Working to meet the growing needs of the Cape's community
Cape Cod Healthcare prioritizes supporting individuals and community organizations in a variety of meaningful ways. Through charity/free care, various hospital-based initiatives, and external programs and strategic partnerships, including awarding annual strategic grants, CCHC supports its mission.
Every three years, CCHC works with community partners across the region to assess community needs and create a comprehensive and timely Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA). Following the lead of the most recent CHNA, which will guide Community Benefits giving through 2025, the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation has awarded Fiscal Year 2023 Annual Strategic Grants to a record 26 organizations with amounts ranging from $5,000 to $25,000.
“Cape Cod Healthcare is proud to be a leading contributor to the vital community organizations that improve the lives of our friends and neighbors,” said Christopher Lawson, senior vice president, and chief development officer at Cape Cod Healthcare.
Funding projects that address efforts that focus on physical and behavioral health, access to care, housing stability, nutrition and wellness, and health equity, this year’s grantees include:
One newly-funded organization, Heroes in Transition, which provides services for veterans, service members, and their families, will use its grant monies to support its REBOOT and REGROUP programs. These educational programs help to empower participants to build strategies to create peace and positivity in their lives.
"Individuals who are serving and have served our country face a complex set of physical, mental, and emotional health challenges,“ said Executive Director Nicole Spencer. “Funding from the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation allows us to deliver these programs and ensure local service members, veterans, and spouses who sacrifice so much can take meaningful steps to improve their health and well-being."
For Provincetown-based Helping Our Women, a long-standing grantee that provides access and transportation to healthcare and other assistance for women on the Outer Cape, the FY 2023 grant means the ability to meet increased demand for services. “In the past five years, the number of women and households we serve in the rural towns of the Outer Cape has increased by 61 percent” said Gwynne Guzzeau, the organization’s executive director. “Funding from the Cape Cod Healthcare Foundation has been critical for our transportation services, given the geographic isolation of the Outer Cape towns, especially for residents of Truro or Provincetown who live further from a hospital than any other Massachusetts residents.”
On the opposite end of the Cape, Falmouth’s Belonging to Each Other supports neighbors experiencing homelessness in their transition to stable housing.
“Our staff has witnessed how small changes can lead to oversized successes thanks to Cape Cod Healthcare's generosity,” said Director of Development & Community Relations Elyse DeGroot, CFRE. “Through initiatives such as Rapid Rehousing and Permanent Supportive Housing, guests are now living in situations they could have only imagined a few months ago. In fact, last year, 84 percent of our guests found stable housing due to our programs. We truly thank CCHC Foundation for the support!”
While the need for improved health and wellness is clearly great across the Cape, Lawson is proud that CCHC is part of creating solutions for community members.
“We look forward to working with these groups to provide financial support and forge the strategic partnerships that improve the quality of life for those who call Cape Cod home,” he said.
