Mutual One Bank Content

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $2,500 to support Framingham’s annual National Night Out scheduled for August 7 at Cushing Memorial Park.

The event is a collaborative effort between Framingham Police, Framingham Housing, and Pelham Apartments. It includes food, a DJ, games for children, pony rides, and various demonstrations and other family-focused activities. Now in its 35th year, National Night Out promotes public safety, drug awareness, and neighborhood community cohesiveness.

“We’re proud to join with other community leaders to help underwrite this annual event,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. “National Night Out has always been a popular event that plays a significant role in building a stronger community for all.”

 

As many as 80 Framingham youngsters will have a summer camp in their own Musterfield Place backyard again this year, thanks to a recent $10,000 grant from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. The award will cover salaries for four teenage staffers hired to assist at the popular summer program highlighting outdoor play and recreational activities including supervised trips to nearby Learned Pond. Rainy day activities involve computers, books, table games, and arts and crafts.

“We’re pleased to help provide the youngsters at Musterfield Place with this positive opportunity for fun during their long summer vacation,” said Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee.

 

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $2,000 to Girls Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts for day or resident summer camp scholarships for Framingham and Natick girls entering grades K-12 who could not otherwise afford to attend summer camp.

“We are pleased to make the summer camp experience possible for more girls in our community with this grant to the Girl Scouts organization,” said Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MutualOne Bank and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee. “Summer camp can help build courage and confidence, and introduce and strengthen skills that can put campers on the path to future success.”

A recent $5,000 grant from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation to Read to a Child will support the weekly Lunchtime Reading Program held at Brophy and Woodrow Wilson elementary schools in Framingham. The program pairs as many as 142 high-risk children in grades 1-4 with 198 adult volunteer reading mentors. The award will also support program expansion, with the goal of reaching as many high-need students as possible.

The Read to a Child program is funded by individuals and community partners such as the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, with no cost to the schools or the City.

“We firmly believe that improving the literacy skills of today’s youth can be the foundation for building a stronger community,” said Foundation Chairman Robert P. Lamprey. “MutualOne is pleased to help Read to a Child sustain and expand the program in our schools.”

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $2,500 to Jeff’s Place Children’s Bereavement Center in Framingham. The grant will support a new Kids Crew program focused on children between the ages of 3 and 8 who have experienced a traumatic loss in their lives.

According to Executive Director David Sternburg, the Kids Crew program works to help participants feel less alone in their grief journey, and to increase their resilience and self-esteem.

“These children are at a particularly delicate age for understanding and coping with traumatic loss, and their parents are often overwhelmed with grief by a sudden loss, putting their entire family in an emotional quandary,” Sternburg said.

Over 50 families currently attend the center’s support sessions, with more on the waiting list. More than 550 grieving individuals have participated since Jeff’s Place was established in 2010.

“If we could help just one young child, one grieving family, it can make a difference in the life of the community,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation.

“We are pleased to help Jeff’s Place and the Kids Crew program provide hope and healing.”