July 20th, 2024
SPRINGFIELD, MA – The Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services is proud to announce the continued investment by, and partnership of, The MassMutual Foundation through a recent grant of $100,000 to support its emergency food pantry.
The Martin Luther King Jr. Family Services food pantry provides healthy food options to nearly 250 individuals and families each week. The pantry also serves as a community resource, offering access to medical support through various local health, wellness, and nutrition partners. “The MassMutual Foundation’s investment in MLK Family Services will ensure the continuity of essential services, particularly by supporting personnel and enhancing the resource capacity needed to operate the emergency food pantry,” said Shannon M. Rudder, CEO of MLKFS. “Funding from this initiative will help to ensure these services remain viable and open to any Western Massachusetts resident.”
The MassMutual Foundation partners with local community members and organizations to help build financial resilience leading to future opportunities for all. “We are stronger when we come together as a community,” said Dennis Duquette, head of MassMutual Community Responsibility and president of the MassMutual Foundation. “Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services’ food pantry addresses a critical need for families struggling to make ends meet and we are proud to help them expand their impact.”
For inquiries, please reach out to Claudia Pazmany at cpazmany@mlkjrfs.org.
About:
Since 1977, the mission of Martin Luther King, Jr. Family Services, Inc. has been to nurture and develop the skills, opportunities, and spirit of families in Greater Springfield and the surrounding communities.
MLKFS fully embraces the vision of the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. of the Beloved Community. As a multicultural and multiservice agency dedicated to being “Keepers of the Dream”, MLKFS nurtures and empowers the aspirations of individuals, families and youth to achieve new realities of peace, social and economic justice, self-determination, self-actualization, and self-sufficiency. MLKFS serves as a beacon for the community, offering Out of School Time programming, literacy promotion, college readiness, HBCU Experience, youth mental health, family supports, public health and teen leadership, community engagement initiatives, and cultural experiences through art, dance, and sports. The organization also operates the fourth largest food pantry in Western Massachusetts.