Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation, announced today that the Foundation recently awarded nearly $56,000 to support a variety of community initiatives.

Resiliency for Life, a drop-out prevention program that works to help Framingham teens stay in high school, achieve important academic goals, and prepare for college, received a gift of $15,000 from the Charitable Foundation. Saint Bridget School in Framingham was awarded $5,000 to help replace cafeteria chairs.

The Foundation’s grant of $5,000 to the Framingham Police Department will allow four individuals to attend the 2007-08 Leadership Academy: Deputy Chief Craig Davis, Deputy Chief Kenneth Ferguson, Sergeant Richard Thompson, and Mary Gianikis, director of Voices Against Violence.

In a separate award, the Charitable Foundation granted the sum of $10,000 to the Framingham Police for the purchase of four fully equipped Volcanic Police Mountain Bikes for the department’s Bicycle Patrol Unit. The sturdy patrol bikes are manufactured exclusively for security, military, emergency medical response and law enforcement use. The grant also included special police bike jackets, a bike maintenance tool kit, and the purchase of over 300 youth bike helmets and additional bike safety materials that will be used at Bicycle Rodeos co-sponsored by the police and Framingham Co-operative Bank.

A contribution of $10,000 to Project Just Because will allow the Hopkinton-based organization to continue helping those in need throughout MetroWest through a variety of programs and services.

A $5,000 grant from the Foundation will help restore and preserve the 117-foot,  80-year old steeple at First Parish in Framingham, a landmark on the Framingham Centre Common. 

$3,300 was awarded to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern New England (CCCS), a public service agency that provides financial counseling, financial education, debt management programs and housing counseling to help individuals and families resolve financial difficulties and achieve long-term financial well-being.

A $1,000 donation to the Massachusetts Bankers Association Charitable Foundation will support that organization’s annual contributions to local charities and other worthwhile causes recommended by its members. The Foundation also contributed $1,000 to the Crossroads Community Foundation’s Deborah Blumer Fund for Civic Engagement. 

A $500 award was made to the Harbor to the Bay AIDS ride, an annual event  supporting AIDS causes, in response to a request by Holliston attorney Michael Healy, a founding director of the event.