Please share this newsletter with your network. |
|
 |
A Message from the President and CEO |
Greetings!
So this is Christmas
And what have you done
Another year over
And a new one just begun
And so this is Christmas
I hope you have fun
The near and the dear one
The old and the young…
You may recognize the above lyrics. They are from the song “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon, written 30 years ago. The song was originally written to express hope for the end of the Vietnam War. Yet, the song’s sentiment still resonates today as on too many fronts, we continue to fight. The fights against injustice, racism, and poverty continue along with so many more.
Every time I listen to this song, I am inspired. The melody and words pull on my emotion. I ask myself, so what have I done to fight the fight? Regardless of what I answer, it’s never enough and never will be. Yet, not to be deterred, I set my sights on the year ahead – what do I need to do now? And it’s so much more than just what I do for work. It’s about what I do every day as a person with my family, friends, and neighbors. So, in this season of giving, please give of your bounty and, more importantly, of yourself.
Wishing all of you a very happy holiday season and a healthy new year. “I hope it’s a good one without any fear.”
|
Jay Linnehan
GLCF President + CEO
|
In December staff members pool their money that would otherwise be spent on gifts for each other, and choose a local nonprofit to support. This year, Community Teamwork, Inc.'s MillYou was selected.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
2022 is GLCF's 25th Anniversary |
Stay tuned for an exciting lineup of events and initiatives to highlight the 25 years of improving the quality of life in Greater Lowell through impactful, strategic philanthropy.
Save the Date: GLCF Annual Meeting will be held on June 2, 2022.
|
|
GLCF Scholarships Enable Donors to Give Back |
LOWELL – A local business looking to hire engineers set up a scholarship program to help bring more woman into the field. A 24-year-old started a modest scholarship, funded in part by walking the Appalachian Trail, to help students at her high school pursue college degrees. Anonymous donors endowed a two-year scholarship for community college students after being inspired by the generosity of a complete stranger.
These are just a few of the unique scholarships the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) has helped benevolent individuals, groups and businesses set up over the years – all with the goal of giving back to their communities.
“The Foundation manages about 400 scholarships per year,” said Jay Linnehan, GLCF President & CEO. “Education is a big part of our mission. It is, and always will be, a gateway to success.”
|
PHOTO: Verda Annan, then a 17-year-old Harvard-bound student who graduated from Fitchburg High School last June, inspired GLCF donors to establish a scholarship to support community college students.
|
|
Volunteers Needed:
2022 LHS Scholarship Selection Committee
|
|
Support Our LHS Seniors by Reviewing Scholarship Applications from the Comfort of Your Home (Training Provided) |
The Greater Lowell Community Foundation is seeking volunteers to assist with reviewing scholarship applications for students at Lowell High School. Last year, the Community Foundation awarded over $450,000 in scholarships at Lowell High School. These awards could not have been made without the help of the volunteer Honors Night Selection Committee.
The committee consists of parents, teachers, scholarship donors, and representatives from Greater Lowell businesses and the community. Participating offers an incredible opportunity to learn more about the accomplishments and work of many deserving students attending Lowell High School. Reviewers will read and score scholarships online in the months of February and March.
It does require a time commitment: last year the average number of scholarship applications assigned to each committee member was 65.
|
|
|
|
We want to listen to you
We’d love to hear from you or your group. To set up a conversation, please contact Howard Amidon at howard@glcfoundation.org.
Take our Survey
Other News
Please look forward to exciting news about the 2022 Winterfest and Mosaic Lowell!
|
|
Women Working Wonders Fund 2022: Mini-Grants |
This year, the Women Working Wonders Fund will award a total of $10,000 in mini-grants to support programs that help women and girls in the Greater Lowell community with an emphasis on three areas:
1. Assist Women in Transition
2. Provide Leadership Development and
3. Contribute to the Beautification of the Environment. Individual grants will not exceed $2,000.
These grants will not have a reporting requirement.
The deadline for application is January 20, 2022. We will announce grant awards in February.
|
|
Give to the Future: Make a Planned Gift |
|
|
|
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.
|
|
GLCF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund |
|
For the latest info on the GLCF COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, see the Fund webpage.
|
|
Grant Update: YWCA Lowell Roaming Food Bus
|
|
As part of 2021 Youth Food Insecurity grants, GLCF supported the YWCA Lowell Roaming Food Bus. The bus delivers food to youth in targeted high-risk families and neighborhoods, and engages youth to join their youth development programs, including the Roaming Food Bus Project.
With the grant from GLCF they were able to purchase fuel for the bus; provide staff and project assistants with stipends; cover project administration costs; and purchase and deliver 265 bags of non-perishables to youth families in need. The Roaming Food Bus also became a vehicle for distributing important information to marginalized residents about COVID-19 vaccines and vaccination sites; the new election process for the City of Lowell, and how youth could get involved in YWCA programming.
During the pandemic, despite difficulties in engaging youth in in-person programming, YWCA Lowell was able to engage 10 teens and a college intern in the Roaming Food Bus Project. The teens and intern helped to identify the non-perishables to include in the bags, which neighborhoods to target, which events to attend, (National Night Out, a church service in the Acre neighborhood, and a Lowell Police Department Youth Outreach event at JFK Plaza), and even developed a "Halloween"-themed delivery date with the teens dressed in costume.
Thank you YWCA Lowell for your incredible work.
|
|
|
|
Free Soil Arts Collective's Book + Exhibit |
Hidden in Plain Sight: Stories of Black Lowell, is a storytelling project chronicling the lived experiences of Black people in Lowell, MA. Through intimate interviews with Black Lowellians, we have shed a light on an often under-explored narrative of Lowell’s history.
This project is supported, in part by the Greater Lowell Community Foundation, Lowell Cultural Council, and Merrimack Repertory Theatre.
|
|
|
|
WOMEN ACCELERATORS: Accelerating Women Leaders Coaching Program |
The 2022 Accelerating Women Leaders program is designed to equip female leaders with the specific strategies, mindsets, and behaviors they will need to confidently lead themselves and others as they advance within their organizations.
Financial assistance to qualified candidates.
Apply now, program begins on March 7, 2022.
|
|
|
|
100 Merrimack Street, Suite 202
Lowell, MA 01852
PHONE 978-970-1600
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
