Grants Awarded by the Marlborough Brigham Family Trust

The trustees of the Marlborough Brigham Family Trust are pleased to announce the awarding of 10 grants totaling $25,266 for its inaugural grant cycle.

The trust received more than $70,000 in grant applications in the fall of 2013. Trustees were encouraged by the depth and range of the applications, all of which detailed valuable services to the community. The trustees met as a group, aligned the grants with the language in Ronald H. Brigham’s will regarding the spirit of the trust, and deliberated the applications.

As a result, the following organizations have been awarded grants, which will be presented during their respective upcoming meetings. The trustees congratulate these organizations for their community-oriented efforts and programs!

Marlborough Public Schools:
$3,900 toward the anti-bullying presentation Ryan’s Story. The father of Ryan Halligan, a 13-year-old who was bullied so cruelly and systematically that he committed suicide, will speak to middle school students, teachers, parents and community youth workers. Halligan’s appearance correlates with the district’s MC3: Marlborough: Creating a Caring Community bullying prevention curriculum.

The Marlborough Historical Society:
$3,900 toward its storage/structural program. Over the years the society has accumulated historical records, artifacts, photographs, and other objects that require storage, and the current structure is unstable and inadequate. The society will use the grant to help build a storage shed on the society’s Homestead site to store and protect these items.

Maria Mihopoulos, Jaworek Elementary School:
$1,300 toward the purchase of three iPads and instructional applications. Jaworek Elementary has more than 150 English language learners (ELLs) who benefit from the school’s very limited supply of ELL iPads that introduce them to technology, help them learn to read and increase their vocabulary, do math drills, provide language lab technology, allow them to research and translate words, and more. The grant will help expand the resources so more ELL students have access to this learning tool.

Employment Options:
$3,900 toward its Cleaning Options Program. Employment Options serves adults with mental illness, empowering them and their families to recover and thrive in the community. Supports include overcoming barriers to employment through a “life coaching” approach. The newly developed Cleaning Options trains and employs disadvantaged, unemployed citizens by helping them overcome obstacles to employment.

Friends of the Marlborough Seniors:
$3,250 toward a pilot transportation program. The program will help transport some of the more than 350 Marlborough Council on Aging/Senior Center members to Senior Center activities, the grocery store, the pharmacy, personal appointments, and more. The program will operate in cooperation with the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority and Employment Options.

The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library:
$1,300 toward its 2013-2014 program season. The Friends offers a wide variety of programs and events designed to enrich and educate the Marlborough community and support the performing arts. The grant will help ensure the Friends will be able to continue to present free admission programs for the season.

Marlborough Downtown Village Association:
$3,250 toward an outdoor community mural. The mural will depict various elements of Marlborough’s heritage and will include works from both experienced mural artists and members of the community. The project is designed to create a feeling of ownership in the Downtown Cultural District and provide an avenue for future artists.

Ghost Light Players:
$1,950 toward a summer youth theater program. The program will run for five mornings a week for five weeks this summer, and it will include classes in auditions, performance and stage etiquette. The program will conclude with a performance. The goal is eventually to create an ongoing, self-sustaining summer program.

Linda Ostaski, Jaworek Elementary:
$400 toward a document camera. Art teacher Linda Ostaski will integrate the document camera with her classroom projector to project three-dimensional art lessons and demonstrations to all students in a class at one time. Lessons can be recorded and shared so that students can view and review them as needed.

The Cottage Children’s Center:
$2,116 toward tables, chairs and storage. The center, located on the Marlborough Hospital campus, serves 105 children. The center’s large room not only serves as a space for the center’s activities, it also serves as a community room for other organizations. The center currently rents tables and chairs as needed; securing their own and building a small storage shed will allow the center to increase the use of the space for community groups and center activities.


		Marlborough Brigham Family Trust Awards - 2013
The trustees of the Marlborough Brigham Family Trust are pleased to announce the awarding of 10 grants totaling $25,266 for its inaugural grant cycle. The trust received more than $70,000 in grant applications in the fall of 2013. Trustees were encouraged by the depth and range of the applications, all of which detailed valuable services to the community. The trustees met as a group, aligned the grants with the language in Ronald H. Brigham’s will regarding the spirit of the trust, and deliberated the applications. As a result, the following organizations have been awarded grants, which will be presented during their respective upcoming meetings. The trustees congratulate these organizations for their community-oriented efforts and programs! Marlborough Public Schools: $3,900 toward the anti-bullying presentation Ryan’s Story. The father of Ryan Halligan, a 13-year-old who was bullied so cruelly and systematically that he committed suicide, will speak to middle school students, teachers, parents and community youth workers. Halligan’s appearance correlates with the district’s MC3: Marlborough: Creating a Caring Community bullying prevention curriculum. The Marlborough Historical Society: $3,900 toward its storage/structural program. Over the years the society has accumulated historical records, artifacts, photographs, and other objects that require storage, and the current structure is unstable and inadequate. The society will use the grant to help build a storage shed on the society’s Homestead site to store and protect these items. Maria Mihopoulos, Jaworek Elementary School: $1,300 toward the purchase of three iPads and instructional applications. Jaworek Elementary has more than 150 English language learners (ELLs) who benefit from the school’s very limited supply of ELL iPads that introduce them to technology, help them learn to read and increase their vocabulary, do math drills, provide language lab technology, allow them to research and translate words, and more. The grant will help expand the resources so more ELL students have access to this learning tool. Employment Options: $3,900 toward its Cleaning Options Program. Employment Options serves adults with mental illness, empowering them and their families to recover and thrive in the community. Supports include overcoming barriers to employment through a “life coaching” approach. The newly developed Cleaning Options trains and employs disadvantaged, unemployed citizens by helping them overcome obstacles to employment. Friends of the Marlborough Seniors: $3,250 toward a pilot transportation program. The program will help transport some of the more than 350 Marlborough Council on Aging/Senior Center members to Senior Center activities, the grocery store, the pharmacy, personal appointments, and more. The program will operate in cooperation with the MetroWest Regional Transit Authority and Employment Options. The Friends of the Marlborough Public Library: $1,300 toward its 2013-2014 program season. The Friends offers a wide variety of programs and events designed to enrich and educate the Marlborough community and support the performing arts. The grant will help ensure the Friends will be able to continue to present free admission programs for the season. Marlborough Downtown Village Association: $3,250 toward an outdoor community mural. The mural will depict various elements of Marlborough’s heritage and will include works from both experienced mural artists and members of the community. The project is designed to create a feeling of ownership in the Downtown Cultural District and provide an avenue for future artists. Ghost Light Players: $1,950 toward a summer youth theater program. The program will run for five mornings a week for five weeks this summer, and it will include classes in auditions, performance and stage etiquette. The program will conclude with a performance. The goal is eventually to create an ongoing, self-sustaining summer program. Linda Ostaski, Jaworek Elementary: $400 toward a document camera. Art teacher Linda Ostaski will integrate the document camera with her classroom projector to project three-dimensional art lessons and demonstrations to all students in a class at one time. Lessons can be recorded and shared so that students can view and review them as needed. The Cottage Children’s Center: $2,116 toward tables, chairs and storage. The center, located on the Marlborough Hospital campus, serves 105 children. The center’s large room not only serves as a space for the center’s activities, it also serves as a community room for other organizations. The center currently rents tables and chairs as needed; securing their own and building a small storage shed will allow the center to increase the use of the space for community groups and center activities.
	Marlborough Brigham Family Trust, P.O. Box 221, Marlborough, MA 01752