Charitable Activities
The Michael Manzella Foundation partners with nonprofit organizations making a difference through the delivery of critical services in our core focus areas. MMF has made grants totaling more than $100,000 to charitable organizations whose direct impact is felt by the individuals and communities they serve. Recent grant recipients include:
Friends of Karen - Long Island, NY
$5000 Grant - 2024
Your child has cancer- what do you do? This is the terrible question that the experienced, caring professionals and volunteers at Friends of Karen help families answer every day. In the words of Beth, a Long Island mom with a loving husband Bryant, a job and three busy boys, the cancer diagnosis on her son Brady’s 10th birthday came as a shock. Beth admits that before Brady’s diagnosis she would have likelier been a donor to friends of Karen than a recipient of their services, and her family’s journey explains how life can change in the blink of an eye. She writes, “My world was upside-down. Bryant took a family leave. I stayed at the hospital 24/7 with Brady the entire time he was there which forced me to take an extended leave from work. Bills were stacking up, things were getting tough, and I couldn't even think about it because I was focused on Brady. Without Friends of Karen, I don’t know how we could have managed.”
Dream Yard Project - Bronx, NY
$5000 grant - 2024
The Arts can be a powerful tool for self-expression, empowerment, and growth. Still, in the low-income neighborhood schools of the Bronx, many children do without Arts programming of any kind. DreamYard project works to bring Arts programming to youth throughout the Bronx, and has even opened the DreamYard Preparatory School to prepare students for college and career. How does the DreamYard project affect the lives of young people? Spotlight on Jeremy, a Bronx youth who participated in the program and discovered a career there, eventually becoming Technology Director for DreamYard Prep: “DreamYard helped me figure out what to do with my life. I’ve been given a chance to give back and change young people’s lives. I’ve been pushed to grow because of the support that I received from DreamYard staff, who felt like a second family when I needed one. I really don’t know where I would be right now if DreamYard did not come to P.S./M.S. 95 all those years ago.”
Partner Spotlight: Hear Your Song
Over the past two years, MMF has supported two Yale undergraduates with summer fellowships to support their internships with Hear Your Song (see Siji Smolev above). Hear Your Song, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that empowers children and teens with serious illnesses and complex health needs to make their voices heard through collaborative songwriting. Founded in 2014 by then-Yale undergraduates Dan Rubins and Rebecca Brudner, today Hear Your Song partners with pediatric hospitals, camps, schools, and other nonprofit programs that serve kids experiencing serious illnesses and complex health needs. Based in New York City with chapters at multiple college campuses, Hear Your Song ensures that all volunteers who lead songwriting sessions receive trauma-informed care training, and all of their programs are available to youth and families free of charge.