On February 4th, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick visited the Merrimack Valley Sandbox to award a $150K grant to strengthen and scale up the organization’s mentorship program in the region. The Merrimack Valley Sandbox will use the funds, which will be administered through the Mass Tech Collaborative’s Innovation Mentoring Initiative, to hire two additional part-time Managers of Mentorship, including a bilingual mentor who will support the Sandbox’s new program for Spanish-speaking entrepreneurs. The award will also be used to enhance communication between mentors and entrepreneurs, and to build awareness of the Merrimack Valley Sandbox’s programs in the region.
“The Merrimack Valley Sandbox can’t wait to start strengthening and growing its mentoring program through the funds provided by the Commonwealth and the Mass. Tech. Collaborative,” said David Parker, Executive Director. “The hundreds of entrepreneurs coming through our program consistently report that mentors are the most valuable service that the Merrimack Valley Sandbox provides. The MVS programs with its focus on “Entrepreneurship for All” have helped launch over 30 startups ranging from home based, local to high growth enterprises.”
In addition to awarding the grant, the Governor met with various Sandbox entrepreneurs to hear about their for-profit and non-profit ventures. He also heard from Sandbox mentors who talked about their commitment to helping entrepreneurs succeed.
“This type of innovation is what our state is known for, but it has been done in one area of concentration,” said Governor Patrick. “It’s time to spread that attitude outside Greater Boston.”
In addition to the Sandbox, Interise and Valley Venture Mentors were also awarded grants ($149,613 and $149,259, respectively).
