LYNN — The Cummings Foundation has announced its 2023 Cummings Grant recipients, with five going to organizations based in the city.
Building Bridges Through Music, Centerboard, Girls Inc. of Lynn, Leading through Empowerment Opportunities (LEO), and Lynn Youth Street Outreach Advocacy (LYSOA) are receiving a total of $1,525,000 in grant funds. For the 2023 grant cycle, the Cummings Foundation awarded $30 million to 150 programs.
“The way the local nonprofit sector perseveres, steps up, and pivots to meet the shifting needs of the community is most impressive,” Cummings Foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes said. “We are incredibly grateful for these tireless efforts to support people in the community and to increase equity and access to opportunities.”
Building Bridges Through Music, an afterschool and summer education program that teaches literacy and STEM through music, was allocated $75,000.
Receiving the grant is an “honor” and “validates” the organization’s dedication to educating children through music, Building Bridges Through Music wrote in a Facebook post.
“This funding will enable us to develop new community partnerships, organize collaborative events that celebrate diversity and inclusivity, and establish scholarships for young scholars and musicians facing financial barriers,” the Facebook post said.
Centerboard, a human-services nonprofit, received $400,000 in this grant cycle.
“It will be going to our ‘We Rise’ program,” Centerboard Communications Director Sarah Brown said. “That program brings together survivors of commercial sexual exploitation with key community allies in order to prevent, intervene against, and promote recovery from commercial sex exploitation of children.”
Girls Inc. of Lynn, a nonprofit organization that provides girls with educational programs, was awarded $750,000.
“Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude,” Girls Inc. of Lynn wrote in a Facebook post. “Cummings Foundation has given our organization the opportunity to go above and beyond with our Teen Project Accelerate, which will allows high-school girls to understand the value of their strength, their intelligence, and courage.”
LEO said it will be using its $225,000 Cummings Grant for its efforts to support the behavioral health of preschoolers, according to a press release.
“We plan to deepen our services of our Social-Emotional Behavior Department by adding additional specialists who are fluent in Spanish,” the press release said.
LYSOA, a center for that seeks to empower and provide relief to the highest-risk youth in the city, was allocated $75,000.
These funds will go toward helping the center with operational needs, LYSOA Executive Director Teresa DiGregorio said. She said the center is very excited to have received this grant.
LYSOA co-founder Antonio Gutierrez said when he learned the center would get a grant through a letter in the mail, he called DiGregorio to tell her and they both started screaming.
“We’re a small organization, but we’re very needed in the city,” Gutierrez said.
Organizations based in Marblehead, Peabody, and Lynnfield also received Cummings Grants.
In Marblehead, Casa Mariposa got $90,000 and Marblehead Counseling Center got $120,000.
A previous version of this article incorrectly listed organizations in Peabody and Lynnfield as having received a 2023 Cummings Grant. Those organizations received grants in previous years.
