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A Message from the President and CEO |
Greetings!
Last month, Lowell lost a dear friend: Newell Flather. Newell was a true Lowellian, having been born and raised in the city. Newell’s career path took him across the country and around the world, but he never forgot where he came from. Newell took great pride in his roots and was faithful to the very end. He was a dedicated philanthropist and an advocate for race and gender equality that shined through in everything he did.
The impact the Parker Foundation has had on Lowell over the years is amazing. At one point or another, they have touched virtually every nonprofit agency in the city, including the Greater Lowell Community Foundation.
The Theodore Edson Parker Foundation was established in 1944 to assist “the less fortunate, widows, orphans, and the underserved.” The first president of the Parker Foundation was John Rogers Flather, Newell’s father. In 1978, Newell became the second president of the Parker Foundation, serving until 2020. In 2021, Karen Carpenter, who was elected to the board in 1982 as the first woman, was elected president, and Newell continued to serve on the board.
In 1995, the Parker Foundation commissioned a feasibility study to determine if a community foundation should be created to serve Greater Lowell. Newell and Karen were vital members of that study committee. A couple of years later, with substantial support from the Parker Foundation and other local leaders, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation was established. The GLCF appreciates all the support that the Parker Foundation has contributed through the years – as GLCF, along with so many others, wouldn’t be where we are today otherwise.
I owe a great deal to Newell Flather. It wasn’t long after I started at GLCF in 2016 that I had the pleasure of meeting Newell. I told him I’d be happy to come to his office in Boston, but he insisted, as he always did, that we meet in Lowell. Honestly, I was a bit nervous. But it didn’t take long for that to go away. I was immediately struck by how gracious and unassuming he was. It felt like I was meeting an old friend when in fact, what happened right there, right then, is I made a new friend. Over the years that followed, I was fortunate to share time with Newell on many occasions - each so memorable.
Newell loved meeting people, and people loved meeting him. He was kind and endearing and made everyone he met feel like a friend. I am proud and honored to have been one of them.
Until we meet again…
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Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
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Newell Flather, third from left, at 2019 Leggat Award Luncheon. |
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GLCF Afghan Resettlement Fund
Media Coverage
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Community Events Calendar
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On Wednesday, October 13, 2021, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) will host its annual Celebrate Giving event as a hybrid event, predominantly virtual, with limited in-person tickets. The event will highlight the contributions of local organizations committed to making an impact on the community through cultural equity. |
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Celebrate Giving Sponsorship: Link
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GLCF Nonprofit Survey:
Mental Health in Greater Lowell
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Attention Nonprofit Partners |
We need as many Greater Lowell nonprofit partners as possible to take this survey to help guide our work at GLCF to address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in Greater Lowell. Please share with your network. Survey closes on Oct. 13.
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Survey closes on Oct. 13. |
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DEADLINE:
The deadline to apply is October 8th
at noon.
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Juniper Networks will offer THREE grant opportunities (a $10,000 grant, $5,000 grant, and a $2,500 grant to be awarded to Juniper pitch finalists*) through the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) to a nonprofit supporting vulnerable/underserved populations in Greater Lowell to improve digital equity in our community.
Digital equity refers to the fair distribution of modern technology throughout society. Funding will go towards solving three significant digital divide challenges: access, equipment, and training.
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Helping Nonprofits Clean Up and Protect Local Rivers |
Not all that long ago there was very little wading in our local river waters. In the late 1960s, the Nashua River, which runs through north-central Massachusetts and southeastern New Hampshire, was declared one of the 10 most polluted rivers in the United States. Other regional rivers were so foul-smelling that few people wanted to be near them — much less boat, fish or swim in them.
The water quality of our local rivers and streams has greatly improved over the past 50 years, thanks to state and federal Clean Water Acts and the dedicated work of local organizations like the Nashua River Watershed Association Inc. (NRWA) and OARS. With grants from the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, these two nonprofits continue to monitor the water in nearby rivers and streams, and advocate for their clean up.
“The Nashua River used to change color depending on what color of paper the mills were making that day,” said Martha Morgan, NRWA Water Programs Director. “Locals used to say it was so full of paper pulp and other debris that squirrels could run across it.”
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GLCF announces new Afghan Resettlement Fund |
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) recently announced a new GLCF Afghan Resettlement Fund. Unanimously approved by the GLCF Board on Sept. 10, GLCF created this fund to support local nonprofits charged with Afghan refugee resettlements. With an influx of new refugees from Afghanistan arriving in Greater Lowell, the GLCF Afghan Resettlement Fund will support the efforts of Greater Lowell organizations to help ensure those in need are welcomed and connected with housing, employment, transportation, food, acculturation, and other related support.
“In times of humanitarian need, GLCF gives where it is most needed in the community,” said Jay Linnehan, GLCF’s President and CEO. “As Afghan refugees and evacuees arrive in the coming months, the GLCF Afghan Resettlement Fund will support area nonprofits providing critical support needed to welcome and resettle this population.”
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GLCF Site Visit 2021:
PACH Outreach
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Pepperell, Mass. – Continuing our Greater Lowell site visits, GLCF stopped by PACH Outreach. This volunteer-staffed, community-based nonprofit organization provides short-term assistance to Pepperell and Dunstable residents during difficult times.
PACH Outreach’s Robin Crocker and Carolyn DiCenzo gave a tour of their facility and shared PACH’s mission of neighbors helping neighbors. PACH Outreach provides food, personal care items, referrals, and other needed resources to help their clients get back on their feet. PACH Outreach serves scores of families and individuals each year, including many seniors, veterans, and disabled residents.
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GLCF Site Visit 2021:
The Bridge Program
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Lowell, Mass. – For those not familiar with the tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), the elevator sign reading “The Elevator is Broken, Please Use the Steps” in the lobby of The Bridge Club might be overlooked. On a recent GLCF site visit, Founder and Executive Director Bob Cox shared the story of the elevator and of opening a center inspired by The Crossroads Club in Delray Beach, Florida, which put him on the path to recovery. When Cox first toured the property on Merrimack St., he mentally mapped out the location for his faux elevator – a symbol that there are no elevators in A.A., only steps, the 12 steps.
The Bridge Club opened in January 2020 and hosts over 30 N.A./A.A. meetings every week. The club is open 365 days a year, seven days a week, with a dedicated staff of recovery coaches ready to assist those navigating their journey or returning from relapse. Additional services include assisting in detox, rehab, and sober living placement as well as helping those in recovery to re-enter the workforce.
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Person of the Year Award Dinner:
Honoring Jay Linnehan, GLCF's President and CEO
Wednesday October 6, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Location: LENZI'S, 810 Merrimack Ave, Dracut, MA 01826
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Attention Greater Lowell Nonprofits:
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Mosaic Lowell Partners with MRT |
Mosaic Lowell, the next economic arts and cultural plan, wants to hear from you! An effective plan relies on input from the broad community. To gather thoughts and feedback, listening sessions and focus groups are being conducted across Lowell. As part of that effort, Mosaic Lowell has partnered with Merrimack Repertory Theater (MRT) to sponsor three performances of Wild Horses at diverse venues across the city - Stoklosa Middle School on Sept. 19, Unitas on Sept. 26, and the amphitheater at North Common on Oct. 3. Each show has free tickets for those willing to participate in a listening session after the performance. Many more listening gatherings will be held in a range of venues in the coming weeks. These include programs to be offered through the City of Learning Festival, Sept. 30 - Oct. 2.
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Women Accelerators
Remembering Our Resilience
Sept 29th, 2021
Join the UMass Lowell Innovation Hub and Women Accelerators on September 29 for another great event!
Learn techniques from Elizabeth Delgado, a wellness expert, on how to manage stress in our everyday lives. Along with how to embody resilience by those who inspire us, and leave with hands-on accessible practices.
This is a virtual event. Everyone is welcome!
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Lowell Chamber Orchestra
Setting Kerouac
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7:30 PM
Thursday, October 7, 2021
Middlesex Community College
A special event in collaboration with the Lowell Celebrates Kerouac Festival. A panel discussion on setting Jack Kerouac texts to music, ending in a performance of three brand new works.
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Give to the Future: Make a Planned Gift |
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Everyone has a legacy. What’s yours? |
Your legacy can be shaped to support the causes you care about now and provide financial and estate savings.
To discuss creating a personalized estate plan that supports issues important to you, please call Jay or Howard at the Greater Lowell Community Foundation at 978-970-1600.
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GLCF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund |
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For the latest info on the GLCF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, see the Fund webpage.
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Discretionary Grant Update: Reach Out and Read
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GLCF provided a Discretionary Grant to Reach Out and Read for their Lowell Rx for Success Program. Reach Out and Read's four clinical sites in Lowell have served about 1,662 children and their parents since the beginning of the grant period, and distributed 3,274 books.
One of their Lowell providers offered this feedback on the importance of providing Reach Out and Read during the pandemic: “Parents have been very appreciative to receive new books during well child visits, as all children are spending too much time on electronic devices during the pandemic. So many of our families have been devastated economically, emotionally and physically by the pandemic. They do not have the resources to buy books for their children. The simple act of giving a beautiful new book to a child and showing a new parent how to enjoy it with them has felt like an almost sacred experience in this tragic past year. It has been a very welcome small part of return to normalcy.”
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100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202
Lowell, MA 01852
PHONE 978-970-1600
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