About a dozen Wareham-based organizations - from the Boys & Girls Club to Wareham Public Schools - have been awarded thousands of dollars worth of grant funding from the A.D. Makepeace Neighborhood Fund. Representatives from the various organizations accepted the donations at a May 12 ceremony held at Tihonet Village Market.

"This is probably one of the most enjoyable events that I partake in," Chris Makepeace, chair of the Neighborhood Fund, told the award recipients, all of whom represented organizations in the southern part of Plymouth County. "We get to see the breadth of what goes on in all of your communities."

The fund was established in 2004 to support organizations that provide services in areas where A.D. Makepeace owns land. The grants are given in the areas of education, healthcare, community housing, historic preservation, and environmental protection.

"This is a very exciting time for us," said A.D. Makepeace president and CEO Mike Hogan. The fund has awarded more than $1.1 million since its inception.

Among the Wareham recipients: The Gleason Family YMCA, received $5,000 to provide financial assistance so children can attend its summer camp; the Wareham Land Trust received $4,000 to be used to help landowners pay for upfront costs associated with land donation; Baby Point received $5,000 to assist needy families with infants and young children; the Wareham Board of Health received $2,500 to assist with its prescription drug disposal program; the Boys & Girls Club received $6,278 to fund summer employment programs for teens.

Wareham Public Schools received more than $23,000 in four separate grants from the fund. The money will be used for a program to help young adults with disabilities, to purchase projector systems, to fund a robotics program for students, and to purchase an automated defibrillator for the high school.

Hogan joked that the defibrillator would "be available for sporting events... and for Town Meeting!"

The company also presented a first-time award in memory of Bob "Grumpy" Conway, a lifetime employee of the company who passed away suddenly last year. A total of $7,546 was presented to Joanne "Joey" Mason, a friend of Conway, for her Middleboro-based bird rescue, Keeping Company with Kestrels Inc. The money will be used to erect two nesting platforms for ospreys in Carver and Wareham.

"I just want to thank you for remembering Bob in this way," said Town Moderator and Bob's sister, Claire Smith, in presenting the award to Mason.

Hogan noted the difficulty the company has in having to turn down many of the grant requests that come in each year. However, he said: "We are very pleased to provide this small amount of support to help you continue to do the things you do."