June 7, 2023 |Cummings Foundation, News, Non-profits, Youth

Roca Awarded $150,000 Cummings Grant

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Key Support Will Help Fund Violence Intervention Efforts in Greater Boston

Roca has been selected to receive a $150,000 Cummings Foundation grant to help fund and further its groundbreaking violence intervention efforts in Lynn & across greater Boston.

The organization is one of 150 local nonprofits chosen from a pool of 630 applicants to receive a total of $30 million through the foundation’s annual grants program.

“Roca knows that it’s possible to break the cycle of incarceration and put young people on a path to success. “This grant will allow us to do even more of this life-changing work and give the people who need it most the tools to deal with the trauma that has prevented them from leading a life free of fear and violence.”

Molly Baldwin, Founder and CEO of Roca

For 35 years, Roca has been at the forefront of using relentless outreach and brain science to disrupt the systemic cycle of incarceration, poverty and urban violence among high-risk young people, nearly all of whom have been arrested, involved with gangs and drugs and never been employed.

In Massachusetts, 70 percent of young men participating in Roca did not commit a crime within three years, a number that’s 37 percent lower than comparable young people.

This year’s grant recipients come from 46 cities and towns across the greater Boston area. The Cummings Foundation was founded in 1986 by philanthropists and commercial real estate entrepreneurs Joyce and Bill Cummings. The Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $500 million to area nonprofits since it began distributing grants. To view the full list of this year’s grant awardees, visit: www.CummingsFoundation.org.

“The way the local nonprofit sector perseveres, steps up, and pivots to meet the shifting needs of the community is most impressive,” said Cummings Foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are incredibly grateful for these tireless efforts to support people in the community and to increase equity and access to opportunities.”

The Roca team looks forward to attending a celebration of grant winners on Thursday, June 15 in Woburn.

The above information was submitted to us by Roca.