The MutualOne Charitable Foundation recently awarded $2,500 to MetroWest Legal Services (MWLS).

MWLS, based in Framingham, provides free legal advocacy in civil cases to protect and advance the rights of the poor, elderly, disabled, homeless and other disenfranchised individuals.

Together, the Bank and its Foundation have been a major sponsor of MetroWest Legal Services’ annual fundraiser, the Nancy King Memorial Golf Tournament, for many years, and have also provided financial support through donations over the past decade, according to Mark R. Haranas, MutualOne president and CEO.

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation recently awarded $5,000 to Family Promise Metrowest, a Natick-based interfaith partnership offering transitional shelter, meals and supportive case management to homeless families with children as they seek permanent housing.

Founded in 2008, Family Promise Metrowest currently involves 40 congregations and over 1800 volunteers throughout the Metrowest area. The program’s 15 host congregations furnish overnight lodging and meals for three to five families for one week every two to three months. The program’s Day Center and home base for the families in the program is at the former First Baptist Church in Natick.

“The Family Promise staff and the human service organizations they work with have helped more than 70 percent of the families in the program find permanent housing,” said Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MutualOne Bank, and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee. “We can’t think of a better way to build community and help local families get back on their feet.”

Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and trustee of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, announced today that the Foundation has awarded $5,000 to Friends of Literacy Unlimited, Inc.

Literacy Unlimited is a free program of the Framingham public libraries that trains volunteer tutors to teach adult learners in English as a second language, citizenship, and GED preparation, as well as reading, writing and math for English speakers.

The Foundation’s award will support the program’s Life Resource Project, an initiative to collect information of topics of practical concern to students, such as how to get a driver’s license, pass the citizenship test, register a child for school, get health care, find housing, and prepare their taxes. The Project will organize information in a way that is easily accessible to Literacy Unlimited staff for offering assistance to tutors and students.

“Teaching local residents who have limited English skills how to manage their lives successfully is a critical step in building a stronger community,” said Haranas. “We are pleased to support Friends of Literacy in their efforts to help make that happen.”

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation recently awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 to Framingham’s Callahan Center.

“The Callahan Center is a wonderful source of engagement, education, and enjoyment for local seniors,” said Foundation Chairman Robert P. Lamprey. “This gift to the Center will support new initiatives that will further broaden the Center’s reach in the community.”

L to R: Clyde Dottin, Vice Chair of the Framingham Council on Aging; Grace O’Donnell, Director of the Framingham Callahan Center; Clint Knight, Chairman of the Framingham Council on Aging; Rachel Stewart, Administrative Director of the MutualOne Bank Charitable Foundation; Leo Cantin, President of the Friends of Callahan; Mark Haranas, President & CEO of MutualOne Bank and Trustee of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation; and Robert Merusi, Director of Framingham Parks & Recreation.

A $5,000 grant from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation to the Natick Visiting Nurse Association (VNA) will help assure eligible local residents continued access to free and discounted prescription drugs through the VNA’s MetroWest Meds program.

Since its inception in 2004, the free MetroWest Meds program has served over 2,900 clients of all ages and has saved them over $4.4 million in prescription drug costs.

“People in our community who are uninsured or unable to pay for prescribed medications benefit greatly from this program,” said Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. He noted that the Foundation has supported the MetroWest Meds initiative annually since 2009, and has awarded VNA grants totaling $35,000 over the past seven years.

The Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly’s Shillman House in Framingham has received an award of $5,000 from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation, according to Foundation Chairman Robert P. Lamprey.

The funds will be used to sustain a comprehensive fitness and wellness program that helps older adults improve flexibility, mobility, balance, physical and mental health, self-image, and cognitive abilities.

“The MutualOne Charitable Foundation realizes how important it is to help the seniors of our community age with dignity and high quality of life,” said Lamprey. “We are happy to support those goals.”

The Foundation has provided a total of $12,500 in support of Jewish Community Housing for the Elderly initiatives over the past three years. The Shillman House grant was among the 19 awards made in the Foundation’s most recent round of funding, which totaled nearly $93,000.

Four local non-profit organizations feeding the homeless and the hungry have received a total of $25,000 from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. The grants were announced today by Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MutualOne Bank and a MutualOne Charitable Foundation trustee.

A Place to Turn in Natick received a $10,000 grant from the Foundation. Awards of $5,000 each were distributed to the Pearl St. Cupboard & Café, the Salvation Army, and St. Bridget’s Food Pantry, all in Framingham.

“Hopefully, our donations will help meet the needs of local residents who are struggling to feed their families and themselves, particularly in today’s economy” said Sousa.

The food pantry grants were among the 19 awards made in the Foundation’s most recent round of funding, which totaled nearly $93,000.

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation has awarded $5,000 to Homeowner Options for Mass Elders (H.O.M.E.), a non-profit organization that protects the equity of low- and moderate-income citizens so they can ‘age in place.’

“The elderly poverty rate in Massachusetts is great, with many seniors struggling to meet their basic living expenses,” said Steven M. Sousa, executive vice president and chief operating officer of MutualOne Bank, and a member of the Charitable Foundation board. “We are pleased to support H.O.M.E. in their efforts to help this population resolve the serious and growing threats to maintaining tenure in their homes.”

The Foundation has made a similar grant to H.O.M.E. each year since 2009, bringing its total contribution to $20,000 since that time.

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation recently awarded $5,000 to the Sherborn Police Department for the purchase of five automatic external defibrillators (AEDs) to be used in medical emergencies.

The grant will allow the department to replace outdated existing units, and enable police and fire/rescue personnel to unify their first responder efforts and equipment.

“Having the ability to respond in medical emergencies is critical to saving the life of a person suffering sudden cardiac arrest,” said Mark R. Haranas, president and CEO of MutualOne Bank and a trustee of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. “We are pleased to help the Sherborn Police Department acquire the life-saving equipment they need to respond effectively in emergency situations.”

This is the Foundation’s second major award to the Sherborn Police Department, which received a 2010 grant for the purchase of a portable electronic message board.

The MutualOne Charitable Foundation recently awarded $2,500 to the MetroWest Free Medical Program, to expand health education and patient follow-up activities for uninsured and under-insured individuals in local communities.

The Free Medical Program serves as an entry point to the health care system for those in MetroWest who are uninsured or insufficiently insured by providing general medical and specialty care to meet their immediate health care needs.

It also engages with community partners to connect patients with social services, health insurance enrollment, and other resources. The grant from the MutualOne Charitable Foundation will support the program’s expansion for health education and patient follow-up, to improve health care services to individuals with chronic disease. This is the second consecutive year the Foundation has donated $2,500 in support of the program.

“The Free Medical Program provided general medical and specialty care at no cost to thousands of medically underserved individuals last year alone,” stated Robert P. Lamprey, chairman of the MutualOne Charitable Foundation. “The services it provides are vital to the well-being of many residents of the communities we serve.”