Eastern Bank honored 49 non-profit organizations with $800,000 in grants for their outstanding community leadership

Eastern Bank honored 49 non-profit organizations with $800,000 in grants for their outstanding community leadership at its 5th Annual "Community Quarterback" award ceremony. Among them were six organizations that received "surprise" grants allocated for home foreclosure prevention programs. Eastern Bank chairman and CEO Richard Holbrook and football legend Doug Flutie, the bank's spokesman, honored the organizations before more than 100 guests during a ceremony at University of Mass. Boston, which was one of the organizations recognized during the event. Each of the 49 organizations received a grant of $10,000 or more from the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation. The grants were among the more than $2.4 million donated last year to hundreds of organizations by the Eastern Bank Charitable Foundation. In five years, the "Community Quarterback" program has honored more than 200 organizations with $3.5 million in grants. Each "Community Quarterback" recipient honored at this year's ceremony received a "Community Quarterback" football autographed by Flutie, celebrating and symbolizing its leadership. Among the organizations receiving grants were six that received grants of at least $10,000 each to support programs aimed at home foreclosure prevention: Citizens Housing and Planning Assoc., Coalition for a Better Acre, ESAC, Homeowner Options for Mass. Elders, Housing Assistance Corp., and Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership. Unlike the other 43 recipients, these six organizations did not apply to the Foundation for grants.