Cummings Properties employees direct funding to Tewksbury nonprofits

Cummings Properties recently distributed $253,000 to local nonprofits, including two Tewksbury-based organizations. The donations were made in honor of the commercial real estate firm’s full-time staff members, who were each invited through the Employee Directed Giving program to select a charity to receive $1,000.

The Tewksbury recipients of the cash awards are Strongwater Farm Therapeutic Equestrian Center and Tewksbury Community Pantry.

In an effort to support local communities, the program guidelines state that selected organizations must be based and provide services in or near colleagues’ hometowns. Several charities received more than one check, thanks to multiple employee nominations. The maximum allowed for any one organization is $5,000.

Tewksbury resident Mary Beth Soskin and Wilmington resident Shannon Haines both designated Strongwater Farm.

“While researching Tewksbury charities, I read about Strongwater Farm’s programs for kids with disabilities, and it was exactly what I was looking for,” said Soskin, a lease admin at Cummings Properties’ Woburn headquarters. “They give people the opportunity to do something they couldn’t ordinarily do. A child using a wheelchair can’t hike in the woods; but, he can explore the woods on horseback.”

Employee Directed Giving is open to all full-time staff within any Cummings entity, including the firm’s affiliated New Horizons retirement communities in Marlborough and Woburn. The program will be held again in November, in conjunction with the Thanksgiving season, and then each November thereafter.

“Engaging our colleagues in Cummings Properties’ philanthropy has been a win-win situation,” said president and CEO Dennis Clarke. “The funds are benefiting a wide range of worthy local nonprofits, and employees and their families are becoming even more involved in their communities.”