• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • 2021 Town Election
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

Inaugural Fund for Wellesley grants target suicide prevention, volunteerism in support of senior citizens

October 7, 2009 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Fund for Wellesley Wednesday night awarded its first two grants: one to the Wellesley Health Department for a suicide prevention program and a second to the town’s Council on Aging to expand volunteer coordination.

The Health Department will use its $15,000 grant for an effort that will include a program called QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) that will involve training community members to identify and help those who might be at risk of suicide. Also in the works: A website to support the effort.

Fund community board chair Susan Hurwitz noted at the award ceremony at Wellesley Country Club that while the suicides of young people in Wellesley in recent years has gotten much attention that this program will address suicide concerns involving people of all ages. Shep Cohen, chair of the Board of Health, said one goal is to make it so that QPR will increase the public’s understanding of mental health like CPR has helped with understanding of heart disease.

The Council on Aging will use its $20,000 grant to hire a coordinator to enhance and expand volunteer services for seniors. Currently, a lot of seniors wind up calling the police and fire departments for help, but this program would look to tap all sorts of residents by matching their areas of expertise with senior needs. It could involve everything from walking pets to setting up cellphones.

Fund organizers say their effort is unusual in a number of ways, including that it will be proactive about soliciting potential grant recipients (as opposed to just picking and choosing among applicants who apply on their own).  The Fund is also on the lookout to support projects that already have some infrastructure in place, like town agencies, and that have natural networks in place with existing organizations within Wellesley or in other communities.  In addition to examining issues such as senior citizen engagement and youth development, the Fund is also exploring areas such as improving transportation options in town and increasing volunteerism.

The Fund for Wellesley’s overall purpose is to encourage residents to take care of their own by establishing and growing a permanent fund that can be used to address short- and long-term needs as well as exploit opportunities that typical town government agencies can’t necessarily take on because of their budget cycles.

The Fund’s initial goal is to assemble a group of 125 founders/founding families who will donate $5,000 apiece. Despite a tough economy, the Fund has raised or been pledged a total of about $300,000, so it’s off to a good start.

print

Share

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers
Clearhaven Recovery

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
The Moving-Pictures Company
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
covid vaccine
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Most Read Posts

  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley summer camp listings 2021 — find the experience of a lifetime
  • Wellesley Business Buzz: Poppin In at Linden Square; Chase Bank site becomes sign central; Women-owned businesses; Forklift enters Wellesley meal-delivery scene
  • Wellesley Give & Take update
  • Wellesley's Lee Delaney, CEO of BJ's Wholesale, passes away at age 49

Events Calendar

« April 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Wed 21

Wellesley Select Board online office hours

April 21 @ 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Thu 22

Ben Franklin, The Early Years: Wellesley Historical Society online lecture

April 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sat 24

WellesleyRocks concert: Shira Doron & Patrick Hayden; Bigfoot acoustic

April 24 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Mon 26

Virtual lab tour, pooled COVID testing

April 26 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm
Wed 28

Fay School virtual information session

April 28 @ 10:00 am - 11:00 am

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Abby on Beyond Wellesley: Swellesley goes to Eastie
  • CH on Beyond Wellesley: Swellesley goes to Eastie
  • Donna on Wellesley weathers April snow
  • Maria T on Wellesley Give & Take update
  • Haihong Li on Wellesley Give & Take update

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (21)
  • Animals (387)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (544)
  • Beyond Wellesley (31)
  • Books (345)
  • Business (1,382)
  • Camp (2)
  • Careers/jobs (46)
  • Churches (73)
  • Clubs (211)
  • Construction (282)
  • Dump (114)
  • Education (2,921)
    • Babson College (244)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (49)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (600)
    • Wellesley High School (895)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (52)
  • Entertainment (729)
  • Environment (680)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (144)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (565)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (425)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (760)
    • COVID-19 (152)
  • History (361)
  • Holidays (367)
  • Houses (121)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (820)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (12)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (545)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (252)
  • Obituaries (62)
  • Outdoors (589)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (704)
    • Crime (358)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (294)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (306)
  • Safety (143)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (111)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (906)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (158)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (212)
  • Travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (1,212)
  • Volunteering (319)
  • Weather (169)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (259)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login