A.D. Makepeace awards 14 Neighborhood Grants to Wareham programs
Of the 33 programs that received Makepeace Neighborhood Grant awards Wednesday night, 14 were based in Wareham.
The grants funded $72,643 worth of Wareham projects that ranged from teaching third-graders how to swim at the Gleason Family YMCA, to a Wareham Police Department program meant to train individuals in how to reverse an opioid overdose.
“With the opioid crisis that seems to be centered … in southeastern Massachusetts and Plymouth county … we are not happy to have to make this award, but happy to support your efforts to provide those services to the community,” said Michael Hogan, President and CEO of A.D. Makepeace, who was presenting the night’s awards.
There were also education grant recipients for almost all grade levels, from the middle school STEAM program to Bridgewater State University. Hogan said he was pleased to award the STEAM program a grant, because “you need to write for everything, and learning to apply that at an early age.”
“It’s great to be good at [science, technology, engineering, and math], but, if you can’t analyze it, and you can’t express it … you miss out on much of the opportunity to work with it,” Hogan said.
According to A.D. Makepeace, the fund, which was established in 2005 by A.D. Makepeace Board of Directors, is entirely supported by A.D. Makepeace, the world’s largest cranberry grower. Makepeace grants of up to $10,000 are given annually to program initiatives in Carver, Plymouth, Rochester, and Wareham. According to Makepeace, the bulk of the grants given over the years were to the field of education.
The ceremony was held at A.D. Makepeace’s new Redbrook Meeting House in Plymouth. The Wareham organizations that received grant money are as follows:
Boys & Girls Club of Wareham’s Opportunity Summer Fun program received $5,000. The program provides financial aid to families for their children to attend summer camps at the Boys & Girls Club.
Bridgewater State University Advancement’s Wareham’s Fast Track to College program received $9,600. The program allows students at Wareham High School to participate in some college programs on the campus.
Gleason Family YMCA’s Wareham 3rd Graders Learn How to Swim program received $5,000. The program supports a swimming program for third-graders.
Good Shepherd Food Pantry’s Healthy Steps program received $2,975. The program provides sundries like toothpaste and soap to those families with food insecurity.
Mass Audubon South Coast Sanctuaries’ Discovery Days at Great Neck program received $3,978. The program is a two-week summer camp for up to 10 children a week to experience outdoor education, free of charge.
Onset Foursquare Church’s Heart & Soul Soup Kitchen program received $4,924. The program funds the replacement of the church’s soup kitchen equipment, which has been worn out through use.
Southcoast Hospitals Group/Tobey Group’s Emergency Department Upgrade program received $2,000. The funds will support the expansion of Tobey’s emergency department.
Wareham Area Committee for the Homeless’ Baby Point Diapering Program received $3,000. The program supports young mothers who need diapers for their children.
Wareham Library Foundation Inc.’s Summer Reading Program 2015 program received $6,000. The program works with parents and children to keep children reading throughout the summer months, when they are not in school.
Wareham Police Department’s Naxolone Training program received $6,516.
Wareham Public Schools’ Reading Adventures in Literacy program received $3,000. Its STEAM Family Field Experiences program received $5,650, which funds the opportunity for low-income families to travel together, and experience STEAM learning. Its Outdoor Classroom Cranberry Bog Project received $9,000, which funds the middle school’s cranberry bog.
YMCA Southcoast’s Healthy Kids on the GO! program received $6,000. The program focuses on introducing at-risk kids to life models and paths that are alternatives to drug use.