REGION – Cummings Properties employees recently directed nearly $500,000 to local nonprofits, including $80,000 to local organizations alone.
Through Cummings Community Giving, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm annually invites staff members to each select a local nonprofit to receive up to $2,000 from the company in their names.
The program, now in its 12th year, aims to support the communities where Cummings team members live and work. This cycle’s $495,000 will help fund more than 200 causes in approximately 100 local cities and towns, including Marlborough.
“Corporate citizenship is about more than just giving back,” said Cummings Properties President Eric Anderson, a Westford resident who directed his donation to Westford Remembers. “It’s about giving everyone a voice, and allowing all values to be represented in the process.”
Team members select their causes for any number of reasons. Associate Purchasing Manager Mike Kashgegian, an eight-year Cummings colleague, annually directs his donation to Perkins School for the Blind.
“It’s a great opportunity to support a local organization,” said Kashgegian. “I’ve lived in Watertown for nearly 15 years, and the school is practically right next door.”
Account Manager Shannon DePierro and her husband, carpentry team leader Mike DePierro, each directed $2,000 to Amirah. This Beverly-based organization provides support for women seeking to exit the commercial sex trade.
“We felt passionate about contributing to a nonprofit that helps underserved individuals,” the longtime Wilmington residents said in a statement. “Amirah works with a stigmatized, often traumatized population whose unique needs likely aren’t being directly addressed by many other organizations. And when we learned that Amirah happens to be a Cummings leasing client, we were even more gratified by our selections.”
Then, they also learned that the nonprofit had been awarded $100,000 in 2021 through Cummings Foundation’s annual $30-million grant program.
Cummings Community Giving is open to staff at Cummings Properties as well as its affiliated senior living communities, New Horizons at Choate, in Woburn, and New Horizons at Marlborough. In recent years, the program has expanded to include longtime leasing clients and Cummings Foundation volunteers.
Each eligible nonprofit may receive up to $6,000 per cycle. Through this year’s employee cycle, 20 recipients reached the maximum, including Marlborough Fire Department, Millis Public Schools, Buddy Dog Humane Society (of Sudbury), Baypath Humane Society (of Hopkinton), and Hudson-based CHAPS Inc. and Andrew’s Helpful Hands.
More information about Cummings Community Giving is available at www.cummings.com/ccg.
Cummings Properties manages a portfolio of 11 million square feet of commercial space in 11 suburban communities north and west of Boston. Most of these properties are owned by Cummings Foundation, with 100 percent of all rental profits supporting hundreds of local nonprofit organizations. The Cummings organization has awarded more than $500 million to date and is currently considering proposals for $30 million in funding, to be awarded in June.
More information is available at www.cummings.com.
