Spaulding Rehabilitation Awarded $180,000 Cummings Grant
Regional hospital network receives three years of funding from Cummings Foundation
Boston – Spaulding Rehabilitation received an $180,000 award for a new elementary school initiative as one of 150 local nonprofits that will share $30 million through Cummings Foundation’s major annual grants program. Spaulding, a member of Mass General Brigham, was selected from 630 applicants through a competitive grant process. The grant will be distributed over three years to implement an innovative program called Walk and Roll in My Shoes, which aims to teach students about careers in healthcare through an immersive and interactive, classroom-based learning model.
Spaulding is one of the top rehabilitation organizations in the country, combining a focus on research, care, education and advocacy. Through this program, Spaulding brings the expertise of a Harvard Medical School teaching affiliate directly to the wider Boston community.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for our clinicians to impact young people and get them interested in pursuing healthcare careers,” said project director Julie Silver, MD. “Students will learn about the types of opportunities in medicine from patient care to research.”
The Walk and Roll in My Shoes program, established in 2023, offers the chance for Boston-area public school students from diverse backgrounds to consider pathways to healthcare careers that will benefit them and support our communities. Funds from Cummings Foundation will go directly to support the growth of the program and enable hundreds of students to learn about a future in healthcare.
The Cummings $30 Million Grant Program primarily supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. Through this localized initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back in the areas where it owns commercial property. Its buildings are all managed, at no cost to the Foundation, by its affiliate Cummings Properties. This Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 11 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
“The way the local nonprofit sector perseveres, steps up, and pivots to meet the shifting needs of the community is most impressive,” said Cummings Foundation Executive Director Joyce Vyriotes. “We are incredibly grateful for these tireless efforts to support people in the community and to increase equity and access to opportunities.”
Media Contacts
Tim Sullivan, Spaulding Rehabilitation, Communications Director
617-952-5325 | tsullivan11@mgb.org
Alison Harding, Cummings Foundation
781-932-7093 | aeh@cummings.com