Cambridge, Mass. – Recently, the East Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation, the charitable arm of East Cambridge Savings Bank, presented grants to several local nonprofit organizations that focus their work on serving children and families, affordable housing, senior citizens, and education. The Bank’s Charitable Foundation was founded in 1997 and typically awards grants twice per year. In 2022, the Bank was awarded with the Boston Business Journal Corporate Citizenship Award, a recognition of the region's top corporate charitable contributors based on charitable giving and volunteering. It was the seventh year in a row that the Bank received this recognition. The Bank’s Foundation also awards college scholarships to graduating public high school seniors who live in the Bank’s branch communities as part of its educational focus.
Organizations that received a grant in the second half of 2022 include:
• Bridges Homeward (The Art Spears Permanency Fund), Cambridge
• The Cambridge Community Center
• Cambridge YMCA
• Cambridge Public Library Foundation
• Chelsea Restoration Corporation
• GreenRoots, Chelsea
• Jordan Boys and Girls Club, Chelsea
• Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, Lynn
• Mystic Valley YMCA
• Somerville YMCA
Each organization that received a grant is based in the Bank’s Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) assessment area and aim to improve the quality of life in their communities by meeting basic human needs such as housing, access to healthy food, education and literacy, and programs for the elderly.
“As a mutual bank with deep ties to the communities we serve, it is part of our mission to support those organizations that work tirelessly each day to serve those in our community who are most in need,” said Gilda M. Nogueira, the Bank’s president and chief executive officer and president of the Bank’s Charitable Foundation. “These grants support organizations that are providing childcare, increasing access to nutritious food, improving environmental and open space conditions, and in one case, even providing beds for children moving from homelessness to stable housing. These are all worthy and admirable projects, and it is an honor for the East Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation to support these causes. Additionally, we are fortunate to support many of these organizations beyond a monetary donation. We do this by serving on Boards, organization collection drives, or working with them to meet their banking needs.”
One of the grants awarded by the Bank’s Charitable Foundation was to GreenRoots, a Chelsea-based environmental justice organization that works to improve public health through access to better and cleaner open space, improved public transportation, and youth leadership programs – among many other initiatives. “The ongoing and longstanding support of East Cambridge Savings Bank directly supports our extensive programing with the goal of improving quality of life in the Chelsea community,” said Roseann Bongiovanni, GreenRoots executive director. “As Chelsea grows and evolves, it is important to make sure that long time and working-class residents have a safe and livable place to call home. East Cambridge Savings Bank has stood by GreenRoots as we work towards that goal.”
Serving the communities of Malden, Medford, and Everett, the Mystic Valley YMCA also received a grant from the Bank’s Charitable Foundation. Founded in 1881, the organization facilitates many programs “to enrich the lives of all people in spirit, mind, and body”. The Bank’s 2022 grant specifically supported the Y’s Community Food Programs, which supports 28,000 individuals in need of fresh, nutritious food. “Our Community Food Programs still remain at three times their service levels when compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic,” noted Mystic Valley YMCA's President and Chief Executive Officer Debbie Amaral. “The grant from East Cambridge Savings Bank will be used to support operating costs of our Medford, Malden, and Everett markets including food distribution supplies, supplemental food items, and transportation costs. Our Community Food Markets are a crucial way to provide high-quality, nutritious foods to those most in need, and the Bank’s grant helps us to continue to operate this important community service.”
Earlier in 2022, the Bank’s Charitable Foundation also awards grants to the following organizations:
• Arlington EATS
• Arlington Education Foundation
• The Children’s Room, Arlington
• Boys and Girls Club of Lynn
• Bread of Life, Malden
• The Friends of the Cambridge Community Learning Center, Bridge to College Program
• Homeowners Rehab, Inc., Cambridge
• Cambridge Neighborhood Apartment Housing Services, Inc.
• Solutions at Work, Cambridge
• Camp Rotary (campers from Chelsea and Lynn)
• Lexington Interfaith Outreach Food Pantry
• Massachusetts Assisted Living Association
• Mystic Valley Elder Services
• North Suburban YMCA, Woburn
• Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services
• Community Cooks, Somerville
• Second Chances, Somerville
For more information about East Cambridge Savings Bank and its corporate and charitable giving programs, please visit ecsb.com.
Photo caption: East Cambridge Savings Charitable Foundation check presentation to Chelsea-based nonprofit organization GreenRoots. Standing left to right: Gerry McCue, GreenRoots Board Treasurer; Patricia McGovern, East Cambridge Savings Bank Community Relations Specialist; Gilda Nogueira, East Cambridge Savings Bank Presidnet & CEO and President of the Bank's Charitable Foundation; Roseann Bongiovanni, GreenRoots Executive Director; Priyanka Rangadass, GreenRoots Development Coordinator.
About East Cambridge Savings Bank
East Cambridge Savings Bank is a full-service mutually held bank that is committed to be the preferred banking partner in the communities it serves. Established in 1854, the Bank strives to provide an exceptional customer experience and generous support for the community. Headquartered in Cambridge, the Bank has locations in Arlington, Belmont, Cambridge, Chelsea, Malden, Medford, Somerville, Waltham, and Woburn as well as an educational training facility at Cambridge Rindge and Latin School. The Bank is a member of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF), and is an Equal Housing Lender.
CONTACT:
Leo Gayne
Assistant Vice President, Public and Community Relations Officer
(617) 551-2353
lgayne@ecsb.com