2026 Grant Recipients
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Recipient: Watertown Housing Authority
Program: Watertown Rent Assistance
Grant: $20,000
Program Description: A one-time rental assistance program marketed to all Family Program tenants. Eligible applicants must have rental arrears that predate the month funds are awarded to WHA.
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Watertown Challenger Baseball: $1,375
Watertown Youth Baseball & Softball: $2,375
Watertown Youth Basketball Association: $2,375
Watertown/Belmont Youth Football and Cheer: $2,375
Essential
Needs
EMERGENCY ASSISTANCE
Total Awarded: $104,932
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Program: Essential Needs Bridge Program
Grant: $10,000
Program Description: Provides one-time emergency assistance to residents facing immediate financial hardship. Support covers groceries, transportation, pharmacy purchases, and other essential expenses to help individuals maintain stability during urgent situations.
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Program: Emergency Essential Needs for Watertown Immigrant and Refugee Families
Grant: $10,000
Program Description: Delivers rapid-response financial support to immigrant and refugee families in Watertown experiencing urgent hardship. Assistance covers essential needs—including rent, food, health care, and transportation—to stabilize families quickly and prevent short-term challenges from becoming long-term crises.
FOOD SECURITY
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Program: Watertown Farmers' Market SNAP Match Program
Grant: $3,000
Program Description: Supports the City of Watertown’s SNAP Match program, which matches SNAP benefits dollar-for-dollar at the Watertown Farmers’ Market. The program increases purchasing power for low-income residents, enabling access to fresh, local produce while supporting regional farmers.
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Program: Springwell's Nutrition Program for Watertown Older Adults
Grant: $20,000
Program Description: Provides home-delivered meals, grab-and-go meals, and community dining opportunities for older adults in Watertown. Grant funding helps fill a critical gap in transportation costs for home-delivered meals, ensuring older residents receive consistent nutritious food.
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Program: Healthy Snacks for After School Drop-In Program
Grant: $5,000
Program Description: Helps fund free, nutritious snacks for youth participating in the Boys & Girls Club after-school drop-in program. Support ensures consistent access to fresh produce and minimally processed foods throughout the school year and during vacation weeks.
MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORTS
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Program: Mental Health First Aid Trainings & Emergency Assistance Gift Cards
Grant: $11,521.74
Program Description: Offers Adult and Youth Mental Health First Aid trainings that equip community members to recognize and respond effectively to signs of mental illness and emotional distress. The program also provides emergency financial assistance to families facing immediate hardship, ensuring timely support when it is needed most.
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Program: Help the Helper Self-Care Workshops
Grant: $1,410
Program Description: Funds a series of free, monthly self-care workshops for helping professionals and community helpers in Watertown.
HOUSING SERVICES/SUPPORT
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Program: 2026 Essential Needs Grant
Grant: $5,000
Program Description: Provides small, rapid-response financial assistance to Watertown residents experiencing temporary hardship. Funds help cover housing costs, utilities, food, medical expenses, and other essential needs to stabilize households quickly.
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Program: Housing Search Workshops
Grant: $20,000
Program Description: Delivers hands-on housing search workshops that help residents navigate apartment applications and affordable housing opportunities. Participants receive individualized guidance, access to technology, and referrals to additional stabilization resources to support long-term housing success.
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Program: Stabilization Assistance Program- Home Hygiene closet & Social Work Intern Stipend
Grant: $19,000
Program Description: Funding supports three programs. 1. Funds to address rental arrears and provide emergency rental assistance for tenant facing sudden unexpected hardship. 2. Funds to expand access to free cleaning supplies and personal hygiene products for public housing residents. 3. Funds to support a social work intern who strengthens resident services and provides case management support. The program promotes health, dignity, and housing stability for vulnerable tenants.
Education &
Youth Development
Total Awarded: $39,575
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Program: Watertown Public Schools K–5 Literacy Week: Author Visit Program
Grant: $5,000
Program Description: Funds a district-wide Literacy Week Author visit for all elementary students.
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Program: Tuition Assistance for Summer Art Education Programs at Mosesian Arts
Grant: $2,500
Program Description: Provides tuition assistance to ensure Watertown youth can access high-quality summer visual and performing arts programs.
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Program: Fuel Up and Feel Good
Grant: $2,500
Program Description: Provides nutrition education, physical activity, and wellness programming for youth attending the Watertown Boys & Girls Club after-school program.
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Program: Kids Yoga
Grant: $1,000
Program Description: Helps fund afterschool Yoga classes.
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Program: Watertown High School Model United Nations
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Enables Watertown High School students to participate in Model United Nations conferences and simulations.
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Program: Jazz Band Music Library
Grant: $2,500
Program Description: Supports Watertown middle and high school jazz programs through the acquisition of new jazz ensemble sheet music
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Program: Watertown High School Robotics Team
Grant: $2,500
Program Description: Supports the Watertown High School Robotics Team’s participation in competitive robotics through materials, equipment, and student resources.
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Program: Watertown Public Schools Uniquely You: Elementary Leadership & Inclusion Initiative
Grant: $4,500
Program Description: Implements a district-wide PreK–5 initiative focused on empathy, inclusion, and student leadership development.
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Program: Watertown Week 2026
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Provides funding for the alternate field-trip week for students unable to attend the 8th grade Washington DC trip.
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Program: Who's Garden? Our Garden! Grow stations and Fencing for Watertown Elementary School Gardens
Grant: $4,075
Program Description: Strengthens elementary school garden programming through improved infrastructure, indoor grow stations, and garden access.
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Program: WPS Student Opportunity Fund
Grant: $5,000
Program Description: Provides financial assistance so Watertown Public Schools students can participate fully in educational and extracurricular opportunities.
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Program: SPEAK Week Shorts
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Brings student-led assemblies and facilitated discussions to Watertown High School focused on mental health, civic engagement, and leadership.
INTERNSHIPS
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Program: Summer Internship Program
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Funds stipend support for a paid summer internship for a Watertown high school student at the Watertown Free Public Library.
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Program: Student Leadership Academy: Summer Success Future Teachers Student Internship
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Provides stipend support for two paid summer teaching internships for Watertown high school students working alongside K–4 educators in the district’s Summer Success Program.
Community
Engagement
Total Awarded: $52,611
Fostering Intercultural Communication and Understanding
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Program: ESL Exit Celebration and Creating a Support Team to Plan the Event
Grant: $1,000
Program Description: Supports a district-wide celebration recognizing English Learner students who have successfully exited the English as a Supplemental Language (ESL) program at the K-12 level.
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Program: Kingian Nonviolence Training
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Offers free training in Kingian Nonviolence Conflict Reconciliation for residents and community members.
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Program: Project Literacy's 40th Anniversary Multicultural Celebration
Grant: $921
Program Description: Supports a multicultural community celebration recognizing the 40th anniversary of Project Literacy and highlighting the cultures and experiences of program participants.
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Program: Watertown Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day 2027
Grant: $3,000
Program Description: Supports Watertown Indigenous Peoples Day (2027) which features performances, storytelling, artisan demonstrations, and educational activities led by Indigenous artists and community members.
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Program: Watertown Unity Breakfast 2027
Grant: $3,000
Program Description: Supports the annual Unity Breakfast (2027), bringing residents together to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. through youth leadership, community dialogue, and celebration.
Increasing Access to Programs and Services
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Program: Closed Captioning for Community Media Programming
Grant: $4,000
Program Description: Expands closed captioning for local television and online programming.
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Program: Karaoke in the Cemetery
Grant: $1,900
Program Description: Presents a community arts event that uses music and shared participation to explore themes of grief, remembrance, and connection.
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Program: Shakes for All: Community Access Tickets & Watertown Community Night
Grant: $2,500
Program Description: Expands affordable access to professional theater through subsidized tickets for Watertown residents.
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Program: You Got Flowers
Grant: $500
Program Description: Provides free flower deliveries to older adults in Watertown healthcare and residential settings to reduce social isolation and foster community connection.
Strengthening Community Connections
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Program: 2027 STEM NIGHT at Watertown High School - brought to you by the WBC & Watertown Public Schools
Grant: $1,000
Program Description: Supports a Watertown community STEM event featuring hands-on activities, demonstrations, and opportunities for residents to engage with science and technology.
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Program: 2027 Watertown Arts Market & Arts Pop-Up Series
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Supports the Watertown Arts Market (2027) and a series of arts pop-up events that connect local artists with residents.
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Program: A Journey through Music, Historic Reenactors & New England Nostalgia
Grant: $1,490
Program Description: Presents a series of educational programs exploring music, Watertown history, and notable Watertown historical figures.
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Program: Community Building for Autism Community
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Provides support groups and skill-building opportunities for Autistic individuals, families, and caregivers.
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Program: Fiesta Saturdays
Grant: $1,500
Program Description: Supports a summer Watertown Latin cultural festival series featuring live performances, food, art, and family-friendly activities.
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Program: Growing food and promoting community at LexGardens
Grant: $5,000
Program Description: Supports community gardening, fresh food distribution, and resident-led growing opportunities at the Watertown Housing Authorities' Lexington Gardens.
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Program: Watertown Community Gardens: Capacity-Building Planning Retreat
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Funds a planning retreat led by an experienced nonprofit facilitator for the Watertown Community Gardens Board.
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Program: Honoring Watertown’s Fallen: A Community Memorial Day Remembrance Event
Grant: $1,500
Program Description: Supports expanded Watertown Memorial Day and Decoration Day observances that honor fallen service members through community remembrance activities, educational programming, and public participation.
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Program: Hosmer Winter Warmer
Grant: $500
Program Description: Funds a school-wide community celebration that brings students, families, and staff together to celebrate diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
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Program: The Watertown Rapid Response Network (WRRN) Outreach and Engagement Project
Grant: $3,800
Program Description: Engages immigrant residents through multilingual outreach, listening sessions, community storytelling, and collaborative public art.
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Program: Watertown Herring Festival (2027)
Grant: $3,000
Program Description: Provides funds for the Watertown Herring Festival (2027), a free community celebration of fish migration and river stewardship.
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Program: Watertown Pride
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Provides funds for Watertown Pride (2027), a free community celebration featuring a parade, performances, educational resources, and community organizations.
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Program: ACCESS Celebration
Grant: $1,000
Program Description: Funds a family celebration with English Language Learner students who have passed their ACCESS test.
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Program: Watertown Pride 2026
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Funds live music at Watertown Pride 2026.
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Program: Watertown Arts Market, August 2026
Grant: $2,000
Program Description: Funds live music at Watertown Arts Market 2026.
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Program: Watertown Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Day 2026
Grant: $3,000
Program Description: Supports Watertown Indigenous Peoples Day (2027) which features performances, storytelling, artisan demonstrations, and educational activities led by Indigenous artists and community members.