The South Shore YMCA today announced it has received a $10,000 Targeted Grant from Eastern Bank, America’s oldest and largest mutual bank. The grant will support the enhancement of the YMCA’s self-esteem-building Girl Power Program held at the SSYMCA’s Germantown Neighborhood Center in Quincy.
The South Shore YMCA’s Girl Power Program provides a comprehensive approach to empowering and inspiring young women to become future leaders and providing hope for women facing significant challenges. Specifically, the program goals focus on advancing the progress of participants in the following areas: advancing academic achievement, physical health, mental health and leadership development.
Each year, the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation’s Targeted Grant program supports hundreds of community-based organizations working for progress on a specific issue in Eastern’s New England footprint. In 2018, in celebration of the Bank’s 200th anniversary and to honor its first depositor, Rebecca Sutton, Targeted Grants have been designated to support organizations addressing a range of issues that disproportionately impact women, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, human trafficking, health care, pay equity, and senior management and board representation. The South Shore Y is among 170 nonprofits each receiving a $10,000 grant. In total, Eastern is granting $1.7 million in Targeted Grants this year to nonprofits in communities from New Hampshire to Cape Cod and throughout the South Shore, North Shore, Metro West, Merrimack Valley and Greater Boston.
The SSYMCA’s Girl Power program is designed to strengthen all areas of the participants’ lives, raising their sights and giving them opportunities to succeed. The programs are based out of the Germantown Neighborhood Center in collaboration with the South Shore YMCA’s Quincy Branch for classes like swimming and yoga. Participants in Girl Power are selected through the Germantown Neighborhood Center along with input from local school teachers and administrators.
“We are very proud to have been chosen by Eastern Bank for this honor, and for the opportunity to positively impact the lives of even more young women in Germantown,” said Paul Gorman, President and CEO of the South Shore YMCA. “The work we do depends on the support of the whole community, from volunteers to donors. Eastern Bank continues to be a strong ally for the South Shore Y as we work to ensure that everybody has access to the programs and services they feel will help them become better in any way.”
Eastern’s Targeted Grant program this year creates new opportunities and resources for women in areas where assistance is needed the most. The facts are staggering:
– A woman is assaulted every nine seconds in the U.S. and one in three women has been a victim of physical brutality by an intimate partner, making intimate partner violence the single greatest cause of injury to women.
– In Massachusetts, women earn 83 cents for every dollar paid to men. In New Hampshire, they earn 76 cents. African-American women nationwide earn 64 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and Latinas—only 56 cents.
– In the sciences, women represent less than 25% of those employed in computer and mathematical occupations and only 15% in architecture and engineering. For women of color, this gap is even wider. Asian women, African-American women, and Latinas make up less than 10% of working scientists and engineers in the U.S.
– Women receive more graduate degrees and they hold more faculty positions in colleges and universities, and yet, men hold the highest number of tenured university positions.
– Only 32 women run Fortune 500 companies and only two are women of color. Less than 20% of all board seats in Fortune 1,000 companies are held by women.
“We believe in breaking down the barriers that stand between people and prosperity. That’s why Eastern is a strong advocate for the advancement of women,” said Bob Rivers, Chair and CEO of Eastern Bank. “With each Targeted Grant, we aim to enhance the lives of our neighbors and contribute to real progress around the advancement of women in our local communities. On behalf of everyone at Eastern, we congratulate this year’s Targeted Grant recipients and thank them for working to level the playing field.”
For a complete list of the 2018 Targeted Grant recipients, click here.
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About Eastern Bank
Founded in 1818 and celebrating its 200th anniversary in 2018, Boston-based Eastern Bank is America’s oldest and largest mutual bank, with $11 billion in assets and over 120 locations serving communities in eastern Massachusetts, southern and coastal New Hampshire and Rhode Island. Eastern provides exceptional access to fairly priced banking, investment and insurance products and services for consumers and businesses of all sizes, and for the eighth consecutive year is the #1 U.S. Small Business Administration lender in New England. Eastern Bank, which includes Eastern Wealth Management and Eastern Insurance, is known for its outspoken advocacy and community support that has exceeded more than $110 million in charitable giving since 1999. The Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation is a leader in corporate philanthropy and serves as the charitable arm of Eastern Bank. An inclusive company, Eastern employs 1,900+ deeply committed professionals who value relationships with their customers, colleagues and communities. Join us for good at www.easternbank.com and follow Eastern on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.
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About the South Shore YMCA
The South Shore YMCA is a charity serving the communities of Quincy, Randolph, Holbrook, Weymouth, Braintree, Milton, Hingham, Hull, Cohasset, Scituate, Norwell, Hanover and beyond. Financial Assistance is a Y community benefit available to all families in need, applicable to all Y programs and services. To learn more about the South Shore YMCA, visit www.ssymca.org.