Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation, announces that the Foundation has awarded a grant in the amount of $1,500 to the MetroWest Chamber Educational Foundation, Inc. for the purchase of a portable defibrillator.

According to Ted Welte, president and CEO of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce, the device will enhance the organization’s capability to assist in emergency situations at Chamber events. Welte estimated that these events involve approximately 3,000 people each year.

During its most recent round of funding, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation awarded over $64,000 to support charitable groups and programs that benefit the community, according to Lamprey.

A Place to Turn and the St. Bridget’s Food Pantry each recently received a donation of $5,000 from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation, according to an announcement by Robert P. Lamprey, chairman.

A Place to Turn, an emergency food and clothing pantry located on Hartford Street in Natick, has been serving those in need in the community since the 1970s. St. Bridget’s Food Pantry, located at 15 Wheeler Avenue in Framingham, serves the needy with grocery items to supplement their weekly food requirements.

“Today, more families than ever are turning to organizations like A Place to Turn and the St. Bridget’s Food Pantry, just to get by,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation. “We realize the importance of reaching out to help those in need in our community.”

During its most recent round of funding, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation awarded over $64,000 in support of local initiatives. Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has donated over $1.5 million to charitable causes as part of its commitment to improve and enhance quality of life for local residents.

The Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation has awarded $10,000 to the Salvation Army’s Daily Bread Program, which helps feed the homeless and the hungry in the greater Framingham area.

Bread, pastries, and sometimes produce is donated to the Daily Bread Program by area retail establishments. The Foundation’s donation, awarded for the third consecutive year, will enable the organization to get the product from the retailers to the hands of those in need. The Program has expanded considerably in order to serve an even greater volume of people today than in the past.

During its most recent round of funding, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation awarded over $64,000 to support charitable groups and programs that benefit the community, according to Robert P. Lamprey, chairman.

Since it was established in 1998, the Foundation has donated over $1.5 million to community causes as part of its commitment to improve and enhance quality of life for local residents.

The Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation recently awarded $3,300 to the Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Southern New England, which provides financial counseling and education to low- to moderate-income individuals and families.

“With so many people struggling economically, requests for services such as those provided by the Consumer Credit Counseling Service are at an unprecedented level,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Charitable Foundation.

“We are pleased to be able to help, with the hope of preventing foreclosures and bankruptcies and assisting those who have been turned down for credit and those suffering severe financial difficulties,” added Lamprey.

Since it was established in 1998, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation has donated over $1.5 million to community causes as part of its commitment to improve and enhance quality of life for local residents.

The Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation has donated $5,000 to the John Andrew Mazie Memorial Foundation, a program that matches at-risk, vulnerable Framingham High School students with adult volunteers.

The $5,000 award will be used by the Mazie Mentoring Program to purchase laptop computers for students who have achieved basic goals toward the pursuit of a college education. Having use of personal computers will enable the students to complete their schoolwork more efficiently, without having to rely on the availability of school or local library resources.

The Charitable Foundation’s gift will be used for the purchase of eight of the 40 laptops that will be provided for eligible students currently in the Program.

“We are happy to help these students as they pursue their goals and take control of their lives and their future,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the Charitable Foundation.

The Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation’s recent gift of $12,500 to Resiliency for Life will help provide academic and social support services to more than 70 at-risk students at Framingham High School.

The academic intervention and drop-out prevention program serves students who are at risk of academic failure, enabling them to persevere, thrive and lead productive lives.

“The Bank and its Charitable Foundation are pleased to be able to help provide students with the aid and encouragement necessary to support their potential in the future,” said Mark R. Haranas, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank.

Michael Daly (center), executive director of Resiliency for Life, with Framingham Co-operative Bank’s Michael Bilinsky, business development officer, and Rachel Stewart, assistant vice president of marketing and administrative director of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation. The Foundation recently awarded $12,500 to Resiliency for Life to provide academic and social support services to more than 70 at-risk students at Framingham High School.

A Place to Turn “Healthy Learners” initiative

A $5,000 grant to A Place to Turn from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation will help improve the quantity and quality of the nonprofit’s food offerings to families in social and economic need who have school-age children.

The “Healthy Learners: Feed the Body, Feed the Mind” initiative introduced recently by A Place to Turn in Natick specifically targets those local families with school-age children served by the agency. It emphasizes food essential to a healthy diet, which in turn impacts the preparedness of students in school, according to Joanne Barry, executive director of A Place to Turn.

“Numerous studies link low income to poor nutrition and related performance issues in school,” Barry stated.

“The Charitable Foundation can appreciate the connection between a healthy diet and success in the schoolroom,” said Mark R. Haranas, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank. “We were pleased to offer our support for this particular program.”

HEALTHY CHECK – Joanne Barry (center), executive director of A Place to Turn, accepts a ceremonial check representing a $5,000 donation to the organization’s Healthy Learners program from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation. With Barry are Rachel Stewart, administrative director of the Foundation, and Steven Sousa, senior vice president of the Bank and Foundation board member

A Place to Turn assisted over 6,000 people in fiscal 2008, and that number has increased by 15% for the current fiscal year. The organization currently serves 800 families with school-aged children. Because WIC, the federally funded nutritional supplement program, ends for families when children turn five, many families receive fewer resources and nutritional support when their children begin schooling. The “Healthy Learners: Feed the Body, Feed the Mind” initiative specifically focuses on those families, providing children with nutrition-rich foods that can lead to improved school attendance, academic performance, and  the overall health of the children.

A $2,500 gift from the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation to A Suitable Image in Framingham will support that organization’s mission of helping low-income individuals successfully transition into the workforce.

The clothing distribution program provides unemployed, disadvantaged men and women with a free, suitable work-related wardrobe to help them “start over.”

According to Mark R. Haranas, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank, the award to A Suitable Image was among those made in the most recent round of funding by the Charitable Foundation, where nearly $40,000 in grants were distributed to benefit the community in a variety of ways.

WELL-SUITED — Linda Brooks (center), executive director of A Suitable Image, with Rachel Stewart, administrative director of the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation, and Mark R. Haranas, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank, with a ceremonial check representing the Foundation’s recent $2,500 donation to the Framingham-based nonprofit organization.

Since it was established in 1998, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation has donated over $1.4 million to community causes as part of its commitment to improve and enhance quality of life for local residents. Throughout its 120-year history, the Bank has been consistently responsive to the needs of the community.

Mark R. Haranas, president of Framingham Co-operative Bank, announces that the Bank’s Charitable Foundation has donated $10,000 in support of programs offered by Project Just Because that serve the needs of individuals and families throughout the greater Framingham area.

Based in Hopkinton, Project Just Because activities include their own food bank; community service, hospital, domestic abuse, and career programs; services for seniors and students; and a holiday Wish List toy program.

“The Charitable Foundation’s grant to Project Just Because allows us to touch the lives of hundreds of local residents in a variety of ways,” said Haranas, “and allows us to reach many more people through one gift than we might be able to do otherwise.”

Since it was established in 1998, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation has donated over $1.4 million to community causes as part of its commitment to improve and enhance quality of life for local residents.

JUST BECAUSE – The Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation recently awarded $10,000 to Project Just Because in Hopkinton, in support of programs to meet the needs of area individuals and families. Project Just Because President/Founder Cherylann Walsh, second from left, accepts a ceremonial check presented by (from left) Board and Charitable Foundation member Clem Lambert, Foundation Administrative Director Rachel Stewart, and Bank President Mark R. Haranas.

According to Chairman Robert P. Lamprey, the Framingham Co-operative Bank Charitable Foundation recently granted more than $26,000 to benefit the community.

The largest award, in the amount of $10,000 was to the Boys & Girls Clubs of MetroWest. The grant was made to help support the out-of-school programs at the Framingham Clubhouse on Pearl Street, which serves an average of 150 youngsters each day. In part, the Foundation’s gift will help the Boys & Girls Club keep its annual membership fee at just $25 per child per year. This is the sixth consecutive year the Club has received support from the Bank’s Charitable Foundation.

Framingham’s Joseph P. Keefe Technical School received an award in the amount of $8,495 from the Foundation for the purchase of a Point of Sale (POS) computer/register system. The state-of-the-art equipment will be used in the student-run dining room that serves as the hospitality component of the school’s Culinary Arts program, and will provide students with the technical skills necessary to compete in the industry, according to James M. Lynch, superintendent/director.

The Foundation also awarded the sum of $3,600 to the MetroWest Jewish Day School to expand community service curriculum in the classroom and expand its annual community service event, Mitzvah Day. Involving parent and community volunteers, Mitzvah Day takes place at Metrowest social service organizations, for the benefit of the entire community.

The First Baptist Church in Framingham received an award of $2,000 in support of its volunteer “Happy birthday, Baby” project, which provides baby care essentials for low-income mothers and pregnant teens in greater Metrowest. The sum of $1,000 was awarded to the Framingham Baseball League to help fund that organization’s scholarship program. An additional $1,000 was granted to the Association of Small Foundations, which provides programs, publications and resources for member organizations.