JFS Patient Navigator Staff and Volunteers with Susan Lewis Solomont, Cummings Foundation’s pro bono Director of Volunteers, member of the Sustainabilty Grants Selection Committee
Framingham, MA (May 6, 2019) – Jewish Family Service (JFS) of Metrowest is one of the local nonprofits sharing in Cummings Foundation’s $25 million grant program in 2019 and has been awarded a Sustaining Grant to be distributed over 10 years. Lino Covarrubias, Chief Operations Officer and Josef Volman, Board Vice President represented the nonprofit at a May 2 awards night at TradeCenter 128 in Woburn.
Josef Volman and Lino Covarrubias with
Joyce and Bill Cummings
JFS Patient Navigator is a nationally recognized program that uses trained and supervised volunteers to improve health care access and equity for low-income, frail and isolated older adults. JFS Patient Navigators help local older adults get to and manage their medical appointments, reduce social isolation, and assist with prescriptions. Additionally, the program provides assessment, referral and on-going case management when necessary and appropriate. No other program in Metrowest provides this combination of services.
The Cummings Foundation Sustaining Grant provides long term stabilization to the JFS Patient Navigator program. The program also plans to expand its reach to the area’s older adult LGBTQ community. The program will partner with Fenway Health to design and to provide culture-competence training to Navigators and local medical providers to combat the health disparities that affect LGBTQ older adults and breakdown the barriers that these individuals face in health care settings, so that LGBTQ older adults, as all Metrowest older adults, can age in good health and with pride.
“Since the program launched in 2012, JFS Patient Navigator has provided assistance with over 2,600 appointments and is a well-established resource for Metrowest area low-income, frail older adults, however the LGBTQ community remains an under-served segment of this population.” said Covarrubias. “JFS believes that the Metrowest provider community can and should develop the competence to serve LGBTQ older adults with respect and compassion and with the addition of the generous support from the Cummings Foundation, JFS will broaden efforts to address social and health inequities in this area.”
The Sustaining Grants initiative builds on Cummings Foundation’s $100K for 100 program. First offered in 2012, $100K for 100 annually awards $10 million through multi-year grants of $100,000 each to 100 nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Essex, Middlesex, and Suffolk counties. Grant recipients that received their final grant disbursements in 2018 were automatically considered for $15 million in Sustaining Grants.
“We introduced Sustaining Grants to help alleviate the constant burden of fundraising so nonprofit professionals can spend more of their limited time and resources on actually providing services,” said Christina Berthelsen, grants manager at Cummings Foundation.
Cummings Foundation has awarded nearly $250 million to date in Greater Boston alone. Funds are generated through commercial properties that are owned by, and operated for the sole benefit of, Cummings Foundation. All of its buildings are managed pro bono by Woburn commercial real estate firm Cummings Properties.
Sustaining Grants winners were selected primarily by a 33-member volunteer committee, which included former state legislators, CEOs of local companies, and a retired justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, among many others. Committee members met with each nonprofit twice to learn how the $100K for 100 funds helped to advance its mission, and how it might put a 10-year grant to use.
View the complete list of the 50 Sustaining Grants winners at www.CummingsFoundation.org. An additional 100 winners will be announced in June through the $100K for 100 program.
About Cummings Foundation
Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings and has grown to be one of the three largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. Its largest single commitment to date has been to Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.
About JFS of Metrowest
JFS is a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that works with over 5,000 people within the Metrowest and Greater Boston regions each year, targeting at-risk families, individuals, immigrants, and elders aging in place. Dedicated to standing up for those left behind, JFS is:
- Increasing the ability of frail elders to maximize independence and quality of life as they navigate the challenges that come with aging
- Accelerating academic achievement and pathways to college for low-income and first-generation students
- Providing safety, hope and opportunity for refugees victimized by world conflict
- Advancing equity with comprehensive assistance that empowers immigrant families to succeed
- Reducing poverty in our community with case management, basic needs assistance and employment readiness support
- Building families through adoption
JFS provides the tools to meet life’s obstacles to stabilize during a crisis and optimally achieve self-sufficiency, strengthen lives, improve wellbeing, and build a stronger community. JFS’ sound fiscal management practices have earned it a 4-star rating (score=100!) from Charity Navigator, America’s largest independent charity evaluator. To learn more about JFS or to view the 2018 Report to the Community, visit http://www.jfsmw.org/.
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CONTACT:
Amanda Coughlin
Director, Program Operations
JFS of Metrowest
acoughlin@jfsmw.org
508-875-3100 x340
Joyce Vyriotes
Cummings Foundation
781-932-7072
jkv@cummings.com
MORE:
- Download and share this press release (PDF)
- Volunteers Needed – Join JFS Patient Navigator in Helping LGBTQ Older Adults Access Healthcare in the Metrowest Area
- Introducing the Metrowest Jewish LGBTQ Education Collaborative!
- Volunteer with the JFS – complete the online application to get started
- Join the JFS Patient Navigator Team and Make a Difference in the Lives of Frail, Older Adults in Our Community