Keene, NH – Monadnock Family Services (MFS) is pleased to announce continued support in academics for local youth this year after a $9,005 grant from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation for the Many Options after school program.
Many Options is a comprehensive after-school program founded in 2001 for youth in grades five through nine from seven towns in the Monadnock region of southwestern New Hampshire.

The mission of Many Options is to cultivate resilience, build social skills, and support healthy development in youth through academic achievement and enrichment, social competence, community involvement, and wellness initiatives. Currently, the program serves 57 students and an average daily attendance of 22 students.

“Bank of America has a long tradition of supporting community organizations in the markets we serve.   We are proud to partner with Monadnock Family Services to serve the youth of the Monadnock region,“ said John F. Weeks, president Bank of America New Hampshire.  “At Bank of America, we believe it is vitally important to help our community’s children gain the skills they need to succeed in the future.”

According to MFS Youth Initiatives Director Linda Rubin, Many Options gives students productive things to do after school including community service at The Community Kitchen and Castle Center Adult Day Care; animal care with the Monadnock Humane Society and Fast Friends Greyhound Rescue; theatre groups with ActingOut; pottery and drawing lessons; agricultural and nature experiences with Stonewall Farm; a rock-climbing wall with the MFS Challenge Program; visual arts and dance instruction from the MoCo Arts Center; weight training, basketball, swimming and indoor exercise activities at the Keene Family YMCA; and cooking courses with University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension and Keene State College dietetic interns.

According to Rubin, the academic component of Many Options depends on the presence of an academic liaison. Many Options originally created this position at the beginning of the 2006-2007 school year under a grant from the Nellie Mae Foundation. With the new grant from Bank of America, the liaison program will be able to continue at Many Options, Rubin said.

“The liaison communicates with fellow teachers to discuss how best to support students academically during the after school hours. The liaison also keeps track of missing homework or projects and helps students follow through with their assignments at the Many Options homework center,” said Rubin. “Without the academic liaison, our program would have no direct contact or channel of communication with teachers at the school when students encounter issues with grades or assignments. As a result, our mission to provide academic support and enrichment would be seriously compromised.”

Rubin stressed the importance of having an academic liaison involved with the Many Options program through survey results. In a survey conducted at the end of the 2006 - 2007 school year, teachers at the Keene Middle School reported that 88% of the Many Options participants who needed to improve academically had done so under the program.

”We are delighted to have received the news that our grant proposal was accepted by Bank of America,” MFS CEO Ken Jue said. “The foundation's support will ensure that we are able to maintain the success of the Many Options' academic component for students while we arrange permanent support for this position.”

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Monadnock Family Services (MFS) is a non-profit, comprehensive, community mental health agency serving southwestern and south central New Hampshire. With more than 275 full- and part-time team members, the 103-year-old organization currently serves approximately 1,300 children and youth who have serious emotional and behavioral disturbances; 2,000 other children and youth through community prevention activities conducted in partnership with area school districts and other youth-serving organizations; and almost 4,000 adults through a variety of counseling and support services. MFS offers more than 40 programs ranging from parent education and substance abuse prevention to intensive individual treatment for those with severe mental illness.  MFS is a United Way agency.


Building on a long-standing tradition of investing in the communities it serves, Bank of America will embark in 2009 on a new, ten-year goal to donate $2 billion to nonprofit organizations engaged in improving the health and vitality of their neighborhoods. Funded by Bank of America, the Bank of America Charitable Foundation gave more than $200 million in 2007, making the bank the most generous financial institution in the world and the second largest donor of all U.S. corporations in cash contributions. Bank of America approaches giving through a national strategy called "neighborhood excellence" under which it works with local leaders to identify and meet the most pressing needs of individual communities. Through Team Bank of America, bank associate volunteers contributed more than 650,000 hours in 2007 to enhance the quality of life in their communities nationwide. For more information about Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, please visit www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.