This summer, twelve refugee children housed in Lexington were able to attend summer camp—thanks to a grant from the Community Endowment of Lexington (CEL).
Over the past year, as Lexington welcomed 30 families fleeing violence in Haiti, LexRAP—the Lexington Refugee Assistance Program—has been essential in helping them adjust to their new lives. Recognizing the need for these children to engage with their peers and practice English, LexRAP sought funding to cover the costs of summer camps. The organization received crucial support from CEL, which awarded the $12,000 grant that made this opportunity possible.
CEL awards grants to nonprofit organizations and town agencies with the overarching mission of enriching and supporting the Lexington community. Each year, CEL distributes approximately $50,000 in grants to groups spanning four areas: community building, arts and culture, the environment, and health and human services.
These areas may not be funded by other organizations, but are “absolutely vital to having a healthy community,” said Jillian Tung, a 2024-2025 co-chair of CEL.
Since its founding, CEL has awarded over $400,000 to various organizations. In a typical cycle, interested groups apply by March, and CEL’s grant review committee makes decisions in the following months. CEL carefully evaluates each application, sometimes meeting with applicants to better understand their programming and evaluate the impact a potential grant could have.
“You think of Lexington as an affluent, educated community. But there are a lot of people with different needs. Financial needs and food pantry needs have gone up exponentially in the last couple years since the pandemic,” said Mary Ann Sorel, a 2023-2024 co-chair of CEL. “There’s a lot that goes on in the community that needs to be addressed.”
This year, in celebration of its 10th anniversary, CEL distributed $100,000 in awards to 10 organizations, with grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000.
One 2024 grant partner whose mission particularly resonated with 2024-2025 CEL co-chair Yifang Gong was the Association of Black Citizens of Lexington (ABCL). ABCL will use its grant to produce short films about eight Black citizens during the American Revolution, highlighting stories that have been overlooked in traditional historical narratives.
“The films will not only be viewed in Lexington, but could be viewed nationwide for this event, so the impact is huge,” Gong said. “We’re very proud we can keep funding that.”
Other grant partners included the Lexington Symphony, which will fund a Lunar New Year East West Concert including 30 musicians, and the William Diamond Junior Fife and Drum Corps, which will purchase new uniforms for the summer.
In the future, CEL hopes to continue its efforts to aid nonprofit organizations in Lexington. One of CEL’s goals is to work on ways to promote collaboration among local nonprofits and town agencies.
“We want to encourage the nonprofits that we support to partner with each other. Perhaps there’s a way in which we could more actively partner with other groups in the community to do events or raise awareness about community needs,” Ann Boese, a 2023-2024 co-chair of CEL, said.
Along with promoting community, CEL also hopes to expand its reach and involvement.
“We could do so much more if we had more people involved in working with us,” Boese said. “Getting the word out of who we are, and what we do, and how we bring value to the community is an important part—we just want to do more of that.”
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