Quincy, May 24, 2017 – Maria Droste Counseling Services is one of 100 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s “$100k for 100” program. The Quincy-based organization was chosen from a total of 549 applicants during a competitive review process.
Maria Droste Counseling Services which is celebrating its 25th Anniversary this year provides low-fee and even no-fee mental health and substance use outpatient therapy to individuals, couples, and families where payment is an issue. Begun as a mission of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd, a Catholic Women’s Religious Congregation, the nonprofit has been transitioning to an all “lay person” staff. Sr. Elish McPartland, who has been with the agency since the mid-1990s, continues to provide holistic services to clients.
Michael Shanahan, the Executive Director, stated, “This is a great honor to be recognized by the Cummings Foundation for the work we are doing in mental health. A grant of this size spread over 10 years will help strengthen our foundation as we face growing pressures on our budget.” Shanahan went on to explain that the grant money will be used to cover operation expenses.
The $100k for 100 program supports nonprofits that are not only based in but also primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. This year, the program is benefiting 35 different cities and towns within the Commonwealth. Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the area where it owns commercial buildings, all of which are managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings of Winchester, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages more than 10 million square feet of space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“Nonprofit organizations like Maria Droste Counseling Services are vital to the local communities where our colleagues and clients live and work,” said Joel Swets, Cummings Foundation’s executive director. “We are delighted to invest in their efforts.”
This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention and affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. Most of the grants will be paid over two to five years.