Charity

Watertown Community Foundation Accepting Applications for Spring Grants

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The Watertown Community Foundation (WCF) announces two Spring 2016 grant programs to support local nonprofits, programs and projects. Approximately $70,000 will be distributed. One: WCF’s Educational Program will award grants designed to help organizations that serve Watertown develop new or continue existing programs with an educational focus, broadly defined. Two: WCF’s Institutional Support is designed to help institutions central to the Watertown community by providing funds to maintain critical programming and retain paid staff. Grants under this program impose neither restrictions on the use of funds nor any program requirements.

Charity

Coast to Coast Relay to Help Families, Children Coming Through Watertown

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A coast-to-coast relay raising money for a variety of causes that help the lives of families and children will be coming through Watertown. Former Watertown Resident Becky Solo will organize the leg of the United Relay for America from Watertown to Boston on Thursday, June 2. The race raises money for organizations that advocate for youth education, improving healthcare, fighting hunger, ending gender discrimination, or providing safe homes for orphans. See a list of causes here. During the United Relay for America, which starts on the West Coast on April 27 and ends on June 4 in New York, will have more than 9,000 participants, day and night.

Charity

Man Running 100 Mile Ultra Marathon to Raise Money for Lupus Foundation

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A man who works for Watertown-based FORMA Therapeutics will run a 100-mile race to raise money to find a cure for Lupus. Thomas Tan wrote the following donation request for his effort to raise $10,000 for the Lupus Foundation of America (See his fundraising page here):

Did you know that an estimated 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have some form of lupus? A chronic, unpredictable and debilitating autoimmune disease, lupus can affect a major organ such as the heart, lungs, kidneys or brain in approximately half of the patients. To appreciate how devastating this disease is, please watch this heart-breaking story: http://youtu.be/_7P1UNCMG00?list=UUPVIIwfYm5i5JniLtVhu1JA

There is no cure for lupus and scientists are working hard to develop better and safer therapies for lupus: https://lnkd.in/eiwDsiY

But, drug discovery and development can take many years, which is why it’s important to consider other ways to impact patient lives. Raising awareness and engaging the public is an important way to make an impact on research priorities, while inspiring the next generation of healthcare providers to tackle unmet medical needs.

Charity

Watertown Middle School Kicks Off Pennies for Patients Fundraiser

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This year, the Watertown Middle School will again be participating in the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s School & Youth Program, Pennies for Patients — a three-week coin, cash, and check drive to raise funds to find cures for blood cancers. Our drive will run from February 29 through March 21. As you may know, leukemia causes more deaths than any other cancer among children and young adults under the age of 20. Mr. Johnson, our physical education teacher, is a lymphoma survivor. Our fundraising is in honor of him and in memory of two other WMS teachers, Pat Stayn and Peter Clough, who died as a result of lymphoma.

Charity

Hibernians Ladies Hosting Annual Ham-O-Rama, Raffle for Easter Meal

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The 2016 Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians Ham-O-Rama is coming up soon! The annual event will be held on Saturday, March 19, at Hibernian Hall, 151 Watertown St. in Watertown. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

Admission is free, and there will be 160 chances to win, with 40 prizes per round. The money raised goes to local charities.

Around Town

Project Literacy Seeks Volunteers to Help People Learn English

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Project Literacy at the Watertown Free Public Library is seeking volunteers for its well-established (30 + years) and successful one-on-one learner-tutor match program.  The only requirements to volunteer are:

A desire to help welcome and integrate English language learners and to assist with their English skills, attend the training sessions, and complete a Volunteer Application (available online at the Watertown Library site under Project Literacy or we will send one). No experience in teaching or tutoring is needed to work with our learners. We provide tutors with training over the course of 5 evening sessions. The next training series will begin on Wednesday, March 2 from 6-9 p.m. at the Watertown Library.

Charity

Man Running Marathon for Late Father Hosting Fundraiser at Donohue’s

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Danny Shea of Chelmsford is hosting Drinks and Dancing with Old Brigade to raise awareness and funds for the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire’s Boston Marathon Team. The special event is open to the public and set for Saturday, Feb. 27 at the Donohue’s Bar and Grill, 87 Bigelow Ave, Watertown. “I am running to honor my late father, Jerry Shea, formerly of Belmont and an educator at Cambridge and Latin High School in Cambridge. He succumbed to this devastating disease in June,” said Shea.

Business

See the Winners of the Watertown Savings Customer Choice Awards

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Watertown Savings Bank announced the winners of the Customer Choice Awards, and who will receive a share of the $85,000. Watertown Savings released the following announcement:

Voting in this year’s Customer Choice Awards reached a record high! We had just over 7,000 customers vote. Over 300 different organizations had votes, but only the non-profits that received at least 70 votes made the list of this year’s winners.  Click “full story” to see an alphabetical list of the winners. The awards night is scheduled for April 5.