MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (Jan. 13, 2017) – The Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund (TNSF) committee recently awarded $19,046 in grants to 36 programs in five of Tufts' host communities. TNSF collects donations from university employees throughout the year and then awards grants to community-based, charitable organizations that serve Tufts' host communities (Medford; Somerville; Grafton; and Boston's Chinatown, Fenway, and Mission Hill neighborhoods) and actively engage Tufts volunteers in their work.

A committee comprised of Tufts administrators, faculty and staff meets annually to review proposals and select grant recipients. The committee received 55 proposals during the 2016 application process, ultimately selecting 36 programs and projects for awards. Members of the TNSF committee base their decisions on a desire to address the most pressing needs in the communities and to encourage expanded involvement of Tufts volunteers.

The eight Chinatown grant recipients are:

Asian American Civic Association - $400 for MBTA passes for clients

Asian Community Development Corporation - $200 for workshop materials

Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center - $300 for first-generation college students to take bus tours of college campuses

Friends of the Chinatown Library - $200 for their ongoing library support work

A Greater Boston Chinese Golden Age Center - $400 for a campaign on chronic illness

Josiah Quincy Elementary School - $400 to help fitting out maker space in school library

Ricesticks and Tea - $2,000 for their food pantry

Wang YMCA - $300 for first-generation college students to take bus tours of college campuses

The two Grafton grant recipients are:

Community Harvest - $1,000 for irrigation improvements

St. James Outreach - $2,000 for food and services to assist residents in need

The 12 Medford grant recipients are:

Boys & Girls Club - $300 to provide art supplies for club members who have behavioral needs

Cache - $200 to support Circle the Square

Columbus Elementary School - $200 to provide food for science night

Curtis-Tufts Alternative School - $741 to purchase a table for outside gardening

English at Large - $250 to provide training for volunteers

Medford Community Gardens - $300 to build new gardens

Medford Public Library - $500 to purchase laptops for library patrons to use on site

Medford Family Resource Coalition - $250 in support for STEM across Medford

Mystic River Watershed Association - $250 to assist with river clean-up

Outside the Lines - $200 to support their Zen room

Unitarian Universalist Church food bank - $2,000 to stock food pantry

West Medford Community Center - $250 to support the "Intergenerational Jazz Jam"

The 13 Somerville grant recipients are:

Boys & Girls Club - $250 for their video club to produce a documentary

Caspar - $1,000 for bedsheets and other shelter supplies

Catholic Charities - $500 to make improvements in a women's shelter common area

Center for Arts at the Armory - $100 in supplies for Expressive Explorers

Groundwork Somerville - $325 to provide intergenerational mentoring support for farmers

Mystic Learning Center - $250 in supplies for Mystic Kids Garden

Respond - $250 in toys and book for the shelter's children's learning center

Somerville Center for Adult Learning (SCALE) - $400 in support for students to help start savings accounts

Somerville Food Security Coalition - $480 in supplies for "Come to the Table" and other community meals

Somerville High School Chemistry Outreach - $100 in supplies

Somerville Homeless Coalition - $750 to provide furniture for their relocated food pantry

Somerville-Cambridge Elder Services - $500 to provide emergency and weekend meals for homebound seniors

Welcome Project - $500 for multilingual restaurant business development programs

An additional $1,000 grant was made to the DREAM Program, which will use money from this grant to purchase food and supplies for their Jumpstart program. As part of the Jumpstart program, Tufts students volunteer to plan events for children in affordable housing communities.

"Our host communities play an essential part in Tufts' mission as a university," said Tufts University President Anthony Monaco, speaking at an award ceremony to honor the grant recipients on Jan. 13. "Our commitment to active citizenship is an essential part of Tufts’ DNA, alongside education and research. We can't fulfill that commitment without close partnerships with our communities and the non-profit organizations supported by these awards."

TNSF is a giving option of the annual Tufts Community Appeal (TCA), in which the university encourages its employees to contribute to charitable organizations at the regional, national and international levels. The TCA unites faculty and staff across all campuses of the university, and demonstrates the support the Tufts community for local and global efforts. It reflects the university community's belief that individual action can make a difference in the world.

Questions regarding the Tufts Neighborhood Service Fund can be directed to the Office of Government and Community Relations at Tufts University online, or by phone at 617-627-3780.

About Tufts University

Tufts University, located on campuses in Boston, Medford/Somerville and Grafton, Massachusetts, and in Talloires, France, is recognized among the premier research universities in the United States. Tufts enjoys a global reputation for academic excellence and for the preparation of students as leaders in a wide range of professions. A growing number of innovative teaching and research initiatives span all Tufts campuses, and collaboration among the faculty and students in the undergraduate, graduate and professional programs across the university's schools is widely encouraged.