Maynard Board of Trustees Awards Grant to Boys & Girls Club

The Assabet Valley Boys & Girls Club recently received an influx of money.

The Maynard Select Board agreed to allocate the remaining funds from the $61,611.06 Community Development Block Grant to the Maynard-based club at the March 1 board meeting.

Annalisa Campanile, the club’s executive director, said the money would be used to maintain the after-school scheme.

Campanile said the club charges $80 a year for a child to attend the after-school program, five days a week, throughout the school year. To keep tuition so low, the club organizes fundraisers, applies for grants, and runs a summer program, which is its biggest source of income.

Last year, the cost to participate in the summer program was $155 per week, the same price as the previous four years. The club chose not to raise the cost last summer, fearing people were already struggling financially due to COVID, but there was no more money to subsidize the after-school program.

“Last year we broke even,” Campanile said.

She added that the club distributes a lot of financial aid and with inflation and the increase in the minimum wage, they expect significant cost increases.

The block grant money will allow them to keep after-school program costs at $80 a year and distribute scholarships for club programs, she said.

Approximately 98% of the children who participate in the after-school program come from Maynard. The summer camp has a wider reach – including children from Acton, Stow and Boxborough – but the majority live in Maynard, she said.

About the Global Grant

In a follow-up email, Deputy City Administrator Megan Zammuto said the city was involved in a CDBG loan repair program several years ago.

An owner who had received a loan sold the property before the designated period and had to repay the loan. The city was allowed to keep the money in an unrestricted account.

“We have used this fund for projects that align with national goals, including the construction of an access ramp adjacent to Veterans Memorial Park, and we have also used it to contribute annually to the Boys and Girls Club, because their mission is aligned with the objectives. of the CDBG program,” Zammuto said.

Once the money runs out, there are no new unrestricted funds available.