Root program partners and staff celebrate the receipt of the Cummings Foundation grant. Left to right, front row: Antonio Diaz, Anely Edwards, Ijachela Bryant, Joshua Stevenson, and Erin Ingram. Second row: Ebony Williams, Root Founder and Interim Executive Director Jennifer Eddy, Root Associate Director of Programming & Food Service Operations Mike May, Jennifer Agresti, Root Chef Instructor Sam Hunt, VP Administration Cummings Properties Ernie Agresti, Jr., Frank Bonsignore, Root Program Director Beth Alaimo, Michael Castro, Stephen Santos, Jonathan Ortiz, Mirelda Alvarez, Victor Yuma, Julia Morin, and Kyle Toxey.
Root Awarded $100,000
Salem, MA nonprofit receives Cummings Foundation grant
SALEM, MA…May 24, 2018
Root is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through the Cummings Foundation’s “$100K for 100” program. The Salem-‐based organization was chosen from 597 applicants, during a competitive review process. The grant will support Root’s workforce training program that uses food preparation and service as its vehicle for teaching career and life skills to at-‐risk youth in Essex County.
Representing Root, Jennifer Eddy, Founder and Interim Executive Director, will join approximately 300 other guests at a reception at the TradeCenter 128 in Woburn to celebrate the $10 million infusion into Greater Boston’s nonprofit sector. With the conclusion of this grant cycle, Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $220 million to Greater Boston nonprofits alone. “We are thrilled and honored to have the support of the Cummings Foundation,” said Jennifer Eddy, Root’s Founder and Interim Executive Director. “With the help of this grant, we can create opportunities for young people to better their lives through our culinary arts training program.”
The $100K for 100 program supports nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex and Suffolk counties. Through this place-‐based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-‐based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“We are indebted to the nonprofit organizations like Root that have a meaningful positive impact on the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to invest in their important programs and services.” This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention and affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. Most of the grants will be paid over two to five years.
The complete list of 100 grant winners will be available beginning June 7 at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
Cummings Foundation announced an additional $10 million in early May through its new Sustaining Grants, which extend “100K for 100” funding for previous winners for 10 more years. Beginning in 2019, the Foundation will increase its total giving through these two programs from $20 million to $25 million.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Bill Cummings released his self-‐written memoir, “Starting Small and Making It Big: An Entrepreneur’s Journey to Billion-Dollar Philanthropist,” in March 2018. Additional information is available at www.Cummingsfoundation.org and Cummings.com/book.