Bringing Total Annual Giving to $700,000
Marks Second Consecutive Year Reliant Foundation Awards At Least $700,000
in Support of Mental and Behavioral Health and Recovery Programs
Reliant Foundation, the Worcester-based charity which provides support to mental and behavioral health and recovery programs, announced that it has awarded 42 grants totaling more than $475,000 in its latest round of funding. Coupled with the nearly $225,000 in COVID emergency grants provided earlier in the year, Reliant Foundation has awarded more than $700,000 to 56 non-profits across Central and Metro West Massachusetts in 2020.
“We saw a record number of funding requests from non-profits across our region this year,” said Kelsa Zereski, Reliant Foundation president. “In the initial stages of the pandemic, many of our grantees found themselves having to make significant adjustments to their programming and service models in expedient fashion. Fortunately, Reliant Foundation was able to provide the necessary financial support at that time, while maintaining our commitment to delivering this round of annual fall grants.”
This marks the second consecutive year Reliant Foundation has delivered more than $700,000 in grants – 15 of which were for $15,000 or more – to 501(c)(3) organizations whose programs align with the Foundation’s top-two focus areas of addressing mental and behavioral health services for children and youth and substance use disorder. In 2019, the Foundation provided $705,000 in grants to 50 organizations.
“Raising funds in the midst of a pandemic is no easy task, but the Foundation staff and Board of Trustees was up for the challenge and our donors answered the call,” said Elizabeth L.B. Greene, Reliant’s board chair. “We are so thankful to see how responsive our donors have been to the community’s needs, particularly in these historically-difficult times. To maintain the same level of funding as we had in 2019 is an important accomplishment.”
The following organizations are receiving grants from the Foundation through its most recent 2020 grant cycle:
• Abby’s House: Advocacy & Supportive Services for Homeless Women
• Adolescent Consultation Services: Mental Health Services for Youth Involved with Framingham Juvenile Court
• Advocates: Saving Lives by Reducing Overdoses Narcan Program
• Anna Maria College: SOBER Project (Substance Use, Outcomes, Barriers, and Efforts to Recovery)
• Bancroft School: Worcester Partnership Program
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central MA/Metro West: Keeping Kids Connected
• Boys and Girls Club of Webster-Dudley: Learning Hub Program with Access to Counseling and Behavioral Health
• Boys and Girls Club of Worcester: Learning Hub Program with Access to Counseling and Behavioral Health
• CASA Project: Mental Health Services for Vulnerable Children
• Central MA Agency on Aging: Grandparents Raising Grandchildren, Opioid, and Mental Health Initiative
• Children’s Friend: Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) Program Support
• Coalition for a Healthy Greater Worcester: 2021 CHIP (Community Health Improvement Plan) Support
• Community Harvest Project: Nutritious Foods for Worcester’s Residential Recovery Programs
• Dismas House: Substance Abuse Prevention Initiative
• Doc Wayne: Mental Health Virtual Session/Games Library and translated documents
• Edward M. Kennedy Community Health Center: Medication Assisted Treatment Program
• Family Health Center of Worcester: Screen Our Students (SOS) Program
• Genesis Club House: Bridging the Gap Mental Health Program
• Girl’s Inc.: Resilience Through Relationships Initiative
• Growing Places: Grow Your Own Way Youth Initiative
• Jeremiah’s Inn: Jeremiah’s House Recovery Residence Capital Project
• Latin American Health Foundation/Hector Reyes House/Café Reyes: Café Reyes Capital Project
• LIFT:Temporary Women’s Shelter and Case Work Support
• Perkins School:Perkins Behavioral Health Services for Children Project
• Pernet Family Health Service, Inc.: Youth Service Program
• Rainbow Child Development Center: Harmony & Healing – Music Restoring Health
• Regional Environmental Council: YouthGROW
• Revive of the USA: Revive USA Fitness and Recovery Program
• Rise Above: Pro-Social Activities for Youth in Foster Care
• Shine Initiative: Youth Mental Health Education Programs
• Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services: School Based Mental Health Support Program
• South Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC): Young Adult Residential Case Management Residence Capital Project
• St. Peter Central Catholic Elementary School: Enhanced Student Mental Health Program
• Teen Challenge: Adult Men’s Recovery Center Capital Project
• UMass Medical School: FaCES Clinic Education Navigator for Foster Children and Family Support
• UMass Memorial Health Care: Worcester Addresses Childhood Trauma (Worcester ACTS)
• United Way of North Central MA: United Way Youth Venture
• Veteran’s, Inc.: Intensive Outpatient Program for Veterans
• Westborough Connects: Mental Health, Wellness and Resilience Programs
• Worcester Youth Center: Opioid/Narcan Training Program with Vaping Prevention
• Y.O.U., Inc: HOPE Mental Health Model
• YWCA of Central MA: Case Management, Substance Abuse Counseling and Renovations to Transitional Housing for Women
About Reliant Foundation
Established in 1988 as a public charity, the Reliant Foundation (formerly operated as the Reliant Medical Group Foundation) is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and well-being of individuals of all ages in the Central and MetroWest regions of Massachusetts. As a 501(c)3 charity, the Foundation offers grants to non-profit organizations within its service area for the purpose of supporting programs that battle critical public health issues such as substance use disorder and mental and behavioral health. For more information, please visit www.reliantfoundation.org.
