Around Town

Watertown Boys & Girls Club Staffer Wins Award for Work During Pandemic

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Watertown Boys & Girls ClubWatertown Boys & Girls Club Aquatics Director Erin Hickey, right, is congratulated for winning an award by Club Executive Director Renee Gaudette. A staff member at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club received an award for her work at the club. Aquatics Director Erin Hickey was named the Association of Boys & Girls Club Professionals Yankee Chapter Program Professional of the Year. Hickey began working at the club since she was age 15, and in 2019 she was promoted to Aquatics Director, said Renee Gaudette, Executive Director of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. During the pandemic, Hickey was able to maintain a robust aquatics program.

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Watertown Boys & Girls Club Funds 4 Teen Positions with Grant from Attorney General’s Office

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The Watertown Boys & Girls Club was one of more than 70 organizations statewide to receive funds from the Attorney General’s office aimed at funding summer jobs for young people. Attorney General Maura Healey announced on July 21 that the Boys & Girls Club would be receiving money from the Healthy Summer Youth Jobs Grant Program. The club will receive $2,500, according to a spokesperson from the AG’s Office. The grant allowed the Watertown Boys & Girls Club to fund four positions for teens with health and wellness components including swim instructors and camp counselors, according to Mary Kern, grant writer for the Club. “This grant fits perfectly into our mission of serving ‘those who need us most.’

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Watertown Boys & Girls Club Fund Raising Golf Tournament Honors Founding Member

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Golfers who participated in the 2020 Stephen Mugar Memorial Golf Tournament, which benefits the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. The Watertown Boys & Girls Club announced that registration is open for the 44th Annual Stephen P. Mugar Memorial Golf Tournament:

Watertown Boys & Girls Club will host their annual golf tournament on Monday, August 9, 2021 at the Oakley Country Club. The tournament honors one of the Club’s original founding members, Stephen Mugar. His children and grandchildren generously perpetuate his legacy by sponsoring this annual event. The Mugar Family will match the tournament’s net profits up to $80,000, thus making this the largest annual fundraiser for the Boys & Girls Club, accounting for nearly 30% of the Club’s yearly revenue.

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Watertown Community Foundation Gets Biggest Grant Ever, Using it to Support 3 Organizations

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The Watertown Community Foundation will help three local organizations with grants over $100,000 after the foundation received the largest grant in its history. The money will go to Metro West Collaborative Development, Watertown Boys & Girls Club, and Wayside Youth and Family Support Network. The funds came to the Watertown Community Foundation in a grant from the Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development Community Foundations Grant Program for COVID-19 Relief. “This $400,000 grant is the largest single grant that our foundation has ever received,” said WCF co-president Darshna Varia. “We have been able to distribute the funds quickly and directly to where they are needed most.

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Recipient of the 2021 Watertown Unity Award Announced

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The Unity Breakfast committee will present the 2021 award to Rhode Moise, Program Director at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club, at the MLK Day Unity Breakfast on Jan. 18. The following announcement was provided by the Unity Award Committee:

A favorite annual tradition at each MLK Day Unity Breakfast is the presentation of the Unity Award. The Unity Award recognizes an individual or group that is furthering Dr. King’s vision of racial, social and economic justice right here in our town. The Unity Breakfast committee is honored to present this year’s award to Rhode Moise, Program Director at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club.

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

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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.

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Watertown Boys & Girls Club Celebrates 40th Anniversary of Girls Joining the Club

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A photo of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club founders, including Bernadette Corbett (in white), who pushed the national headquarters of the Boys Club to allow girls. The following piece was provided by the Watertown Boys & Girls Club:

Forty years ago, the Board of Directors of the Watertown Boys Club made the landmark decision to welcome girls into the Club, making Watertown one of the nation’s first communities to offer membership to females. In 1980, Clubs across the country were open only to boys, and the national organization of Boys’ Clubs was still 10 years away from renaming itself Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The Watertown Boys Club, which was founded eight years earlier in 1972, had a woman director who wasn’t about to wait to bring girls into the Club. Bernadette Corbett, one of the Club’s founders and the first woman Board president, was the force behind including female members.

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Solar Panels Donated to Watertown Boys & Girls Club Will Generate Power, Funds

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Solar panels are being installed on the roof of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club. They were donated by Peter Glick and Rise Up Solar. The Watertown Boys & Girls Club received a donation of an array of solar panels, which will reduce electricity costs in the short run, and long term will generate revenue for the club. The solar panels were donated by Peter Glick who teamed up with Rise Up Solar, a Cambridge-based company which helps community-based non-profits gain access to solar panels. The Club will reap the environmental and financial rewards.