Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield has merged with M.E.L.D (Multi-Service Educational Learning and Development Center) to continue to fund music and arts programs in the local community.
The Multi-Service Educational Learning and Development Center, M.E.L.D, has provided impactful programing and funded enriching projects in Stoneham for almost 50 years.
Beginning in 1973, a team of dedicated individuals created Our Place, a welcoming community center designed to help adults with mental illnesses and help underserved community members easily access helpful resources and support. Our Place was a community meeting place for growth and they offered programs such as instructions in yoga, guitar, and leathercraft as well as hosting discussion groups that ranged from young mothers groups, groups for women facing marital crisis, groups for the elderly, and other discussion groups designed to talk through all kinds of challenges and crisis situations. Eventually, Our Place/M.E.L.D expanded into offering more after school programs and more art-centric programming such as art workshops, music lessons, and more.
Much like the Boys & Girls Clubs, over the years M.E.L.D has consistently identified and filled unmet community needs. In the later years, they have had a focus on funding art and art education programs throughout the Stoneham community. This non-profit funded successful projects at the Stoneham Schools, Stoneham Classical Concerts, the Stoneham Chorale, The Greater Boston Stage Company, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield.
The merger between M.E.L.D and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield will mean the dedicated M.E.L.D volunteers will act as advocates and liaisons to continue to fund new arts projects. Both M.E.L.D and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield are excited for a new collaborative effort to continue to provide impactful funding to arts programs in our community.
M.E.L.D founders, Doreen L. Moore and Holly Baylies commented the following regarding the merger : “MELD was created to reflect the soul of our community; to meet the wide variety of unmet needs, with love and action, through the tireless efforts of volunteers. We discovered over the years that the largest population in need were our children. To them we dedicate our merger. The opportunity for MELD to expand our 50 plus year mission to bring the arts to many more children through the amazing work of the Boys and Girls Club is a dream come true and a legacy of commitment we hope will continue, through our joint venture, for many many years to come.”
“MELD represents the very best of Stoneham. Individuals who have given selflessly of themselves to better their community through direct service and more recently, through grantmaking. We hope we can honor their legacy by continuing their history of giving to the arts. When complimented for the work we’re doing, I’m fond of saying that we stand on the shoulders of giants. MELD is one of those giants, and we would not be able to serve as many children as we do, without them” said Adam Rodgers, CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stoneham & Wakefield.
If your organization has an arts project you are seeking funding for, you can access the application at BGCStoneham.org/MELD. Applications will be reviewed biannually in both the Fall and Spring. Deadline for the fall application is November 30, 2022 and the deadline for the spring application is April, 30th 2023. If you have any questions regarding the application please reach out to [email protected].
