June 6, 2022 

Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC) is one of 140 local nonprofits to receive grants of $100,000 to $500,000 each through Cummings Foundation’s $25 Million Grant Program. The Arlington-based organization was chosen from a total of 580 applicants during a competitive review process. It will receive $500,000 over 10 years.

AYCC is a licensed community mental health clinic and the leading provider of outpatient and school-based mental health services for Arlington youth (ages 3-21) and their families.  AYCC has been supporting the mental health and wellbeing of children and teens in the Arlington community for over 50 years. In 2021, AYCC conducted nearly 8,000 outpatient, school-based, and teletherapy sessions to over 300 children, teens, and adult family members.

“We are honored and deeply grateful to be awarded a $500,000 grant from the Cummings Foundation” said AYCC’s Executive Director, Colleen Leger. “This funding comes at a critical time, as we face rising youth mental health challenges and unprecedented demand for child and adolescent mental health services in our community.  With a ten-year sustaining grant from Cummings Foundation, AYCC can grow thoughtfully and sustainably in its capacity to support the mental health needs of youth and families in Arlington.”

By supporting general operating costs at AYCC, the 10-year Cummings Grant will help increase timely and equitable access among Arlington youth and families to high-quality, culturally responsive, and affordable mental health services, while also funding community resource support and case management services for Arlington residents with unmet basic needs.

The Cummings $25 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties.

Through this place-based initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial property. Its buildings are all managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate, Cummings Properties. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.

“We are so fortunate in greater Boston to have such effective nonprofits, plus a wealth of talented, dedicated professionals and volunteers to run them,” said Cummings Foundation executive director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are indebted to them for the work they do each day to provide for basic needs, break down barriers to education and health resources, and work toward a more equitable society.”

With the help of about 90 volunteers, the Foundation first identified 140 organizations to receive grants of at least $100,000 each. Among the winners were first-time recipients as well as nonprofits that had previously received Cummings Foundation grants. Forty of this latter group of repeat recipients were then selected to have their grants elevated to 10-year awards ranging from $200,000 to $500,000 each.

“Our volunteers bring diverse backgrounds and perspectives, which is so critical to our grant selection process,” said Vyriotes. “Through this democratized approach to philanthropy, they decide more than half the grants every year.”

This year’s grant recipients represent a wide variety of causes, including food insecurity, immigrant and refugee services, social justice, education, and mental health services. The nonprofits are spread across 45 different cities and towns.

The complete list of 140 grant winners, plus more than 900 previous recipients, is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

Cummings Foundation has now awarded more than $375 million to greater Boston nonprofits.

About Arlington Youth Counseling Center (AYCC)

A division of Health and Human Services for the Town of Arlington, AYCC is community-based and DPH-licensed mental health counseling center serving community youth and their families.  A welcoming and inclusive space, AYCC offers individual, group, and family counseling, psychiatric evaluation, and medication management. Central to its mission, AYCC is committed to ensuring that all community youth and families have access to comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and high quality mental health care, regardless of their ability to pay. In addition to mental health services, AYCC oversees First Step- a support group for victims and survivors of domestic violence, and offers community resource coordination and case management services to Arlington residents experiencing unmet basic needs. AYCC relies heavily on grants, fundraising initiatives, and community donations to support its mission. For more information, please visit AYCC’s website at www.ayccma.org.

About Cummings Foundation

Woburn-based Cummings Foundation, Inc. was established in 1986 by Joyce and Bill Cummings and has grown to be one of the largest private foundations in New England. The Foundation directly operates its own charitable subsidiaries, including New Horizons retirement communities, in Marlborough and Woburn, and Cummings Health Sciences, LLC. Additional information is available at www.CummingsFoundation.org.

 ###