8 Reading Nonprofits Surprised With $13K For The Holidays

READING, MA — Eight local nonprofits were surprised with a collective $13,000 through Cummings Properties' Cummings Community Giving program this holiday season. The annual initiative invites employees to select a local charity to receive a $1,000 donation in their honor.

The Woburn-based commercial real estate firm donated $553,000 to hundreds of local nonprofit organizations. The Reading nonprofits selected this year were Mission of Deeds, Creative Arts for Kids, Samantha's Harvest, Burbank YMCA, J.W. Killam Parent Teacher Organization, The Friends of Reading High School Baseball, Understanding Disabilities and the Women's League of Reading.

Cummings employees directed funds to 365 nonprofits in 102 local cities and towns. Now in its eighth year, the program is designed to give back in the areas where Cummings Properties team members live and work.

"One meaningful aspect of the program is that it is a broad company-wide initiative yet also deeply personal," Dennis Clarke, Cummings Properties chairman and CEO, said in a statement. "All colleagues – whether they were hired yesterday or 40 years ago – have the chance to make an individual decision that helps a local cause that matters greatly to each of them."

Cummings Properties office manager Katy Coughlin, a Reading resident, directed her $1,000 donation to Creative Arts, an organization that provides students of all ages and skill levels with instruction in the visual and performing arts.

"I feel that the arts are incredibly important for young people," Coughlin said in a statement. "All the money Creative Arts receives goes directly to its programs, and I know that my donation will have a meaningful impact for the organization and its students."

Each eligible organization can receive up to $5,000 per program cycle, allowing multiple staff members to choose the same nonprofit. This year, 15 recipients received the maximum $5,000 donation

Cummings Community 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. Colleagues with at least 10 years of seniority are invited to choose two nonprofits to receive $1,000 each. 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.

The program was expanded in recent years to include longtime clients, Cummings Foundation volunteers, and other friends of the Cummings organization. These participants made their selections earlier in the year.