Greater Lowell Community Foundation awards $385K in Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare grants

LOWELL — The Greater Lowell Community Foundation has announced the recipients of its 2026 Nashoba Valley Community Healthcare grant cycle, awarding a total of $125,000 per year for three years to seven nonprofit organizations working to improve health and wellness in the Nashoba Valley region.

“These organizations are meeting real needs across the Nashoba Valley — from food on the table to safe homes to care for families facing illness,” said GLCF President and CEO Jay Linnehan.  “Multi-year funding gives them something increasingly rare right now: the stability to plan ahead and keep showing up for their neighbors. We’re proud to stand behind their work.”

The 2026 NVCH grant recipients include:

• Alternative House Inc., $20,000 — Increasing access to domestic violence services in rural communities

• Clear Path for Veterans New England, $20,000 — Nashoba Valley veteran health and wellness outreach

• Ellie Fund, $20,000 — Equitable pathways to breast cancer care for patients and families in Nashoba Valley

• Gaining Ground Inc., $15,000 — Growing access to fresh, healthy food for the Nashoba Valley

• Habitat for Humanity North Central Massachusetts Inc., $20,000 — Healthy Homes, Healthy Lives – Keeping repairs affordable

• North Star Family Services Inc., $20,000 — Bonnie’s Place, family homeless shelter

• Pepperell Aid from Community to Home (PACH Outreach), $10,000 — Increasing access to fresh, healthy food and expanding access to essential hygiene and household products.

Each award supports a distinct dimension of community health — spanning domestic violence services, veteran wellness, equitable breast cancer care, food access, affordable home repairs, family shelter, and access to essential hygiene and household goods.

In addition to these three-year grants, GLCF has awarded a one-time gift of $10,000 to the under-construction UMass Medical Center Satellite Emergency Services facility in Groton. Slated to open in spring 2027, the facility will provide emergency services lost from the 2024 closure of the Nashoba Valley Medical Center.