Nonprofit Excellence Awards

Senior Connection, Inc. provides a comprehensive social and health service ecosystem for over 200,000 older adults across 61 cities and towns in Central Massachusetts. They manage critical programs including nutrition through Meals on Wheels, legal advocacy, and crisis intervention, alongside high-impact initiatives like the Care Express mobile health clinic. Their organization is currently pioneering the Commonwealth’s first 40-unit Grandfamily Village, which integrates deeply affordable housing with onsite medical and trauma-informed supports for grandparents raising grandchildren.

Stone Soup Café believes in the ancient practice of building community and social connections and care through preparing and sharing food together. Their programs increase equitable access to healthy food, a major social determinant of health that underlies both physical and economic wellbeing, while strengthening our local food system and helping to reduce food waste and insecurity. The Community Meal at Stone Soup provides access through curbside and delivery service to delicious, nutritious, scratch-cooked meals every Saturday to our community on a pay-what-you-can basis. Open every Saturday alongside the meal service, the Community Store offers groceries, fresh produce, pantry staples, and personal care items to 80-150 households each week. Stone Soup hosts an annual Harvest Supper event every August, a pay-what-you-can, farm-to-table meal for everyone to enjoy.

2Life is a nonprofit that has been at the heart of positive change in the affordable senior housing ecosystem since 1965, with residents at the center of all it does. Its mission is to ensure that all older adults have the opportunity to age in community: to live full lives of connection and purpose in dynamic, supportive environments. It develops, owns, operates, and provides supportive services to every one of its communities. 2Life offers nearly 1,800 affordable, accessible apartments across properties in several towns. By 2028, it will have nearly 2,400 affordable housing apartments for seniors across 18 properties. 2Life created a successful community living model for middle-income older adults who cannot afford expensive senior living options and don’t qualify for lower-income housing and other services.

Sandra McCroom is the President and CEO of Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR), one of the largest Black-led nonprofits in Massachusetts, annually serving more than 6,500 children and families on their journey from surviving to thriving. When a family has peace of mind, children are healthier, and communities are stronger. Over its 54-year history, Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) has fulfilled its mission by responding to community need through development of unique, high-quality services which span 100% subsidized early education/care, Black-specialized children’s behavioral health, family shelter/housing stabilization, foster care and family services, and youth development.

Juniper Outreach is based in Central Massachusetts and is dedicated to fighting childhood food insecurity and ensuring that no school-aged child goes hungry. It partners with local schools, community organizations, and businesses to fund, stock, and sustain food pantries where children can discreetly access meals and snacks for home use. The program addresses weekend and after-school hunger, promoting both academic performance and overall well-being. Juniper Outreach has maximized its impact through a highly strategic, partnership-driven model. Since opening its first school based pantry in 2022, Juniper Outreach has expanded to eight Worcester public schools, enabing the organization to support approximately 1,000 students.

Ana Disla Santana is the Men’s Program Director at Casa Esperanza Inc., a bilingual and bicultural behavioral health provider serving the Latine community across Massachusetts. Their mission is to empower individuals and families to recover from addiction, trauma, mental illness, and other chronic medical conditions, overcome homelessness, and achieve health and wellness through comprehensive, integrated care. Since 1984, Casa has been a critical lifeline for the most vulnerable community members in eastern MA. Casa’s fully bilingual continuum of care includes: Men’s and Women’s Residential Recovery, CARF-accredited Outpatient Mental Health Clinic – including Greater Boston’s only Spanish-language Structured Outpatient Addictions Program, Behavioral Health Urgent Care, Supportive Housing, Integrated ATS (Detox) and CSS Treatment, and Recovery Support Services.