Greenstone Gives

Greenstone Gives
May 03, 2023
Craig McPherson
Greenstone Gives
 

 A group of friends have gathered together to form a charitable organization, dedicated to helping local families keep their kids active. Monique Griffin is the owner of the Greenstone Management property management company, which she said has allowed her to become very familiar with the local area. The mother of three had become concerned with the impact the COVID-19 pandemic had on children, whose families had to cut back or even eliminate their after-school activities two years ago. Greenstone Gives will be celebrating its first year anniversary in May. 

While plenty of local charities and nonprofits have programs in place to help families in need of food, clothing or shelter, Griffin said no one seemed too overly concerned about children’s extracurricular activities. Griffin also found her concerns were shared by her friends Craig McPherson and Susan Wagner when they learned that some children weren’t able to return to their after school activities as pandemic restrictions were cut back more recently. “This has always been an issue but I believe the pandemic had heightened it a bit. We really got to see the impact it had on children when they weren’t able to participate in their activities,” Griffin said.

The three friends wanted to provide some stability to local families whose kids are impacted by health and economic factors, so they created the Greenstone Gives Inc., charitable organization, which is dedicated to supporting local families and children in times of tragedy or crisis by providing funding for extracurricular and social and emotional activities. “The idea we kept coming back to was one of providing kids with stability,” McPherson said in a press release from the Amesbury Chamber of Commerce. “If a parent loses a job, has their hours cut, or can’t work due to a sudden health crisis, the first expenses eliminated are those extracurricular activities the family’s kids are involved in, which only further adds to the anxieties at home.” Sponsored activities could include sports programs or art classes, according to Griffin who said Greenstone Gives Inc., could also help a local kid see a tutor.

“We really want to keep that consistency going by giving the kids the activities of their choice, while alleviating that financial burden for these families, especially when they have other matters to deal with,” she said. Griffin said her organization wants to give local families a “safety net” of financial support.

Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Amesbury and Salisbury for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.