MVSB Fund Announces Grants to Local Non-Profit Organizations

The Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund at New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has awarded $120,000 to 35 non-profit organizations. These include $99,000 awarded to 21 local agencies, and $21,000 donated to 14 area food pantries. These grants are additional to the Bank’s many local contributions in the form of sponsorships, donations and scholarships, as well as the impressive volunteer efforts of its employees.

“The community has always been at the heart of our mission,” said Rick Wyman, President of Meredith Village Savings Bank. “We’re very proud to be able to offer any support we can to organizations that provide so many wonderful local resources and services.”

Recipients of the MVSB Charitable Fund include:

Camp Lawrence – Merrimack Valley YMCA (Lawrence, MA)

• Awarded $5,000 to help fund camping experiences for ten local boys from underprivileged families within the communities that the Bank serves to attend Camp Lawrence for Boys. Camp Lawrence is a diverse community of 150 campers and over 60 staff members from around the world. The camp covers 70 acres of Bear Island on Lake Winnipesaukee, and serves boys, ages 8-16.

Communities for Alcohol- and Drug-Free Youth/CADY (Plymouth, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to support the Launch Youth Entrepreneurship Program, a development program that combines workforce training, paid summer employment and substance misuse prevention strategies for youth living in the Newfound and Pemi-Baker regions. CADY was founded to educate families, schools and communities about the importance of drug prevention and misuse among youth of Central and Northern NH.

Copper Cannon Camp (Franconia, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to allow children from low-income families who live within MVSB’s service area to attend a one-week program at Copper Cannon. Copper Cannon offers free traditional summer camp experiences to participants who engage in stimulating activities that promote teamwork, group learning and social skills.

Friends Program (Concord, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to help support the Friends Foster Grandparent Program, which focuses on early childhood development for at-risk children who need behavioral, emotional and educational support. The Friends Program accomplishes this by placing low-income senior volunteers in childcare centers and public school classrooms to provide critical support for student learning. The Friends Program is a social service organization that creates meaningful opportunities for seniors to work with children through a mentoring program for at-risk youth.

Got Lunch – Ashland/Holderness (Ashland, NH)

• Awarded $1,000 to support the Got Lunch program serving the towns of Ashland and Holderness for the summer of 2018. Got Lunch is a community-based program that provides healthy lunch foods to children during their summer break.

Grafton County Senior Citizens Council (Plymouth, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to go toward the cost of a professional delivery service to pick-up donated food twice per week for GCSCC Seniors. The Plymouth Regional Senior Center receives generous donations of up to 50 cases of food from Hannaford Supermarkets through the Fresh Produce Rescue Program of the NH Food Bank, and funding supports pick-up and distribution. GCSCC provides home-delivered meals, outreach and counseling, on-demand transportation, activities, educational programs, congregate meals, volunteer opportunities, assistance with chores and repairs and telephone reassurance to the homebound community.

Granite State Adaptive (Mirror Lake, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to help fund its outreach to Lakes Region and Seacoast area children who will benefit from equine assisted therapies such as adaptive riding and hippotherapy. The Granite State Adaptive was founded to provide individuals who have a disability the opportunity to develop independence, confidence, life skills and fitness through participation in sports, therapy, training and recreation programs.

Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center (Laconia, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to build the organization’s 2018 literature library for children and families that visit its center. The Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center is a program of the Granite State Children’s Alliance, serving children throughout Belknap County. Its mission is to provide victims of child abuse in New Hampshire a neutral environment where justice, healing, equity and prevention are fostered through the consistent, high quality and sustaining collaboration of community partners.

Harbor Homes (Nashua, NH)

• Awarded $25,000 to support the construction of the organization’s Boulder Point Veterans Housing Facility in Plymouth, NH. The facility will provide permanent housing to the area’s most vulnerable, low-income, disabled and homeless veterans. Harbor Homes is based in Nashua, NH and serves low-income individuals and families who are homeless, at risk of homelessness, or living with mental illness and other disabilities.

Laconia Police Department (Laconia, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to help the department promote non-enforcement contact with the public and local youth through its Cop Card program, which consists of trading cards created about each officer with his/her picture and biography. The program is popular among young local residents, promoting invaluable bonds between children and trusted adults of the community.

Lakes Region Visiting Nurses’ Association (Meredith, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to support specialized care in a patient’s home with hospice related services within Meredith. This is a significant community project and critical to the Lakes Region.  LRVNA provides health care services to citizens of its rural communities within the comfort of their homes.

 LIFE Ministries Food Pantry (Wolfeboro Falls, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to help remodel and renovate the LIFE Ministries Food Pantry. Major goals of the renovations include creating more storage and private rooms, improving of traffic flow patterns and increasing space for newly donated refrigerators and freezers. LIFE Ministries Food Pantry serves meals to individuals and families up to three times per day, three or more times per week.

Meredith Center Free Will Baptist Church (Meredith, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to help fund the repair of the steeple and bell cradle for Meredith Center Free Will Baptist Church, one of area’s landmark churches located on 122 Meredith Center Road.

New Durham Food Pantry (New Durham, NH)

• Awarded $10,000 to contribute to the purchase of its current building. The purchase will allow the New Durham Food Pantry to continue operating for local area residents who depend on its services. The Food Pantry provides needed food and household essentials to families and individuals in New Durham and its surrounding communities.

NH Historical Society (Concord, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to support the expansion of the Society’s education program to Lakes Region students. Educational services are provided through class field trips to its museum in Concord and through visits to local-area schools by Society teachers. The New Hampshire Historical Society is the independent nonprofit that saves, preserves and shares state history, serving thousands of children and adults each year through its museum, library, education, publications and outreach programs.

NH Humane Society (Laconia, NH)

• Awarded $1,500 to help fund the roof construction of its outside pens, which would allow shelter dogs to play outside year-round, while remaining protected from the elements. The Humane Society was founded on the mission of finding responsible and caring homes and shelter for lost, abandoned and unwanted animals.

One Sky Community Services (Portsmouth, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to contribute to One Sky’s Readiness Fund that addresses needs not covered by Medicaid or other state funding. The Fund helps clients support their most basic needs to facilitate personal growth and success in life. One Sky Community Services is a private, non-profit organization under contract with the state of NH that assists infants, children, young adults and seniors with developmental disabilities or acquired brain disorders to live as valued and participating members of their communities.

Patriot Resilient Leader Institute (Gilford, NH)

• Awarded $6,000 to sponsor a Camp Resilience session in 2018. Camp Resilience provides sustained comprehensive curriculum to help wounded veterans recover their well-being by engaging in sports, adventure activities and life-skill programs.

Pemi Youth Center (Plymouth, NH)

• Awarded $2,500 to help expand its services, centers and reach into Tilton and Franklin. Pemi Youth Center is an empowerment program serving youth, ages 10-17, within the Greater Plymouth region. The organization was founded to provide a safe and welcoming place for young people outside of school, so that they can gain a sense of community, belonging and self-esteem.

White Horse Addiction Center (Center Ossipee, NH)

• Awarded $5,000 to go toward the implementation of treatment programs for Medical Withdrawal Management, 28-Day Residential Treatment, Low Intensity Residential Treatment and Sober Living by 2018. White Horse Addiction Center provides care for substance misuse and substance use disorder through its recovery center and outpatient program.

WinnAero (Gilford, NH)

• Awarded $3,000 to support its 2018 Aerospace Career Education (ACE) Academies conducted at Laconia Municipal Airport. The ACE Academies include field trips and aerospace education programs for students in high school, middle school and elementary school. WinnAero was founded to promote youth interest in STEM through aviation and aerospace educational programs and experiences. WinnAero also aims to foster enthusiasm for flight, aeronautics and aerospace for people of all ages.

The Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund was established in 1997 under the leadership of John Starrett, then President and CEO of the Bank. Since then, 351 grants totaling $1,410,867 have been awarded to a wide range of environmental, social, educational and historic projects throughout the Greater Lakes Region, Plymouth and NH Seacoast areas. 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. The deadline for consideration for the next grant cycle is October 15, 2018. Applications are available on the Bank’s website and at all MVSB offices.