MVSB Fund Announces Grants to Local Non-Profit Organizations

The Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund at the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation has awarded $105,000 to 15 local non-profit organizations. These grants are additional to the Bank’s many contributions in the form of sponsorships, donations and scholarships, as well as the exceptional volunteer efforts of their employees.

“The community has always been at the heart of our mission,” said Rick Wyman, President of Meredith Village Savings Bank. “We are very fortunate to have so many valuable non-profit organizations that provide essential services to the people and families of the Lakes Region and Seacoast.”

Recipients of the MVSB Charitable Fund grants include:

• The Circle Program, Plymouth
  Awarded $3,000 to help fund the purchase of technology that would be used as a valuable aid for engaging Circle participants in STEM curriculums. The Circle Program serves at-risk, under-resourced girls and teens by offering them adult mentoring statewide for positive, personal growth and development. The Program promotes leadership, team-building, healthy relationships and personal responsibility.
• The Friends of the Libby Museum, Wolfeboro
  Awarded $2,500 for the restoration of the Libby Museum’s multi-purpose room for children’s programs and community meetings. For more than 30 years, the Friends of the Libby Museum have provided resources for the Museum’s nature programs for children, live animal shows and restoration of collection items. Founded in 1912, the Libby Museum is the oldest natural history museum in NH, and is registered as a national historic place for their contribution to education by the Department of Interior.
• Hospice Help Foundation, Portsmouth
  Awarded $5,000 to support hospice patients struggling with poverty. The Hospice Help Foundation provides financial assistance to patients in dire financial need. Their focus is on improving the quality of life of patients and loved ones, while easing the burdens that accompany terminal diagnosis and illness.
• Inter-Lakes Middle & High School Robotics Team, Meredith
  Awarded $25,000 to purchase manufacturing equipment and parts for the Team’s robot/solution, which include manufacturing equipment, tools, electronics and storage. A mentor-based robotics team at Inter-Lakes Middle and High Schools, the newly formed LakerBots, are entering the 2020 FIRST Robotics competition for the inspiration and recognition of science and technology.
• Got Lunch!, Ashland and Holderness
  Awarded $1,000 to support the Got Lunch program serving the towns of Ashland and Holderness for the summer of 2020. Got Lunch is a community-based program that provides healthy lunches to children during their summer break.
• Kingswood Youth Center, Wolfeboro
  Awarded $3,000 to support the Club 121 Mentoring Program, which promotes adult mentorship to middle schoolers on a one-to-one basis. Members of the Kingswood Youth Center staff mentor and advocate for their students by creating strategies for academic success, setting and achieving goals, exploring productive interests and fostering positive relationships. The Center has been serving youth ages 12 to 18 in the Governor Wentworth Regional School District since 2000, offering a safe and positive environment for local youth participants so that they may grow, learn and develop life skills critical to success in the adult world.
• GATHER, Portsmouth
  Awarded $5,000 to expand Meals 4 Kids, which provides ten meals per week per participating child throughout the summer and during school vacations. Committed to ending hunger throughout the Seacoast region, GATHER partners with the community to address the root causes of hunger. The organization offers nutritious food from their innovative distribution programs, as well as through their pantry market.
• Lakes Region Mental Health Center, Laconia
  Awarded $25,000 to purchase technology that will help with faster service and delivery capacity for timely and effective access to treatments. The Lakes Region Mental Health Center provides integrated mental and physical health care for people with mental illness. They are the community mental health center of Belknap and southern Grafton counties. Offering outpatient and emergency mental health care, the Lakes Region Mental Health Center serves children, adults, elders and their families throughout the Lakes Region.
• The Barnstormers Theatre, Tamworth
  Awarded $15,000 to facilitate repairs to the roof of their historic building. The Barnstormers Theatre is one of the country’s oldest professional theaters. For the last 90 years, the company has offered audiences rich, cultural experiences in a comfortable and inviting venue located in the heart of Tamworth village. The Theatre is also home to the company’s summer season and to area-nonprofits who share a variety of artistic offerings with the community.
• Communities for Alcohol and Drug-Free Youth (CADY), Plymouth
  Awarded $2,500 to support CADY’s Restorative Justice Program, which provides first-time youth offenders a second chance by keeping them in the community, and preventing entry into the juvenile justice system as well as juvenile delinquency. Programming for Restorative Justice includes mentoring by caring adults, community service and pro-social opportunities that correlate with the youth’s strengths, connections to social service resources and prevention education. CADY was founded to educate families, schools and communities about the importance of drug prevention and misuse among members of Central and Northern NH.
• Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), Manchester
  Awarded $5,000 to help fund the recruitment, training and support of additional volunteers in the Lakes Region and Seacoast areas. The Court Appointed Special Advocates of NH or CASA was founded to advocate for abused and neglected children within the state court system.
• Lake Winnipesaukee Association, Meredith
  Awarded $5,000 to support the organization’s conservation efforts through an AmeriCorps service program. The Lake Winnipesaukee Association is dedicated to protecting the water quality and natural resources of Lake Winnipesaukee and its watershed. Through monitoring, education, stewardship and science-guided approaches for lake management, Lake Winnipesaukee’s scenic beauty, wildlife habitat, water quality and recreational potential continues to provide enjoyment long into the future.
• Newfound Area Nursing Association, Bristol
  Awarded $2,500 to upgrade the organization’s infrastructure with additional technology that will improve comprehensive care to clients. The Newfound Area Nursing Association is a community-based home health care and hospice organization, serving patients of all ages and circumstances in the Newfound Area.
• Partnership for Public Health, Laconia
  Awarded $2,500 to help fund their “Eat Better, Feel Better” cooking programs that will empower children and parents from low income households to make healthier food choices. Founded in 2005 to address the Lakes Region’s unmet public health needs, the Partnership for Public Health collaborates with local partners to create a safer and healthier community. They have a number of public health initiatives including, ServiceLink Resource Centers in Belknap and Carroll counties, Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) in Franklin and Laconia, substance misuse and suicide prevention, emergency preparedness, immigrant integration, school-based immunization and oral health education.
• Wolfeboro Nursery School
  Awarded $3,000 to be used for tuition assistance for families in Wolfeboro. Wolfeboro Nursery School is a cooperative preschool offering a developmentally appropriate educational experience for children age 3 to 6 years. The School believes children are diverse learners, who benefit from a setting that encourages creativity, questioning, risk-taking and exploring.

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, 398 grants totaling $1,636,248 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 in the next grant cycle is October 15, 2020. Applications are available here.