The Concord-Carlisle Community Chest Celebrates its Day of Giving!

The Concord-Carlisle Community Chest was thrilled to host its annual Day of Giving event in person on June 3rd, outdoors at Verrill Farm. Nearly 100 Community Chest Board Members, recipient organizations, business supporters, donors, and community members attended the event where $488,393 in grants were awarded to 25 local organizations that serve Concord and Carlisle residents.

PHOTOS: Kate Eden Renyi Photography

Grant recipients for 2021 include: Carlisle Council on Aging, CCHS – Partners in Rhyme, Center for Parents and Teachers, Concord Area Preschool Association, Concord Children’s Center, Concord Council on Aging, Concord Prison Outreach, Concord Youth Theater, Concord-Carlisle Adult & Community Education, Cooperative Elder Services, The Decibels Foundation, Dignity in Asylum, Domestic Violence Services Network, Eliot Community Human Services, Gaining Ground, First Connections, Mass211, MetroWest Legal Services, Minute Man Arc for Human Services, Minuteman Senior Services, Nashoba Learning Group, The Nature Connection, Open Table,ThinkGive, Town of Concord Recreation Department.

In addition to grants to local nonprofit organizations, the Community Chest impacts the community through targeted funding opportunities such as their Camp Scholarship Fund, which is helping 18 children attend camp in 2021 with over $3,100 in scholarships; the When-In-Need Fund which distributed more than $15,000 in support for emergency needs such as rent, car repairs, and utility bills this year; and the Cornerstone Fund which established a Scholarship in collaboration with the Scholarship Fund of Concord and Carlisle and awarded its inaugural $5,000 scholarship to a graduating CCHS student.

This past year also provided the Community Chest a unique opportunity to support the local business community by joining the efforts of Concord Together and establishing The Concord Together Business Fund to offset the costs incurred by the COVID pandemic. Through this short term fund the Chest provided 53 grants totaling $259,000 to local businesses.

The Community Chest was honored to celebrate its business donors at this event including longtime supporters Cambridge Savings Bank, Cambridge Trust Company, Middlesex Savings Bank, and Verrill Farm, as well as its newest business supporter, Suzanne & Company.