5 North Reading Nonprofits Receive $5,000 From Cummings
A release from Cummings Properties:
NORTH READING – Cummings Properties, the Woburn-based commercial real estate company, donated $5,000 to five North Reading non-profits via its Employee Directed Giving program. Through this annual philanthropic initiative, employees are invited to select a local nonprofit to receive a $1,000 donation in their honor.
In North Reading, the five nonprofits were: Bark n’ Roll Rescue, Friends of North Reading Parks & Recreation, Friends of the Flint Memorial Library, North Reading High School Parents’ Association, and NR Touchdown Club.
In 2018, Employee Directed Giving benefitted 335 nonprofits in 99 local cities and towns. Now in its seventh year, the program is designed to give back in the areas where Cummings Properties employees live and work.
New this year, the 140 colleagues with at least 10 years of seniority were invited to select a second nonprofit to receive an additional $1,000. The program was also expanded to include part-time staff with at least five years of seniority, whereas it was previously open to full-time employees only.
“This significant program expansion created even more opportunities for colleagues to think and talk about philanthropy, and to have a significant positive impact on local causes that are meaningful to them,” said Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties’ chairman and CEO.
Bob Heffernan, a field division manager at Cummings and a North Reading resident, directed his $1,000 donation to North Reading High School Parents’ Association. This organization advocates for educationally sound programs and facilities, and supports the enrichment of the high school experience for all students.
“I chose the Parents’ Association because I have children in the North Reading school system and the organization funds programming, events, and motivational speakers,” said Heffernan. “Travis Roy, the former Boston University hockey player who is now paralyzed from the neck down, recently came and spoke to the high schoolers. Our donation will help fund future opportunities like this, which are so beneficial for the kids.”
Each eligible organization can receive up to $5,000 per program cycle, allowing multiple staff members to choose the same nonprofit.
Employee Directed Giving is open to employees of Cummings Properties, as well as its affiliated retirement communities, New Horizons at Choate in Woburn and New Horizons at Marlborough. Selected nonprofits must meet a few eligibility requirements and be based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, or Suffolk County, or the city or town where the colleague lives.
North Reading students (left to right) Ian Jones, Benjamin Tenney, and Christopher Nearing accepted a $1,000 Employee Directed Giving donation on behalf of North Reading High School Parents’ Association.
