Mutual One Bank Content

A recent $10,000 award from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation to Project Just Because will help provide local low-income families with school supplies and holiday items, according to Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MutualOne Bank and a Foundation trustee.

The gift will support the Project Just Because Back to School initiative, which provides children with a backpack filled with school supplies, and its Holiday Wish List program, which distributes basic cold-weather necessities and small gift items to families in need. According to Cherylann Lambert Walsh, president and founder of Project Just Because, approximately 2,000 students received backpacks last year and over 15,000 Holiday Wish List packets were distributed.

“The number of our neighbors struggling to survive paycheck to paycheck is far greater than most of us realize,” said Sousa. “MutualOne is pleased to help provide support for those in the communities we serve when they are facing serious life challenges.”

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $5,000 to Bethany Hill Place, a living and learning community that combines affordable housing with a range of programs and activities to help families reach their full potential. The grant will support the Power of Parenting program designed to help residents gain skills and knowledge to increase their parenting skills and promote the healthy well-being of their children.

“Many people lack the knowledge and skills necessary to effectively parent their children,” said Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer at MutualOne Bank and a Foundation trustee. “Our donation will support a program to help strengthen family relationships.”

Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee, announced today that the Foundation has awarded $5,000 to support Framingham’s third Gun Buy Back initiative. The event, which will be held September 14, is a combined effort of the Framingham Police Department, the office of Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer, the Framingham City Council, and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Department.

The two previous Gun Buy Back events have resulted in the removal of approximately 306 unwanted firearms from the community, according to Framingham Chief of Police Steven D. Trask.

“As a dedicated community partner, we are pleased to have supported the three Gun Buy Back initiatives,” said Haranas. “This program gives residents an opportunity to anonymously and safely dispose of unwanted firearms.”

Many 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. This is the fourth year MutualOne has supported the program.

“We’re pleased to continue our support of Musterfield Place,” said Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee. “It’s important that youngsters in our community have an opportunity for fun during their long summer vacation.”

Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, announced that the Foundation has awarded $10,000 to support a free mental health care program provided to Framingham and Natick senior citizens by Advocates, a community-based organization providing human services to people and families facing life challenges. This is the second year that MutualOne Bank has supported this program.

“Seniors are not as likely as other age groups to reach out for mental health assistance,” said Lamprey. “We support this program because it engages those who may become isolated or think emotional struggles are part of the aging process.”

According to Advocates President and CEO Diane E. Gould, the Foundation grant will enable Advocates to provide 120 hours of free mental health services to those seniors impacted by Medicare insurance restrictions.

Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, announced that the Foundation has awarded $5,000 to support the expansion of Read to a Child’s Lunchtime Reading Program to reach kindergarteners at the Brophy Elementary School in Framingham. MutualOne Bank has supported Read to a Child annually since 2013.

“We are convinced that the children served by Read to a Child have a better chance of success in life,” said Lamprey. “Expanding the program to an earlier age is an important step in their development.”