MassDevelopment Helps Marlborough’s Employment Options Install New Mechanical Systems With Low-Cost $120,000 Loan

September 27, 2010

Contacts:
Kelsey Abbruzzese, MassDevelopment, 617-330-2086
David Greenwood, Employment Options, 978-568-1374

MassDevelopment provided a low-cost $120,000 loan from its new Community Service 501(c)(3) Loan Fund to Employment Options in Marlborough, a nonprofit human services agency that offers programs in workforce development, housing, and family support for adults with mental illness. The organization used the funds to install a new heating, ventilating, and air conditioning system at its main office, which will increase efficiency and save Employment Options up to 20 percent of its current energy costs.

“MassDevelopment's new loan fund for community-based nonprofits is designed to provide extra support for organizations that deliver social, youth, or family services for the most vulnerable in our cities and towns,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Robert L. Culver. “Employment Options encourages and helps those with mental illness in Marlborough overcome hurdles to employment or housing. We're pleased this low-cost financing can benefit the organization's work with the added value of energy efficiency.”

Employment Options' primary facility in Marlborough serves about 400 adult clients – an average of 60-70 per day – who receive counseling, meals, employment assistance and job training. At the building on 82 Brigham Street, the mechanical systems were more than 25 years old and often needed repair. The new system uses electronic sensors in several zones to provide more efficient heating and cooling of the building.

“The comfort we provide our members comes in many ways; jobs, housing, dignity and respect and a comfortable place to help them get back on their feet,” said Toni Wolf, executive director of Employment Options. “MassDevelopment, by way of its affordable solution to a costly issue, has helped us to maintain a comfortable place where the people we serve can look forward to the future and gain the skills they need to be successful.”

MassDevelopment, the state's finance and development authority, works with businesses, financial institutions, and communities to stimulate economic growth across the Commonwealth. During FY2009, MassDevelopment financed or managed 229 projects statewide representing the investment of nearly $1.2 billion in the Massachusetts economy.