SALEM — In its largest round of grants ever, the Salem Scholarship and Education Committee has awarded 10 grants from its education fund to support city school programs and local nonprofit educational organizations.
The grants, totaling $7,300, were approved by the committee at its Oct. 19 meeting. The fund will be allocated as follows:
— Salem High School: $300 for calculators for personal-finance and business-math classes.
— Bates Elementary School: $1,000 for inclusive and culturally-relevant library books.
— Salem Academy Charter School: $500 for inclusive and culturally-relevant library books at the lower school and $500 for new young-adult library books at the upper school.
— Collins Middle School: $1,000 for headphones and sensory equipment.
— Salem High School/Salem State University: $500 for translation services for the Salem’s Next Leaders program.
— Early Childhood Center, Bates, and Horace Mann preschool classrooms: $1,000 for supplemental art supplies.
— Salem High School: $500 for equipment for the Boxing Club.
— Horace Mann and Carlton schools: $1,000 for inclusive/adaptive physical-education and therapy equipment for students of all abilities.
— The House of the Seven Gables Settlement Association: $1,000 for books and materials for the Adult English as a Second Language program.
“These grant awards will help these worthwhile local schools and programs advance their missions to serve and educate Salem youth,” said Salem Scholarship and Education Committee Chair Tyler Carlton. “The Scholarship and Education Committee is grateful to the many Salem residents who have donated to the fund, making these grant awards possible. I would like to encourage all our community’s residents and businesses to consider a small donation to the scholarship fund or the education fund, so the committee can continue to support these important efforts.”
The scholarship and education funds were established in 1987 and are largely funded through small donations made by Salem residents on city bills. Donations to both funds are entirely tax-deductible and 100 percent of all donations go directly to scholarship and grant recipients.
Funding support also comes from grants and gifts from businesses, foundations, and others in the community. The scholarship fund provides educational financial aid to Salem students going on to higher education and the education fund provides supplemental educational funding for local educational needs. Scholarships are awarded annually and education fund grants are made on a rolling basis throughout the year.
“I would like to extend my congratulations to the grant recipients and my thanks to the volunteers who serve on the Scholarship and Education Committee, who took the time to carefully review these grant applications,” said Mayor Kimberley Driscoll, who chairs the School Committee. “In Salem, we believe that education is a community mission, so I invite residents to visit www.salem.com/scholarship and make a donation — even a small one — so that the committee will be able to make future such grant awards to worthwhile programs and organizations that support Salem students.”
For more information about the committee or either of the funds, including how to make a tax-deductible donation or apply for funding, visit www.salem.com/scholarship.
