The Medford Boys & Girls Club will further enhance its educational programs for Medford youth with the help of a new grant from Cummings Foundation that will provide the Club with a total of $250,000 over 10 years.

The grant, part of Cummings Foundation's new Sustaining Grants program, was awarded on May 3 to the Friends of Chevalier Auditorium and Gene Mack Gym, a nonprofit organization that fosters financial and community support for the theater and Boys & Girls Club, which share the Chevalier complex on Forest Street in Medford Square. The Sustaining Grants program builds on Cummings Foundation's $100K for 100 program, through which the Friends of Chevalier obtained a $100,000 grant for the Medford Boys & Girls Club in 2014. That grant enabled the Club to enroll more members in its afterschool program; make the Club's Education Coordinator a paid, permanent position; and provided much-needed funding to support and enhance Project Learn, which reinforces the academic enrichment and school engagement of young people during the time they spend at the Club.

Having received the final $100K for 100 grant disbursement of $25,000 in 2017, the Friends were automatically eligible to apply for the new funding initiative in 2018. Following an extensive five-month review process, the Friends were one of 33 nonprofits selected from Essex, Middlesex and Suffolk counties selected for a Sustaining Grant. The grant will support a broad new Literacy Initiative at the Medford Boys & Girls Club, as an extension of Project Learn. The goal is to foster youth interest and motivation to read, in order to strengthen youth literacy skills. The Club will provide literacy-specific activities and incorporate literacy into all program areas, making the Club a literacy-rich environment. Literacy — specifically reading at grade level — is a critical factor for academic success, one of the Club's focus areas. In Massachusetts, only 54 percent of fourth-graders are at or above the proficient level in reading, and the rate is even lower for low-income youth and youth who are Black or Hispanic.

"We are beyond thrilled to be a part of the transformative funding opportunity a Cummings Foundation Sustaining Grant provides," said Lindsay Smythe, Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Medford and Somerville. "Our Medford Club staff and Club members have asked for more resources and support around literacy in our Club. With this 10-year investment from the Cummings Foundation, we are confident that we will be able to do so much more to support our Club members and we are hopeful that we will be able to help greatly improve reading proficiency and academic outcomes for our Medford youth." The unusual 10-year timeline of the new Cummings grant is particularly meaningful due to the financial stability it provides. "Long-term financial support is rare for nonprofits, making fundraising a constant and time-consuming task for organizations like the Friends of Chevalier and the Medford Boys & Girls Club," said Joyce Vyriotes, Deputy Director of Cummings Foundation. "The Sustaining Grants are intended to provide some relief, allowing them to focus more of their time and energy on delivering and enhancing their important services."

Sustaining Grants winners were selected primarily by a 40-member volunteer committee, which included former state legislators, CEOs of companies and organizations in Greater Boston, a retired justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, and a noted Boston Globe reporter, among many others. Committee members conducted two site visits with each nonprofit to learn how the $100K for 100 funds helped to advance its mission, and how it might put a 10-year grant to use.

"We are so grateful for Cummings Foundation's continued support of the Medford Boys & Girls Club and the crucial role it plays in the positive development of young people in our community," said Cindy Watson, Co-President of the Friends of Chevalier. "It is especially meaningful to again receive a grant from the Foundation created by Bill Cummings, who grew up in Medford and whose career in business and philanthropy is a wonderful example for today's youth to follow to succeed in life."