A New Lifetime Total
Since the foundation of WMCD Inc. in 2021, we’ve been presenting checks (giant ones, at that!) to local charity recipients who use the money to better our community and serve those most in need. At our inaugural event in 2022, we presented $16,500 to two recipients, and in 2023, we presented $25,952 to three recipients, bringing our total to over $42,000 raised for charity.
This year, we raised even more money than the past two years, $26,000 for three charities, to whom we presented grants on Saturday, March 2. With that, our lifetime total was raised to $68,505.00 for four local charity recipients. We wanted to take this opportunity to explain where our funds are distributed, and the impact of our work.
Our first charity recipient was the KEVS Foundation, receiving a total of $8,512 from WMCD Inc. in 2022 and 2023. KEVS Foundation is named after Kevin J. Major, who tragically passed away on July 11, 2011, with a condition called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), unknown to himself or his family at the time. In his honor, KEVS Foundation sponsors cardiac screenings for youth, which cost an average of $3,000 per screening. In addition to the cardiac screenings, the foundation works to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest and to provide AEDs to the Western Massachusetts community. This recipient was special to our youth team, as many of their peers were athletes, just like Kevin, who could be impacted by sudden cardiac arrest at any moment.
Our second charity recipient is Rick’s Place, receiving a total of $37,804 from WMCD Inc. in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Rick’s Place is a grief support group for children ages 5-18 and their families. After Rick Thorpe passed away in Tower Two of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001, Rick’s Place was formed in his honor. Their free services allow grieving families a safe and respectful place to share their stories, learn from others, and begin integrating their loss in healthy, meaningful ways in their lives. Our youth team is fond of Rick’s Place, based on their own experiences with grief, because they understand the importance of integrating grief support into the challenges of growing up.
Our third charity recipient is Rachel’s Table of Western Mass, receiving a total of $13,836 from WMCD Inc. in 2023 and 2024. Rachel’s Table works to alleviate hunger and reduce the waste of our food resources in Western Massachusetts. They primarily serve Hampshire, Hampden, and Franklin counties in Massachusetts, but have expanded their efforts to the Berkshires and Hartford County in Connecticut before, reaching a wide range of those in need. To do this, they rescue, purchase, glean, and grow food and work with their very own Teen Board to fulfill the mission of their organization. Our youth team chose Rachel’s Table as a recipient because of their youth-oriented Teen Board, and the services they provide for their very own friends and peers who may be struggling with food insecurity.
Our final charity recipient is Griffin’s Friends, receiving a total of $7,800 from WMCD Inc. in 2024. In honor of Griffin D. Kelleher, who passed away from childhood cancer in the 1990s, the organization helps provide moments of joy for courageous kids. Hosting events throughout the year, the organization fundraises for the Griffin’s Friends Childhood Cancer Fund at Baystate Health, where children with cancer, and their families, get to spend time with those they love the most and create memories to last a lifetime. This charity is important to our youth team because of the way cancer has widespread effects on those in the community, whether they are children or grown adults.
We are very thankful we have been able to monetarily support these four charity recipients since 2022, and we hope to further promote their missions, visions, and passions for making the world a better place.