Rotary Club awards $37,550 in grants to Waltham organizations

The Waltham Rotary Club has selected 30 local organizations as this year’s grant recipients. The Waltham Times was among the awardees.

The club installed new officers for 2025-2026 at a ceremony held at Tempo BakBar on June 25. Around 30 members attended to celebrate the club’s new president, Lindsey Lerit, and president-elect, Simon Laing.

Waltham Rotarians raised and awarded $37,550 to award in charitable grants this year. “These funds were made possible in part from the success of our second Waltham Rotary Music Bingo event on January 31, which raised $18,000 thanks to generous sponsors and attendees,” said past co-presidents Tammi Kibler and Laura Van Zandt. 

Nearly 200 people attended the Music Bingo event, which featured music spun by DJ Mike Janedy from the 70s to the present. Rotarians contributed dozens of baskets for the ‘chance to win’ fundraiser. 

The club raised additional funds through its annual calendar sale, which gives buyers a chance to win $100 each day in January. 

Altogether, the Club raised enough to award even more funds than it had in 2024. 

Music Bingo sponsors included: The Village Bank, Arlex Oil, Watertown Savings Bank, J.T. Haffey Builders, Connie & Tim Braceland, Nelson Companies, New England Golf Guide, Waltham Triad Lodge, Gelhesam DeMoley #7, Park Lodge Hotel Group, Rockland Trust Bank, Waltham YMCA, Joyce Funeral Home, Fast Signs, Gore Place Society, Waltham Pizza, City Streets, Waltham Lions Club, Elinor & Jack Marcou Charitable Foundation, Waltham Chamber of Commerce, MetroWest HOME Team, Real Brokers MA and John Brewers.

Grants were awarded to: Africano Waltham, Chesterbrook Community Foundation, Chaplains on the Way, Children’s Charter, Community Day Center, Waltham Farmers’ Market, Friends of Waltham Senior Citizens, Gore Place, Grandma’s Pantry @ Christ Church, Healthy Waltham, Maristhill Nursing & Rehabilitation, Opportunities for Inclusion, Prospect Hill Community Foundation, REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, Reagle Music Theatre, Salvation Army, Springwell, Waltham Boys & Girls Club, WCI – Work, Community, Independence, Waltham Family School, Waltham Fields Community Farm, Waltham Land Trust, Waltham Partnership for Youth, Friends of the Waltham Public Library, Waltham YMCA, Watch CDC, Charles River Museum of Industry and Innovation and The Waltham Times.