Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Partners with Philanthropic Group to Get New Solar Panels

By |

The Watertown Boys & Girls Club received new Solar panels (not shown) thanks to a partnership with Rise Up Solar and SunBug Solar. The following information was provided by SunBug Solar:

Watertown Boys & Girls Club, a local non-profit, has partnered with Rise Up Solar, a philanthropic solar investment firm, to turn rising energy costsinto an opportunity to go green and save big. After some renovations to the facilities in 2016, the Watertown Boys & Girls Club’s utility bills skyrocketed. Renee Gaudette, Watertown BGC’s executive director, recognized that this extra cost took money away from the kids they serve. The organization had already been investigating a solar solution, but years of searching ended due to difficulty with the roof, somelofty trees, and a steep initial cost to invest.

Charity

Watertown Mall & Police Department Collecting Toys for Local Children

By |

The Watertown Mall is collecting toys for the Watertown Police Department’s Whooley Foundation’s Annual Gift Drive. The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Mall:

This year the Watertown Mall teamed up with the Watertown Police Department to help collect gift donations for the Sonny Whooley Foundation’s Annual Gift Drive. The Watertown Mall will continue to collect donations until Monday, December 21st. If you would like to participate, please visit the Giving Tree located inside the mall’s back hallway across from Carter’s and Target. 

Charity

Toyota of Watertown Collecting Toys for Whooley Foundation

By |

Toys will be collected at Toyota of Watertown for the Whooley Foundation, which benefits kids in Watertown. The following information was provided by Toyota of Watertown. Toyota of Watertown has teamed up with the Watertown police department and the Whooley Foundation this year to collect donation for the 2020-2021 Holiday Season. Former Sergeant John “Sonny” Whooley began the tradition over 30 years ago. After he died, the police department decided to keep his spirit of giving alive and established the Whooley Foundation in Sonny’s honor.

Charity

Watertown Mall Teams with Police for Annual Gift Drive

By |

The following information was provided by the Watertown Mall:

This year the Watertown Mall has teamed up with the Watertown Police Department to collect gift donations for the Whooley Foundation’s Annual Gift Drive. The Whooley Foundation’s mission is: To ensure that no child or family in our community goes without some joy during the holiday season. The Giving Tree is located inside the mall between the Registry of Motor Vehicles and Miss Maria’s School of Dance. The tags on the tree are for boys & girls ages 12-18. There are no specific items on the tags, but gift guides are available near the tree to assist with gift donations; all gifts are appreciated.

Charity

Some Watertown Groups to Help on #GivingTuesday

By |

Dec. 1 is Giving Tuesday and Watertown has a number of organizations that are seeking donations. See information about the groups and how to give below. Mosesian Center for the Arts

The Watertown-based arts center sent out information, including:

Your support is crucial right now. Your generous donation will help ensure that MCA continues through the coming months and into the years ahead. You’ll be sustaining quality and affordable arts programming with an increasing online presence and plans to resume in person when we can gather safely again.

Around Town

Donations Sought for Watertown Mutual Aid’s Winter Coat Drive

By |

The following announcement was provided by the Watertown Mutual Aid Network:

Join us for the Winter Coat Drive on Saturday, Dec 12th, 12-3 p.m benefitting Watertown organizations and families. Please share the flyer with your friends and neighbors! We are accepting donations of:

NEW & LIKE NEW winter coats for children and adultsNEW hats, gloves, scarves for children and adultsNEW children’s pajamas

Around Town

Watertown Scouts Collect Tons of Donations for Food Pantry

By |

Some of the donations collected by Watertown Troop 30 and Pack 30 for the Watertown Food Pantry. The following announcement was provided by Watertown Scout Troop 30:

Scouts from Troop 30 and Pack 30 combined forces Saturday to collect two-and-half tons of food for the Watertown Food Pantry. In normal times, the Troop (BSA scouts age 10-17) and the Pack (Cub Scouts age 5-10) would solicit donations from customers at Stop & Shop as part of an initiative called Scouting for Food. This year, to keep contact at a minimum and taking Coronavirus precautions, Cub Scouts held a contest to see who could collect the greatest number of donations from neighbors. Cubs flyered their neighborhoods asking for help, and Watertown responded: Cubs collected carloads of groceries totaling 4,941 pounds.

Charity

Minuteman Students Cook Meals for 200 in Need for Thanksgiving

By |

The following announcement was provided by Food Link:

This Thanksgiving, 200 food insecure residents of eastern Massachusetts will receive a traditional Thanksgiving meal with ingredients rescued by Food Link, cooked by students from Minuteman High School, and delivered by Food Link volunteers. Food Link, a food rescue organization serving eastern Massachusetts, has partnered for the 2020-21 school year with Minuteman High School, a regional career technical education high school in Lexington, to create nutritious meals for neighboring communities that are grappling with food insecurity. Through this collaboration, Food Link is rescuing food from grocery stores, produce markets, farms, and distributors and delivering it to Minuteman High School where culinary arts students create meals based on the ingredients they receive. These meals will then be shared with organizations feeding those in need. 

“Food Link has rescued 820,000 pounds of food since the pandemic began to address the growing need in our communities,” said DeAnne Dupont, Executive Director of Food Link. “This partnership allows us to take fresh, nutritious food and create meals to share with organizations such as after, low-income housing facilities and food pantries.”

Minuteman’s culinary arts students operate a restaurant at the school, which is typically open to the public but is only open to staff temporarily due to COVID-19 protocols. The partnership with Food Link provides culinary arts students a different population base for which to cook and bake meals.