Charity

Watertown Runner Joins Celtics Foundation Marathon Team

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Watertown’s Yasi Abdolmohammadi will be running the 2016 Boston Marathon on behalf of the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation, and will raise more than $5,000. 

This is the third year in a row the Boston Celtics Shamrock Foundation (BCSF) has put together a team to run in the Boston Marathon. Abdolmohammadi, Kim Horton of Stoneham, Alexandra Zedros of Melrose, Caitlin Leary of Tewksbury, and Julie Mauro of Medford, have pledged to raise at least $5,000 each on behalf of the BCSF, which aims to extend the reach of the Celtics championship legacy into the community through programs that directly benefit children in need. As a team, BCSF has raised $126,000 this year to date. For more information on this group of runners or the 2016 BCSF Marathon Team, please visit celtics.com/marathon.

Around Town

Michael Schade Stepping Down from Community Foundation, New Directer Sought

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In the six years that the Watertown Community Foundation has been lead by Michael Schade, the non-profit has more than doubled the amount of grant money awarded and expanded the areas in which the money impacts. This week Schade announced he will be stepping down as executive director in June. “It has been an honor and privilege to partner with WCF’s dedicated volunteer Board of Directors on many endeavors to enhance the quality of life in Watertown,” Schade said. “Now, I am looking for the right opportunity to bring my management skills and creative experience to another organization or business in order to improve their results.”

Before becoming Executive Director, Schade spent 25 years designing and managing computer-based training programs and related projects for companies such as Xerox, General Motors, IBM, State Farm Insurance and Otis Elevator-Europe. He was also a public school teacher in Hawaii and Massachusetts.

Charity

Watertown Woman Joins Mount Auburn Hospital’s First Ever Marathon Team

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This April, Mount Auburn Hospital’s first-ever Boston Marathon team will be completing the world-famous race in support of the Hoffman Breast Center, including a woman from Watertown, the hospital announced. Thanks to a generous donation of three invitational entries from Chris Connolly, General Manager of Herb Connolly Acura of Framingham, the following Mount Auburn employees have been given the chance to fulfill personal dreams and raise money for the hospital:

Kathleen Forde, Director of Health Information Management who lives in Watertown, will be trading in her long-time spectator status in order to complete her first Boston Marathon. Kathleen will be running to support her coworkers “who live the mission of Mount Auburn.”
Melissa Brangwynne is a nurse at Mount Auburn who made it a personal goal to complete the marathon before her upcoming 30th birthday. In addition to supporting the hospital, Melissa will be running to honor a late friend and soccer teammate who survived the 2013 marathon bombing but unexpectedly passed away earlier this year. Phoebe Matthews is a nurse in Mount Auburn’s operating rooms who, despite the cold, has been training by running to and from work every day.

Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Club Seeks Donations, Sponsors for Annual Auction

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The Watertown Boys & Girls Club will host its annual auction to raise money for its programs that serve Watertown’s youth. Organizers are selling tickets, and also are seeking donations and sponsors. The Boys and Girls Club sent out the following information:

For more than 40 years, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club has provided the youth of our community with safe and fun afterschool and summer programming. As we strive to widen and deepen our impact in the community, your support is critical to our success. The Annual Spring Auction, to be held on Thursday, May 5, 2016 at the Oakley Country Club, helps raise crucial funds to support our mission, “to inspire and enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, responsible and caring citizens.”

There are a number of ways to support our work through this event.

Charity

Mount Auburn Hospital Hosts Best Selling Authors to Benefit Breast Center

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Mount Auburn Hospital presents Pink Pages, an evening featuring renowned author Alice Hoffman to benefit the hospital’s Hoffman Breast Center on Monday, May 16, 2016 beginning at 6 p.m. at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge. The event will feature readings and anecdotes from popular best-selling authors Jodi Picoult, Anita Diamant, Lisa Genova, Lily King, Ann Leary, and Elizabeth Strout.Emmy Award-winning arts and entertainment critic, advocate, motivational speaker, and cancer crusader Joyce Kulhawik will serve as the evening’s emcee. A bit about the evening’s participants:

Alice Hoffman has been called “America’s literary heir to the Brothers Grimm” and her luminous and remarkable “fables of the everyday” have enchanted readers since the publication of her first novel, Property Of, in 1977. Her novel, Dovekeepers, spent weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was named one of the top books of 2011 by countless news and literary publications. It has been called “…a major contribution to twenty-first century literature” and in 2015 was adapted as a television miniseries. She has written 39 books including Practical Magic and Aquamarine, both of which were made into major motion pictures, as well as, Oprah Book Club selection Here on Earth.

Charity

High Ranking State Official to Speak at Forum to End Homelessness

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The Tri Community Coalition to End Homelessness will feature Chrystal Kornegay, Undersecretary, Department of Housing & Community Development, at their event, “Housing the Homeless: From Crisis to Shelter to Home.” The Tri Community Coalition sent out the following information:

With over 20 years’ experience in community development, Chrystal became the Baker Polito Administration’s Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development in January 2015. In her role as Undersecretary, Chrystal leads State government in promoting safe, decent affordable housing opportunities, economic vitality of communities and sound municipal management. Chrystal is a keystone in Massachusetts’ efforts to prevent homelessness, shelter those for whom homelessness is unavoidable, and rapidly re-house the homeless in stable, permanent housing. The Forum also includes:

Panelists from agencies and coalitions in Belmont, Watertown and Waltham that focus on homelessness and affordable housing
Testimonials from the formerly homeless
State legislators from all three communities
Exhibits and representatives from homelessness prevention and service programs and housing organizations

The event will be held on Sunday, April 24, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. at St.

Charity

Find Out About This Year’s Walk For Hunger at the Library

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The Walk for Hunger will host a “Walk Talk” at the Watertown Free Public Library to let people know about some of the changes to the annual fundraising walk for Project Bread. The event in Watertown is one in a series of Walk Talks. Members of the Project Bread staff will be there to help you plan you day, grow your team and learn more fundraising strategies, according to the announcement from the Walk for Hunger

There will also be a  detailed preview of the new Walk route, and you can register and/or pick-up Walk materials. The Walk Talk in Watertown will be held Friday, April 1 from 5-6:45 p.m. at the Watertown Savings Bank Meeting Room of the library, located at 123 Main St. Watertown.

Charity

Concert Featuring Sally Rogers, Howie Bursen Benefits Watertown Group

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Nationally known singer-songwriters Sally Rogers and Howie Bursen will appear in concert Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m. The concert is sponsored jointly by First Parish Watertown Unitarian-Universalist and the Folk Song Society of Greater Boston. All profits will benefit the Helen Robinson Wright Charitable Fund, which provides Watertown residents with short-term aid in emergency situations. Concert admission is $25, with tickets on sale at the door or online at BrownPaperTickets.com. Sale of light refreshments will also benefit the Wright Fund. The location is First Parish Watertown, 35 Church St.