July 20,2021

For Immediate Release 

WATERTOWN COMMUNITY FOUNDATION RECEIVES $400,000 GRANT IN SUPPORT OF HOUSING, CHILDCARE, AND FOOD SECURITY FOR RESIDENTS AFFECTED BY COVID

 Since January 2021, Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) has distributed grants to three frontline community-based organizations to help alleviate the financial burden caused by COVID-19.  Metro West Collaborative Development, Watertown Boys and Girls Club, and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network have each received more than $100,000. The grants have been and will continue to be used to support low-income households for rental assistance, utility payments, transportation, and technical support, along with childcare and food expenses.

 Watertown Community Foundation, as a member of the Massachusetts Community Foundation Partnership, was one of 14 Community Foundations in the state to receive these funds from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Community Foundations Grant Program for COVID-19 Relief.  “This $400,000 grant is the largest single grant that our foundation has ever received”, said Darshna Varia, WCF co-president. “We have been able to distribute the funds quickly and directly to where they are needed most.  We are so grateful to our partners for their dedication to our community.”

The grants are being used in the following ways:

  • Metro West Collaborative Development has helped with emergency rental assistance needs due to underemployment and back rent payments. Program participants earn less than 30% of the area median income, or about $25,000. Without this assistance, these households face eviction and possibly homelessness due to their inability to locate new housing.

  • Wayside Youth and Family Support Services has been able to respond to Watertown residents needing financial assistance for basic needs including food, rent, and utility bills. They continue to address this financial strain due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects including loss of income, reduced working hours, inability to work because of contracting COVID-19, or caretaking of a family member with COVID-19.

  • The Watertown Boys and Girls Club offers both school day academic support to students not engaged in in-person learning as well as summer camp scholarships. This has allowed parents and guardians to work and know their child is in a safe and supportive environment. Students are able to get help with their academic assignments, and experience peer-to-peer interactions, as well as interactions with trained youth development professionals.

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The Watertown Community Foundation, a public, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization, works to build and sustain a vibrant, close-knit community in Watertown – now, and for future generations. To accomplish this, WCF raises funds from individuals, families, businesses, and foundations; awards grants to nonprofits and community projects; and builds networks of donors, grantees, program participants, and stakeholders.  

 WCF Board of Directors: David Siegel and Darshna Varia, Co-Presidents; Robert Airasian; Albrik Avanessian; Emily Barclay; Jennifer Davis; Eleanor Donato; William B. Ford; Heather Leary ; Mary Ann Mulligan; Antonia O’Hara;; Maria Panaggio-Phillips; Anthony Paolillo; Christine Parker; Lora Sabin; Robert Shay; Curtis Teixeira; Elaina Themistos; Lauren Coughlin Unsworth; and Kathryn White.