Bedford, N.H. – The BJ Cirnigliaro Memorial Fund, which was created in early 2021 by Absolute Title, has announced $20,000 in donations to five local organizations – Families in Transition, Southern New Hampshire Services, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention – New Hampshire Chapter, Gather and Waypoint.
Absolute Title, the region’s leading title company with locations in Bedford, Concord and Portsmouth, created the memorial fund to honor its longtime employee, BJ Cirnigliaro, who unexpectedly passed away in 2020. BJ was one of the company’s first employees and as Senior Vice President, opened the company’s office in Portsmouth in May 2019.
The recipients of this year’s donations were selected by a committee of Absolute Title employees, chaired by Lisa Capicchioni, senior loan officer at Guild Mortgage, and a longtime friend of BJ. This year’s donations include:
- $5,000 to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP – New Hampshire Chapter). The AFSP focuses on delivering innovative prevention programs, educating the public about risk factors and warning signs, raising funds for suicide research and programs, and reaching out to those who have lost someone to suicide.
- $3,000 to Families in Transition (FIT). Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, FIT seeks to break the cycle of homelessness by providing housing programs, emergency homeless shelters, food programs and substance use treatment.
- $3,500 to Southern New Hampshire Services (SNHS). Headquartered in Manchester, New Hampshire, SNHS’ mission is to eliminate the root causes of poverty within the community, rather than only treating the symptoms. The donation from the memorial fund will support the organization’s fuel assistance program (FAP), which provides grants to New Hampshire residents who are elderly, disabled or low-income to pay for vital heating and utility expenses through the colder months.
- $4,500 to Gather. Located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Gather works to end hunger in the seacoast community by providing nutritious food through distribution programs and its Pantry Market.
- $4,000 to Waypoint. Located in Manchester, New Hampshire, Waypoint provides a variety of human services including early childhood and family support, resources for families affected by incarceration, family preservation and strengthening, home care for older adults and adults with disabilities and services for young people experiencing homelessness.
The BJ Cirnigliaro Memorial Fund is administered by the NH Charitable Foundation and seeks to support suicide prevention programs, animal shelters and humane societies, and mental health, LGBTQ, and home ownership support organizations.
“BJ was truly the heart and soul of Absolute Title. Everyone who met BJ had a kind word to say about her. Her legacy will be remembered not only at Absolute Title, but in New Hampshire’s title industry as a whole,” said Matthew Neuman, Esq., managing member of Absolute Title. “The organizations selected as this year’s recipients do phenomenal work in our communities and will help preserve BJ’s memory as they represent her numerous passions.”
All of the recipients of this year’s donations were honored at a luncheon at Absolute Title’s Concord office on November 8.
For more information about Absolute Title, visit www.absolutetitle.com.
