Grants to 19 organizations cap a year of substantial volunteer work and significant donations from the local life sciences community
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Dec. 19 – Life Science Cares, a nonprofit that organizes biopharma executives and employees to give back to the community, today announced $600,000 in grants to 19 social service organizations. The grants cap a year of rapid expansion for Life Science Cares, which has organized thousands of hours of volunteer service and both financial and material donations to organizations serving the nutrition, housing, education and employment needs of low-income residents across Greater Boston.
“We’re proud to see so many in the life science community stepping up to share their time and resources with their neighbors,” said Sarah MacDonald, the executive director of Life Science Cares. “Our volunteers and donors all have a tremendous sense of urgency about expanding opportunities for those who live in poverty. We know these grants, made to local groups doing terrific work in our communities, will advance that mission.”
In the two years since its founding, Life Science Cares has developed partnerships with nearly two dozen social service organizations and nearly 300 life science companies in Greater Boston. In 2018, those companies collectively contributed 3,200 hours of volunteer service and donated $100,000 worth of goods, including children’s books, warm coats, laptop computers and holiday gifts. Through a series of events organized by Life Science Cares, they also raised the $600,000 being distributed today in grants.
This year’s grants bring to more than $1 million the total amount Life Science Cares has donated to local social service agencies. The nonprofit intends to award grants annually.
The recipients of this year’s grants include:
- Just-A-Start, an organization dedicated to securing housing and economic stability for low-to-moderate-income residents of Cambridge and surrounding communities;
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of Massachusetts Bay, which among other services runs a mentoring program, Mentor 2.0, that matches adult mentors with low-income students seeking college and career guidance.
- More Than Words, which focuses on empowering youth who are in the foster care system, homeless or out of school to take charge of their lives by training them to run a thriving bookselling business;
- Pine Street Inn, the leading resource for homeless men and women in New England, provides emergency shelter, street outreach, permanent housing and job training, all with the goal of supporting individuals in reaching their highest potential.
The full list of recipients:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mass. Bay