MVSB takes the value of stewardship very seriously. We aid the communities we serve in the forms of scholarship, sponsorship and grants. We encourage our employees to take active roles in the community – and we proudly support the more than 14,400 hours of community service offered by them in 2009.
Meredith Village Savings Bank has a long history of providing financial support to the organizations that support our communities. In addition, our employees spent more than 14,400 hours helping community events and organizations last year. The partial listing of organizations below is representative of the community initiatives to which our employees dedicated their time and talents this year.
We thank our employees for their efforts to make our community an even better place to live, work, and play.
If you are interested in having Meredith Village Savings Bank support your non-profit organization, please contact your local office. For a listing, click here.
The Meredith Village Savings Bank James D. Sutherland Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually to one graduating senior from each of the following public high schools:
Information and applications for this scholarship are available at guidance offices at the schools listed above
The Meredith Village Savings Bank Fund makes grants every year to local community initiatives and non-profits that make a significant impact upon the lives of people in the communities we serve. These grants are in addition to the bank’s regular contributions and the extraordinary volunteer efforts by our employees.
Since its inception in 1997 under the leadership of John Starrett, then president and CEO of the Bank, 166 grants totaling more than $670,000 have been awarded to a wide range of environmental, social, educational, and historic projects throughout the Lakes Region and Plymouth area.
If your organization is interested in applying for a grant, please use this application. Note that applications are due annually on October 15.
Appalachian Mountain Teen Project (AMTP) of Wolfeboro is set to receive $4,000 to support a week-long leadership trip to Washington D.C. for Lakes Region youths, ages 12 – 18, who are experiencing significant financial, emotional and physical stressors within their families. In addition to forming long-term bonds with their mentors, the youths are inspired to make meaningful contributions to their home communities. To this end, AMTP teens have prepared meals for more than 100 people at the Salvation Army in Laconia, installed playground equipment at the Wakefield Town Beach, helped to build planters at the Alton Senior Center, harvested vegetables for local food pantries, and helped to lead an afterschool program for young children in Ossipee. Since its founding in 1984, the program has mentored more than 550 area youths.
Center Harbor, Meredith and Moultonborough Community Caregivers was awarded $3,100 to upgrade its computer systems to improve communications and record-keeping in its efforts to allow seniors and the disabled to remain independent in their own homes. Depending primarily on the support of volunteers and part-time paid coordinators who run the program, the organization will rely on the new computer to maintain information on volunteers and those in need of services and support, update schedules, facilitate communication between coordinators and volunteers, improve fundraising efforts, and meet state and federal reporting requirements. Founded in 1998, Community Caregivers provides support services and information to those needing assistance in the community, including friendly visits, companionship, transportation to healthcare services, and personal care needs such as shopping and errands, light household chores and maintenance, respite for family caregivers and referral to community resources.
East Alton Meeting House Society is slated to receive $3,000 to complete a three-phase restoration project for the historic building that houses the organization, to include the stabilization of the floor, installation of drainage, and upgrading the roof to protect against the high winds that often rip shingles from the building. These projects are intended to prevent future maintenance problems and set the foundation for additional renovation work in the future. Built in 1810 at Gilman’s Corner, the historic building housed the First Free Will Baptist Church and is currently listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Gilford Fire-Rescue Department is slated to receive $5,000 to assemble a fire training structure to simulate actual fire conditions. This improvement in training capabilities will allow the department to deliver the best possible firefighting and life-saving services to the community of Gilford while maintaining the safety of firefighting personnel. The Gilford Fire-Rescue Department provides fire suppression, emergency medical and rescue services, fire safety education and many other non-emergency services to the Gilford community.
Governor Wentworth Arts Council of Wolfeboro will receive $3,000 to develop and maintain a website designed to provide viewers with art education, links to art resources, and a centralized venue for arts communication in the communities it serves. The grant will provide for the hosting, web development, and design for the new site. The purpose of the Governor Wentworth Arts Council is to enrich the cultural environment in the local schools and libraries by stimulating interest and involvement in the fine, performing, and musical/theatrical arts.
Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center has received $3,500 to update its recording equipment to provide for more efficient and accurate recording of child abuse interviews to law enforcement and government agencies. The new equipment will also ensure that children providing testimony in abuse cases will only have to be interviewed once at the center, not multiple times as is the current practice. The child advocacy center provides a safe, neutral environment for the evaluation of child abuse and exploitation, coordination of services for victims and families, and abuse prevention through community education.
Meredith Public Library was awarded $5,000 to create “The Lakes Region Reads” program, which will encourage library visitors throughout the Lakes Region to read the same book and participate in related book discussion and programs at area libraries and will culminate with a visit from the featured author at one major venue. The program will reach out to local book shops, museums, schools, churches, and literacy groups to promote the program and will be able to purchase 500 copies of the selected book to distribute at Lakes Region libraries. The mission of the Meredith Public Library is to be the informational, education and cultural heart of the Meredith community.
Pemi-Baker Home Health and Hospice of Plymouth is slated to receive $5,000 for the purchase and installation of an ultraviolet purification system for the organization’s 18 x 36-foot therapeutic pool at Boulder Point. The center’s Aquatic and Wellness Facility offers daily aquatic classes to help clients recover range of motion, strength, and functional mobility as they return to an active lifestyle after an injury or disability due to chronic illness. The new purification system will clean the pool more effectively while also reducing the need for harsh chemicals that can damage aquatic equipment and cause irritation for those with sensitive skin. Since it opened in 2007, the facility has seen an increase in client numbers from approximately 230 to nearly 1,500.
Pemi-Baker Literacy of Plymouth was awarded a $2,300 grant to purchase a new computer to increase the program’s efficiency and flexibility. The computer will supplement an existing 6-year-old computer, which will be retained for word processing and student use. In keeping with the organization’s mission of improving literacy skills in the communities it serves, Pemi-Baker Literacy provides free tutoring in reading, writing, math, English as a second language, GED preparation and basic computer skills for individuals 18 and over in the greater Plymouth and Bristol areas. Founded in 2002, the program offers GED classes and literacy workshops with childcare provided at no charge to participants, as well as a weekly reading program for the children living at the Bridge House homeless shelter in Plymouth.
Sandwich Children’s Center will use a $2,500 grant award to redesign their playground to allow for gardening, natural art, pathways, gathering places for music, games and movement, and allow for the creation of a certified Nature Explore Classroom. The first playground of its kind in the region, the project will serve as a model for other area programs seeking to connect children with their environment, seamlessly integrate indoor and outdoor learning experiences, and encourage children to find greater enjoyment and appreciation for their natural world. The SCC is a non-profit community resource serving the educational, social, physical, and emotional needs of children and their families in Sandwich and surrounding communities.
Sandwich Fire and Rescue Association was awarded $2,000 to purchase equipment to improve their wilderness rescue capabilities, including the prevention and treatment of hypothermia, shock, and cardiac arrest, which is common in advanced cases of exposure to the cold. In response to a growing number of 911 calls from people who have been lost or injured in the wilderness, the association will purchase a battery-powered IV warmer to allow EMTs to transport bags of warm IV fluid to victims to delay or prevent hypothermia, and a heavy-duty insulated sleeping bag to aid in backcountry rescues. The funds also will increase wilderness rescue training to provide better supports and skills in the backcountry. Founded in 1995, the association supports the volunteer members of the Sandwich Fire Rescue Department through fundraising activities and the purchase of needed equipment. The group also offers CPR and first aid classes free to town residents.
Whole Village Family Resource Center of Plymouth was awarded $10,210 to replace worn carpeting and upgrade flooring throughout the center to a more durable wood-like laminate. Founded in 1996 to provide a central location for family support services and accessible meeting space for community use, Whole Village is a key information and referral source in the greater Plymouth area. The center houses 14 social service agencies, and in 2008, served more than 3,500 people as well as accommodating 70 organizations for more than 1000 meetings, trainings or family events. With increasing use, the center saw the need to renovate the 13-year-old building to maintain a safe, caring, inviting, and accessible place for family activities, programs and services.
