Lowell – On Wednesday, October 25, 2023, the Greater Lowell Community Foundation (GLCF) hosted its annual Celebrate Giving at UTEC in Lowell, Mass. The event focused on Creating an Inclusive Cultural Economy and featured a keynote by Michael J. Bobbitt, Executive Director, Mass Cultural Council.
The event included awarding four 2023 GLCF honors: Business Philanthropy Partner Award, Steven Joncas Community Connector Award, and Bankers’ Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement and the GLCF Newell Flather Legacy Fund Grant Awards.
Among those recognized was InsideLowell Contributor Ellen Andre of Chelmsford. Andre received the 2023 Bankers’ Volunteer Award for Lifetime Achievement, which recognizes an individual who is making a positive change in the Greater Lowell community. GLCF honored Andre for her volunteerism and exemplary efforts of improving the quality of life in Greater Lowell. As part of those efforts, Andre has authored a series of articles on InsideLowell promoting many of the area’s non-profits. She also pens the Winning Wines column.
Juniper Networks, with a facility in Westford, received the 2023 GLCF Business Philanthropy Partner Award for their continued annual grants partnership that connects Juniper’s employees with local needs by awarding multiple grants through GLCF to Greater Lowell nonprofits. Marci Barnes, Site Lead for Juniper Networks’ New England Innovation Center (NEIC) accepted the award.
The 2023 Steven Joncas Community Connector Award recipient was Frank Carvalho of Tyngsboro. The award recognizes an individual or organization in our community that has advanced the power of philanthropy in Greater Lowell. Carvalho’s dedication to supporting community members in their dream to contribute to the city’s economy was highlighted with this award.
The second annual GLCF Newell Flather Legacy Fund Grant was awarded to two organizations: Angkor Dance Troupe for their Youth Program and Project Learn for their Book Nook initiative. The Newell Flather Legacy Fund was established by the Theodore Edson Parker Foundation in 2022 at GLCF to support nonprofit projects focused on the arts, immigrant, and refugee communities, and/or advancing equity and inclusion in the city of Lowell.
