Feeding Our Hometown Heroes funds meals for hospital workers, supports restaurants
How our Feeding Our Hometown Heroes initiative came to be, starting with inspiration from our board member Marla Felcher and turning into a whole community effort.
April 2020
Feeding Our Hometown Heroes: A message from Geeta Pradhan
Our new initiative, Feeding our Hometown Heroes, launched in partnership with the Boston-founded start-up Off Their Plate, will fund daily deliveries of local, nutritious restaurant meals in May to frontline hospital staff in three Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) Hospitals (Cambridge, Somerville, Everett) and Mount Auburn Hospital.
Updates on our emergency grantmaking from our president
Dear friends, The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the fragility of our community. More people in Cambridge are struggling with food and housing insecurity. Families who previously made ends meet are now in crisis with no contingency funds to fall back on. This pandemic has also revealed the precariousness of our nonprofits. The very organizations that bridge the gaps and serve the most vulnerable are doing their work on shoe-string budgets and their future is uncertain. Less than a month ago, we created the Cambridge COVID-19 Emergency Fund and the Cambridge Artist Relief Fund in partnership with the City and our generous donors to provide swift relief to individuals and families in crisis. Funds are already in the hands of those who need them most and more applications are being reviewed each week. Here's a glance at our emergency grantmaking by the numbers: To date we’ve raised over $725,000 and counting for both funds combined. We're distributing one-time grants of $200 to $1,000. We’ve reviewed more than 300 applications from individuals, small businesses, and organizations so far. We’re sending out a total of just over $300,000 in grants, as quickly as we can. This is what we’re seeing: Taxi drivers who are primary breadwinners for their families have no income. Single mothers struggle to feed and home school their children while working reduced hours. Parents with large families depend on food pantries but
March 2020
The Cambridge Community Foundation fuels local nonprofit sector with $456,181 this spring
This April, the Cambridge Community Foundation will infuse $456,181 into the nonprofit sector in Cambridge through its annual spring grantmaking cycle, which is allocating funds on schedule despite the COVID-19 crisis. The Foundation is allowing Community Fund grant recipients to use their programmatic funding flexibly so that, at a time of great uncertainty, nonprofits can allocate the money where it’s needed the most.
COVID-19 resources for the Cambridge community
A list of local resources available to our community in response to COVID-19.
February 2020
NAACP honors Geeta Pradhan, Michael Monestime among five community leaders
Our president Geeta Pradhan and board member Michael Monestime were among five community leaders honored by the Cambridge NAACP for their social justice work at the annual MLK Brunch on February 15.
Don’t call us a bubble: We are Cambridge
Photo of HONK! parade passing through Porter Square in October 2019 The LA Times recently ran an article called “Wealth and struggle in a liberal bubble that Elizabeth Warren calls home.” The article captured the strengths and weaknesses of our city, which is experiencing stresses similar to San Francisco and other innovation cities. These complex issues of income inequality, housing and homelessness, and traffic gridlock are taxing urban innovation centers to the breaking point. We need national, regional, and local solutions. And Cambridge isn’t sitting on its laurels waiting for the bubble to burst, nor is it losing its soul. Cambridge is a responsive, compassionate city, fiercely protective of its shared values of kindness, diversity, inclusion, and creativity. Yes, our economy is booming, and with that comes unintended consequences. Our rapidly rising real estate values and a shortage of low- and middle-income housing mean more than half of our residents struggle to find affordable homes. One in seven residents lives in poverty. One-third of our public school students of color are unprepared to pursue the jobs our city offers. One out of 10 Black and Latinx households has no internet yet every major tech company has a presence in
January 2020
Cambridge Community Foundation names Michal Rubin vice president of development
The Cambridge Community Foundation has named Michal Rubin, a development executive with 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, as vice president of development. Rubin will play a key role in helping the Foundation address the social challenges Cambridge faces by strengthening partnerships with donors and nonprofit partners and advancing the organization’s strategic direction in the new decade.
Five ways to give back to your Cambridge community in 2020
Photo courtesy of Cambridge School Volunteers. Could one of your New Year’s resolutions be to more actively participate in the community? In a big world with many challenges, taking local action is a way each of us can make a difference — by impacting one family, one nonprofit, one cause, or one community. If you live, work, or spend time in Cambridge, consider giving back to the community in 2020. Here are some ideas to get you started: 1. Gift a little of your time. Consider using some of your free time to do something positive getting better connected with our community (and have fun). Do you have MLK Day off from work? Invite family or friends to join you at the MLK Day of Service (Monday, Jan. 20 in Central Square) to make valentines for seniors, create fleece blankets and scarves for community members experiencing homelessness, and more. There are also numerous year-round volunteering opportunities. Those who care about addressing the climate crisis, can join the Charles River Conservancy for clean-ups of public parks and recreational areas. People interested in supporting the next generation can make meaningful connections with youth through Cambridge School Volunteers. You can find
