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Massachusetts Medical Society & Alliance Charitable Foundation announces 2014 grants

Waltham-based Massachusetts Medical Society's foundation distributes 12 grants totaling $196,500 awarded to agencies across the Commonwealth

Waltham, Mass. – April 15 – The Massachusetts Medical Society & Alliance Charitable Foundation has awarded 12 grants totaling $196,500 to agencies across the state to support a variety of health and medical services, including HIV testing, training for rape crisis counselors, teen health services, violence prevention, and heath care for the uninsured and underinsured.

Two agencies are receiving grants from the Foundation for the first time; ten have previously been awarded grants. The recipients, amounts of their awards, purposes of the grants, and history of grants from the foundation, with links to available websites:

AIDS Project, Worcester, $25,000, to continue and expand testing for HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. The agency, which was awarded a grant of $32,000 in 2011 for the same purpose, is the primary AIDS service organization in Central Massachusetts and the second largest in New England.  www.aidsprojectworcester.org

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The Family Van, Roxbury Crossing, $25,000, to support the agency’s youth initiative, including volunteer training and health priorities. The agency, which provides free preventive health services, education and referrals to youth in Boston’s underserved neighborhoods, received a grant of $10,000 in 2013 to support its initiative targeting high-risk youth age 12-24.  www.familyvan.org

Peer Health Exchange, Boston, $25,000, to train college students to teach comprehensive health education to 4,100 high-school students who otherwise would not receive this education.  The agency received grants in 2012 of $15,000 and in 2010 of $20,000 to train college students to deliver a comprehensive health curriculum in public high schools that lack health education.  www.peerhealthexchange.org

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Katie Brown Educational Program, Fall River, $25,000, to support the development of a Relationship Violence Prevention Education Program for college students.  The agency was founded in 2001 with a mission to prevent relationship violence and has received three    previous grants from the Foundation, in 2005, 2006, and 2010, totaling $35,000 www.kbep.org

VIM Berkshires, Great Barrington, $20,000, to support the first year of a shared medical appointment program focusing on chronic diseases.  Founded in 2004 as the 30th VIM clinic nationally and the first in Massachusetts, VIM Berkshires provides free care to income-qualified uninsured and underinsured residents age 19-64 in the Berkshire region.  It has received eight previous grants from the Foundation, beginning in 2004, totaling $150,000. www.vimberkshires.org

Lynn Community Health Center, Lynn, $16,500, to support the Teen Health Clinic that opened last year. Established in 1971, the Center provides a variety of health and social services to Lynn residents regardless of ability to pay. The Center was awarded a $25,000 grant in 2010 to support its efforts toward teen health.  www.lchcnet.org

Metro West Free Medical Program, Sudbury, $15,000, to support diabetes care for the uninsured, including identifying clients in need of care and medical management.  Founded in 2004, the program provides care for the uninsured and underinsured at locations in Sudbury and Framingham for residents in MetroWest Communities. This is the sixth grant this program has received since 2009, totaling $110,000.   www.metrowestfreemedicalprogram.org/

Women’s Lunch Place, Boston, $10,000, to support the agency’s mission of improving the health and well-being for women experiencing poverty or homelessness. Located in Boston’s Back Bay section, the agency serves more than 200 women every day. This grant is the agency’s first from the Foundation.   www.womenslunchplace.org

Girls, Inc., Worcester, $10,000, to support the agency’s program, Promoting Healthy Lifestyles for At-Risk Girls, and its components, Fit Girls and Friendly PEERsuasian, aimed at improving the health of vulnerable low-and moderate-income girls in the city. This is the agency’s second grant from the Foundation. In 2013, it was awarded $10,000 in support of the same programs.

Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, Cambridge, $10,000, to support the training of medical professionals at Boston Medical Center and Newton-Wellesley Hospital. Founded in 1973, with a mission to end sexual violence, the agency has received three previous grants from the Foundation, in 2004, 2006, and 2007, totaling $55,000.  www.barcc.org

The Sharewood Project, Malden, $10,000, to support free health services to vulnerable residents.  Operated by medical students, the project has received six previous grants since 2006, totaling $52,500.  http://www.sharewood.info/

Sunday Special Needs Swim, YMCA of Greater Boston, $5,000, to provide for the cost of special needs teachers who conduct swim sessions for special needs children. This is the program’s first grant from the Foundation.  www.ymcaboston.org

The Massachusetts Medical Society & Alliance Charitable Foundation is a supporting organization of the Massachusetts Medical Society, the statewide association of physicians, and works on behalf of physicians and their families to improve the health and well-being of people across the Commonwealth. It supports physician-led volunteer initiatives that provide free care to the uninsured and increased access to care for the underserved.

More information on the MMS and Alliance Charitable Foundation may be found at www.mmsfoundation.org.

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