates an Adult Vocational Program in downtown Clinton, and this year’s MCMA grant was used to purchase a new refrigerator that will be used in cooking classes and meal preparation at that facility.

$5,110 to Double Edge Theater Productions, a non-profit founded in 1982 and located in Ashfield. This organization creates original theater works while also training and teaching emerging artists and interns, and the students learn all aspects of production and design, such as lighting, props, costumes and set pieces. Further, Double Edge has an ongoing partnership with the Springfield School District, through which many students from economically disadvantaged households are afforded an opportunity for high-quality creative and professional training that they might not otherwise see. This past year MCMA helped Double Edge purchase computer software and hardware that will help them train students in lighting design and lighting technical work.

$5,000 to the Eliot School in Jamaica Plain, which has for many years offered quality education to day and evening school students in a variety of fine and applied arts, and has more recently introduced a School Partnership Program that brings woodworking and art to public school students. Our grant this year was used to help complete a dust collection system and for miscellaneous items (power tools, tables, etc.) related to the woodworking program. Eliot School programs are available to over 1,300 students in the Boston Public School system.

$5,868 to the Essex Historical Society and Shipbuilding Museum, which since 1993 has been introducing students from Essex and surrounding communities to carpentry and boat building through the construction of small rowing craft. Through partnerships with local schools the museum works with small groups to build boats, make tholepins, grommets and oars to row with, and even learn how to row the boats on the Essex River. Our grant was used to purchase power and hand tools to support this program.

$12,454 to the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute, which operates the Gloucester Biotechnology Academy. Designed to serve local high school graduates ages 18 to 26 with limited resources and no clear path to college or a career, the Academy’s hands-on technical training offers these young people a STEM pathway to meaningful jobs in a growing industry. Its “lab immersion” curriculum consists of three 12-week semesters, the first two spent learning biotech workflow and methods on state-of-the-art equipment, and the third on a paid industry internship at a local biotech firm or research institute. It’s still a young program, but it has had considerable success in its first four years, and MCMA’s grant (for Laminar Flow Hoods) will help the Academy expand both its programming and its enrollment.

$5,278 to the Home for Little Wanderers for equipment and tools to support both the Small Machinery Repair and the Graphic Design vocational courses at their Walpole campus. Many of the children at school on this campus (it serves 40+ co-ed youth age 12-18) have suffered neglect and abuse, and most are behavioral and moderately learning disabled. In addition to academics, the Home tries to introduce them to real-life work experiences and skills through various programs, knowing that many of these children will not return to their families but will transition to group homes or to independent living. It is hoped that these programs will provide further opportunity to prepare them to work and live independently.

$2,602 to Horace Mann Educational Associates (HMEA) of Franklin, which provides specialized services and education to 4800 children and adults with autism and other developmental disabilities in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. HMEA operates Employment Programs at four locations in Massachusetts, which together support 200 individuals with disabilities and provide individually designed services to maximize the independence of each person served. A landscaping service begun under this Program ten years ago has been a success, and our grant was used for equipment (two commercial mowers and a gas trimmer) to further expand that service.

$2,495 to Lovelane, a Lincoln nonprofit that provides high-quality therapeutic horseback riding in a supportive environment to achieve occupational, physical,  cognitive and other therapeutic gains, focusing on children with special needs. With its staff of 21, and the help of 197 dedicated volunteers, they provide 4500 therapeutic sessions each year. This year our grant was used to purchase thirteen 18” basket fans for installation in the horse stalls, which will allow for safer and improved ventilation of the stalls.

$7,700 to the MassBay Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that assists MassBay Community College (MBCC) in obtaining grants to support and strengthen its programs. Our support was directed toward MBCC’s  Automotive Technology Center (ATC), which operates at the Ashland campus and has very successfully trained hundreds of Massachusetts residents for jobs in automotive fields. The ATC’s training programs are sponsored by four major automobile brands, and provide students with in-depth automotive technology training, utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment on manufacturer-donated, late model vehicles.  With our grant ATC purchased two electrical training boards that will further align their automotive training with industry standards and improve students’ technical skills.

$4,017 to Mission of Deeds, a nonprofit volunteer organization that provides beds, furniture and basic household items to those in need. Based in Reading, and serving individuals and families in Middlesex and Essex Counties, MOD’s clients include the homeless and those living in shelters or transitional situations. The goal is to help them move out of shelters and back into the community. Our grant was used to purchase dust collection and air filtration equipment and an industrial strip curtain in MOD’s workshop where they repair and refurbish donated furniture and other household items.

$12,292 to North Bennet Street School, which helps students to achieve meaningful livelihoods by offering intense, hands-on training in traditional trades and fine craftsmanship. This North End school’s full-time programs include specialty professions such as preservation carpentry, piano technology, violin making and repair, locksmithing, bookbinding and jewelry making. Forced to close in March due to Covid, the school dove into remote learning. They were able to re-open in September, albeit with extensive protocols and precautions in place. Our grant was used in part to purchase a SawStop table saw for the Carpentry Program, and in part to purchase a hands-free Nano camera, used for surgical magnification, that will enable students in the Violin Making Program to view the smallest details whether in the classroom or at home on a Zoom call. In short, NBSS is both adapting to the new normal and making the most of technologies they have had to adopt during the pandemic. 

$9,000 to Old Sturbridge Village, the outdoor museum in Sturbridge that, with over 40 original buildings brought to the museum from all over New England, depicts early 19th century life in a rural New England town. In addition to daily demonstrations to educate visitors about historical trades, OSV conducts classes and workshops, partners with local vocational high schools for hands-on learning experiences, and offers year-long apprenticeships with Village tradesmen for those with a deeper interest in the trades. This year our grant was used to replace the wood shingle roof on another of OSV’s historical buildings, though Covid restrictions prevented Tantasqua High School vocational students from participating in the work as had been planned. OSV did, though, provide videos to the school to illustrate the materials and methods for their students.

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