The Helen Ayer Award
Helen Ayer Fund Description
The Helen Ayer Children Enrichment Fund was established by Ascension Memorial Church in August, 2015. Its purpose is to enrich the quality of our local Ipswich youth community by providing funds to individuals, groups and organizations central to the Core Values of Ascension Memorial Church.
Annually awarded to one or more applicants in June
Ascension Memorial Church Core Values
Flourishing: We flourish when we are free to be ourselves and to give ourselves in service to others.
Family: We will create a stronger family by being real, welcoming and respectful toward the stranger today.
Community: We grow stronger, healthier, and happier by sharing our lives with our parish, our diocese, our local community and our wider world.
Application Deadline
Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2026 at 5:00pm.
In 2025, the committee chose four entities for funding from the Helen Ayer Endowment Fund, as follows:
Mark Warner’s Professional Martial Arts Academy: Scholarships to needy students for summer camp or monthly tuition.
Higher Heights at the Ipswich Housing Authority: Funds for children to learn leadership skills and to deepen personal growth through service learning projects.
Play is the Way: Funds to create programs to utilize play to support brain development and to lay a strong foundation for the social and emotional well-being of young children.
Three Sisters Garden Project: Operational expenses to support underserved youth in a farm co-op using sustainable agriculture as a platform for change.