Funding focuses on reducing barriers to recreational activities that provide physical, social-emotional and mental wellness for individuals with disabilities.
DEDHAM, May 2, 2022 – The Trustees of the Yawkey Foundation today announced $500,000 in Program & Small Capital grant funding to Greater Boston nonprofit organizations dedicated to providing opportunity and reducing barriers for individuals of all abilities to participate in high-quality athletic and recreation programs, particularly focused on youth with cognitive, developmental and physical disabilities.
“Tom Yawkey and Jean Yawkey believed that recreational and amateur athletics were vital to helping individuals develop lifelong values such as respect, teamwork and sportsmanship,” said Maureen H. Bleday, CEO of Yawkey Foundation. “These nonprofits provide experiences that build upon participants’ diverse strengths, abilities and potential, acknowledging the whole person and inspiring them to reach new levels of confidence and achievement.”
These recent grants to organizations serving individuals of all abilities include funding for specialized recreational equipment such as a customized tandem trike and a rowing barge, as well as specific projects such as a nonprofit’s digital transformation for expanded registration and engagement for inclusive sports training. The grants emphasize access to recreational, athletic, and adventure experiences for participants with financial barriers, in line with Yawkey Foundation’s focus on access to opportunity for low-income and underserved individuals. The recipient nonprofit partners include:
| Adaptive Sports New England | Heroes in Transition |
| Camp Grossman | Piers Park Sailing Center |
| Camp Shriver | Special Olympics of Massachusetts |
| Community Rowing | Waypoint Adventure |
| Helping Hands and Hooves | Y-Abilities – Old Colony YMCA Brockton |
Since 1977, the Yawkey Foundation has invested more than $91 million to support Youth & Amateur Athletics nonprofit programs in Massachusetts, New England, and Georgetown County, South Carolina.
The Yawkey Foundation is dedicated to perpetuating the philanthropic legacy of Tom Yawkey and Jean Yawkey, whose eight decades of quiet generosity supported individuals and families in the communities that were closest to their hearts – Massachusetts and Georgetown County, South Carolina. Having awarded more than $530 million to-date in charitable grants to organizations focused on health care, education, human services, youth and amateur athletics, arts and culture, and conservation and wildlife, the Yawkey Foundation is committed to preserving and sustaining the charitable values of the Yawkeys by investing in nonprofits that provide resources, opportunity, and dignity to the vulnerable and underserved.
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