We are happy to announce that the MVSB charitable fund that carries its name has awarded $76,108 in grants to 19 area nonprofits. These grants are in addition to the bank’s contributions in the form of sponsorships, donations and scholarships, as well as the extraordinary volunteer efforts of its employees.
“Providing support to the communities and people we serve has been a central part of our mission as a mutual savings bank since we opened in 1869,” said Rick Wyman, Executive Vice President and CFO at MVSB and one of the trustees of the MVSB Fund. “While the profits of stock banks often benefit their stockholders, our charter as a mutual savings bank allows us to invest in ways that benefit to our communities, employees, customers and the long-term success of the bank. We are pleased to support these very deserving organizations as part of that long-term commitment.”
MVSB established the Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund in 1997 under the leadership of John Starrett who was then President and CEO of the bank. Since then, 235 grants totaling more than $872,000 have been awarded to a wide range of environmental, social, educational, and historic projects throughout the Lakes Region and Plymouth area. Over the years, the Fund has supported literacy programs, after-school programs, environmental monitoring and education, restoration of historic structures, organizations that provide support for individuals and families in challenging circumstances, and equipment that helps save lives.
“Each grant cycle is highly competitive and it’s very hard to choose which projects to fund,” says Wyman. “The common point in them is that they absolutely need the support and will provide tremendous benefit to the community.”
The recently-selected 2012 MVSB Fund recipients are:
- Appalachian Mountain Teen Project of Wolfeboro – Awarded $2,000 to support the organization’s activity-based mentoring program for Lakes Region youth that face challenging life circumstances and have limited financial resources.
- Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-Free Youth (CADY) of Plymouth – Awarded $5,000 to support its LAUNCH Youth Entrepreneurship Program, which seeks to empower youth by educating and engaging them in experiential learning and entrepreneurial initiatives, provide enriching alternatives to risk behaviors, promote personal development through mentoring and life-skills building activities, and increase employability and workforce development through pre-employment skills training and paid summer employment.
- GOT LUNCH! Laconia of Laconia – Awarded $5,000 to help provide 574 children lunches during the summer months of 2013.
- Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center (GLCAC) of Laconia – Awarded $5,000 to improve the quality of accommodations for children and families that visit the organization by replacing carpeting and waiting room furniture.
- Helping Hands Food Pantry of Plymouth – Awarded $12,000 to purchase food for the pantry, replace five freezers with energy-efficient models, and purchase one commercial-grade refrigerator.
- Inter-Lakes Day Care Center & Nursery School of Meredith – Awarded $2,520 to replace the facility’s four cribs in order to meet federal safety standards. Funding will also be used to purchase under-crib storage drawers.
- Kidworks Learning Center of Meredith – Awarded $1,500 to install insulation in a portion of the building that was discovered to be a major source of heat loss in efforts to improve its overall energy efficiency.
- Laconia Police Department of Laconia – Awarded $1,000 to support the continuation of its “Cop Card” trading card program. As a part of this program, trading cards including each officer’s photo and biography are created, and then distributed to youth in the community through personal interactions. In the past, the “Cop Card” program has proven to be extremely successful in enhancing the officers’ relationships with the community.
- Moultonborough Food Pantry of Moultonborough – Awarded $3,000 to purchase food and dairy products.
- Moultonborough/Sandwich Senior Meals of Moultonborough – Awarded $2,500 to cover half the cost of 30 home-delivered meals for seniors per week, for which state funding cannot be obtained.
- New Hampshire Food Bank of Manchester – Awarded $2,020 to provide staff and volunteer training, as well as site monitoring, for 18 hunger relief agencies in the MVSB service area.
- Pemi Youth Center of Plymouth – Awarded $5,000 to support its afterschool program that provides a safe, well-supervised place for youth ages 10-17 to engage in educational and enriching activities that support academic and social development.
- Prescott Farm Environmental Education Center of Laconia – Awarded $3,500 to provide scholarships for 20 children from its partner agencies – the Laconia Area Community Land Trust and Genesis Behavioral health – to attend one week of summer camp each.
- Rumney Ecological Systems of Rumney – Awarded $7,615 to support the second phase of trail and boardwalk improvements along the Kent Ecological Trail at Quincy Bog.
- Tamworth Caregivers of Tamworth – Awarded $1,000 to support the mileage reimbursement program for its volunteers.
- The Bridge House of Plymouth – Awarded $8,668 to secure the remaining funds necessary to purchase, register, and insure a safe, warranteed seven-passenger vehicle. The vehicle will be used to transport six veterans to appointments, up to seven children to the BH-PSU Kids Connection, and for job transportation to 100% of job-holding program participants.
- The Gordon-Nash Library of New Hampton – Awarded $4,300 to increase the library’s energy efficiency through making improvements in wall insulation and air sealing in the building’s 1961 addition.
- The Hunter School of Rumney – Awarded $2,985 to establish a community service garden project. Together with the Wolf Pack Adventure Club, The Hunter School will construct two small greenhouses and 10 raised-bed gardens. The project aims to empower Hunter students by allowing them to grow their own food and prepare their own meals, as well as enhance their commitment to community involvement through selling the additional produce at a local farmer’s market to benefit their non-profit school.
- Wolfeboro Nursery School of Wolfeboro Falls – Awarded $1,500 to provide tuition assistance to families in need.
2013 MVSB Fund awards
The deadline for consideration for the next grant cycle is October 15, 2013. Applications are available on the Bank’s website and at all MVSB offices.
