In celebration of Project Bread’s 53rd Annual Walk for Hunger event, Senator Sal DiDomenico participated in a live panel discussion on his Universal School Meals legislation. Each year, Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger gathers people, organizations, and businesses together as a community to make the statement that hunger in Massachusetts is unacceptable. In addition to raising funds to support Project Bread’s anti-hunger work, this year’s Walk for Hunger helped to raise awareness on the new Feed Kids Campaign, an initiative led by Project Bread in support of SD519/HD1161, An Act relative to universal school meals, filed by Senator DiDomenico and Representative Andy Vargas.
From the outset, leaders running the Worcester Together nonprofit fund envisioned three phases spanning emergency, intermediate and longer-term needs for area agencies.
Almost a year after the coronavirus pandemic hit, the fund has now given $1 million in its third and final phase, which it calls Reimagining, with a goal of helping organizations plan for the future after the health crisis. Six groups got funding that the Worcester Together fund announced Wednesday:
Legendary Legacies, Inc.: $125,000 for creating a youth-led civic engagement academy to increase voter registration and turnout among 18-25 year olds.
Pernet Family Health Service: $150,000 for providing in-home neonatal visits for all Worcester parents.
Worcester Together awards $1 million in Reimagining Grants; 6 nonprofits benefit
WORCESTER Six local nonprofits will share $1 million in Reimagining Grants from the Worcester Together Fund.
The fund is a joint effort between the Greater Worcester Community Foundation and the United Way of Central Massachusetts. It works in partnership with the city.
In the last year, Worcester Together has provided over $10.6 million to assist Central Massachusetts nonprofits that work to help families facing issues such as lost income, unstable housing, food insecurity and more.
The Reimagining Grants are the fund’s final phase of grant making and were designed to encourage local leaders to step back from the immediate consequences of a social issue and address the root causes. The scale of these grants, at over $100,000 each, will position organizations to make lasting and fundamental changes,” said GWCF President and CEO Barbara Fields.
WORCESTER The Board of Health Monday approved a statement in support of the plan to return city school children to classrooms starting later this month.
The board unanimously approved a statement supporting the district s plan to shift from a fully remote learning model to a hybrid learning model, with the understanding that the plan will be carried out safely, using Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.
Dr. Jerry Gurwitz, chair of the Board of Health, drafted the statement of support. The board earlier in the meeting heard from two mental health professionals who talked about growing concerns about the mental well-being of children during the pandemic. Gurwitz said the mental health effects are real, and during the pandemic access to school-based services have been limited.
(File photograph.)
Haverhill Rep. Andy X. Vargas participates in a legislative briefing Wednesday morning on a bill mandating schools “make breakfast and lunch available at no charge to each attending student.”
Besides lead House sponsor Vargas, the online briefing is organized by The Feed Kids Coalition, led by Project Bread, and Senate sponsor Sal DiDomenico. Speakers also include Project Bread CEO Erin McAleer, Athol-Royalston Regional School District Superintendent Darcy Fernandes Rebecca Wood, mother of an eight-year-old student.
The universal school meals bill requires local school districts to seek federal funding, but requires the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education pick up costs not covered by the federal government.