The latest Natick, Mass., charity and nonprofit news:

Cocotree Kids hosting Rise & Shine Breakfast

Cocotree Kids, the Natick nonprofit dedicated to ensuring every child has access to new underwear, is celebrating its fifth anniversary with a Rise & Shine Breakfast, a community-wide event on Sept. 25 at 9am at the Lenox Hotel in Boston that will honor the organization’s impact while raising awareness.

Over the years, the organization has distributed 593,682 pairs of new underwear to 84,812 children.

Sponsorship opportunities, ticket information, and additional event details are available at www.cocotreekids.org/riseandshine.

Natick Service Council gets $10k grant from Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation

Natick Service Council has announced it has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation.

The funds will support the council’s efforts through its food pantry and mobile market to help Natick residents experiencing food insecurity. Over the past year, the nonprofit has supported 886 households.

Please consider supporting Natick Report, which amplifies the Natick nonprofits’s efforts through our news coverage, with a tax-deductible donation. Also, if you’re with or know of an organization that might be willing to award grants to support student interns, please let us know: natickreport@gmail.com

Sincere Foundation grant application deadline is Sept. 14

The Sincere Foundation, which in June announced $200,000 in new grants to seventeen organizations (including Natick’s A Place to Turn), is accepting a new round of applications until Sept. 14.

You can find more information on its grant guidelines page.

Applications are reviewed twice per year.

Habitat for Humanity joining forces with MathWorks on playhouses

MetroWest/Greater Worcester is partnering with MathWorks of Natick on Sept. 1 to build four playhouses for children of New England veterans or military families. The event takes place starting at 9am at MathWorks’ Apple Hill Campus.

Natick Sons & Daughters of Italy golf tourney

 
Join the organization on Friday Sept. 25 at Sassamon Trace Golf Course in Natick for the Ben Polagruto Memorial Golf Tournament.

The fundraising event is held in memory of long-time member Ben Polagruto and supports his devotion to the Natick Sons & Daughters of Italy Lodge.

The golf will be 9 holes, Bramble format, with tee times starting at 11:30am followed by a catered dinner at the Lodge on Washington Avenue, with cash bar, raffles and prizes.

Register online

All golfers will receive a goodie bag with items donated by sponsors and there will be several special events including a Closest to the Pin prize, a Longest Drive prize, a 50/50 Raffle hole, a Hole in One $1,000 Prize, and the Aurelius Challenge.

The Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), which raises tens of millions per year for cancer research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, is set for Aug. 1 and 2, and dozens of Natick residents are among the riders and volunteers.

Cyclists have a number of routes to choose from, some of which start and end at Babson College in Wellesley.

Natick riders & volunteers listed by the PMC:

Please send news tips, photos, ideas to natickreport@gmail.com

The latest Natick non-profit news:

A Place to Turn piles up grants

A Place To Turn is serving over 1,000 families at the pantry and an additional 800 families through the Community Food Program every month.

The nonprofit also scored a grant from Sincere Foundation, the philanthropic arm of tech company Sincere (Punchbowl, etc.).

A Place to Turn received a $10,000 grant on the heels of getting a grant for the same amount last year.

The foundation awarded $200,000 to 17 Massachusetts organizations in its lastest round.

Local news is grant worthy, too

We’ve started to apply—and receive—grants for our Natick Report and Swellesley Report local news sites. We don’t always fall into foundations’ eligibility categories, but increasingly these organizations are recognizing the essential community services that local news sites like ours play, including the amplification of what local nonprofits are doing. While many have become used to getting their news for free, sites like ours need funding to survive (running these sites is our full-time job).

The Community Fund for Wellesley, Needham Bank, Village Bank, and the Wellesley Cultural Council have all come through with funding to support our local news reporting, operations, student intern stipends, and more.

If your foundation would consider us as a possible funding applicant, please reach out: natickreport@gmail.com

We have a fiscal sponsor in the nonprofit Tiny News Collective, an organization that supports independent local news sites.

Funds raised for Sunshine Kids Foundation

The fourth annual Sunshine Soirée at Wychmere Beach Club on Cape Cod n June 4 raised $144,000 for the Sunshine Kids Foundation, which is dedicated to brightening the lives of kids living with cancer. The event was hosted by Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Commonwealth Real Estate and Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Robert Paul Properties.

During the event, Sunshine Kid Rob Brassard of Natick, and his mother, Tatyana, shared what the foundation’s programs have meant to their family.

Sunshine Kid mom Tatyana Brassard, George Patsio (Commonwealth Realty Group), Rob Brassard (Sunshine Kid), Jenny Munroe (Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Commonwealth Real Estate and Robert Paul Properties), Sunshine Kid dad Kyle Brassard, Shannon Malone (Sunshine Kids Foundation).

Sponsored by Rotary Club of Natick, the event featured a variety of activities on the Common, along with live music, food and a chance to win an electric bike.

“The weather cooperated, and it’s a great event,” said Eileen Fitz, club president.

As in previous years, the ride took cyclists along a 6-mile route through local neighborhoods and along Dug and Fisk ponds, before heading back to the Common.

Nearly 250 cyclists, young and old, participated, including 69 teams distinguished by colorful pennants that flanked the registration table.

Proceeds from the Tour de Natick will go toward the club’s scholarship fund, as well as personalized dictionaries to the town’s third-graders.

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