The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation is pleased to announce that five organizations—representing three states—have recently been awarded grants through the Foundation’s Community Partners program. Community Partners are change agents within human services that are either delivering innovative care or developing new ideas and models for doing so. They are results oriented, leveraging resources and knowledge to positively impact individuals and communities and transform society’s vision of and approach to its most vulnerable members.

Best Buddies International, Inc. Best Buddies creates opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities including employment and leadership development by pairing them with volunteers from the community with whom they can form meaningful and beneficial friendships. Best Buddies’ volunteer force spans the United States and 50 countries. The Charitable Foundation grant will support Best Buddies chapters at high schools and middle schools throughout Massachusetts, funding four full-time program manager positions. The grant will also be applied toward operational and administrative costs such as volunteer training.

Encore Studio for the Performing Arts Encore Studio for the Performing Arts is a professional theatre company where people with disabilities can develop their unique talents and pursue careers in the performing arts. It is one of the few theater studios of its kind in the United States. The grant awarded by The MENTOR Network Charitable Foundation will further Encore Studio’s mission by providing stipends for the actors who appear in studio productions.

MINDS Mental Illness & Neurological Disorders Foundation, Inc. The MINDS Foundation seeks to eliminate stigma and social and economic barriers around mental illness in rural communities in India by providing educational, medical and other support for patients and forming collaborative partnerships in local communities. The Foundation grant will enable the MINDS Foundation to hire a research assistant to develop a mental health education module for rural primary schools. Funds will also be used to develop training materials and train teachers.

Camp Shriver  Camp Shriver offers a free summer sports camp for low-income children in the Boston area. Camp Shriver brings children with and without disabilities together in a fun, inclusive environment in which they can form positive friendships. Funds from the Charitable Foundation grant will support camp programming, which in addition to its sports focus also includes transportation, arts and dance activities, healthy eating education as well as free and nutritious breakfast and lunch in summer.

YMCA of Orange County The YMCA of Orange County offers a unique Foster Youth Mentoring Program, which provides supportive role models for children in foster care through activities such as FunDays, Academic Mentoring and Community Based Mentoring. The program offers a fun social environment for children as well as respite opportunities for their foster families. This grant from The MENTOR Network’s Charitable Foundation will enable the YMCA to dedicate more resources to the Foster Youth Mentoring Program, including community education about the need for mentors, with a goal of lowering the school dropout rate among foster youth in the community.