Charity

Grants from Tufts Health Plan Foundation Helps Children & Older Adults

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Twenty-seven local organizations each will receive a grant of up to $10,000 from Tufts Health Plan Foundation’s new Momentum Fund. The fund was established to foster new ideas and support cities and towns in their efforts to make their communities better places to grow up and grow old. 

“We developed the Momentum Fund to help smaller communities and organizations that want to do this work,” said Nora Moreno Cargie, president of Tufts Health Plan Foundation and vice president of corporate citizenship at Tufts Health Plan. “They are adopting more inclusive policies, building accessible parks and public spaces, and integrating age-friendly practices.”

The Momentum Fund is supporting 10 projects in Massachusetts, 10 in Rhode Island and 7 in New Hampshire. Each is community-led, addresses healthy aging and includes older people in the planning and implementation process. “Many New England communities recognize older people as tremendous assets,” said Phillip González, the Foundation’s senior program officer.

Charity

Tremedal Concert in Watertown Features the Music of Dillon Bustin

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The latest Tremedal Concert will feature The Songs of Dillon Bustin: As Performed by His Friends. 

The following information was provided by Tremedal Concerts:

Dillon Bustin is a songwriter, a playwright and a retired arts administrator. This concert, which brings together a host of his friends, folks who have recorded his songs over the years, is also a grateful tribute to the best kept secret in New England Folkdom. The sheer volume of Dillon’s prolific output, all produced in the background of long a successful career as an arts administrator with various organizations in the Boston area, most recently, a 10 year run with the Hibernian Hall in Roxbury. We are sort of bidding Dillon a bit of a farewell, as he and Martha have moved to Rockland, Maine … still, we hope there will be frequent sitings!!

Charity

Tickets Still Available for Watertown Rotary Club’s $10,000 Raffle

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The Rotary Club of Watertown is hosting a raffle where the first prize is $10,000 raffle, and tickets are still available. 

The drawing will be held at Donohue’s Bar & Grill, 87 Bigelow Ave., Watertown, on Friday, Nov. 9, 2018. The even runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., with hors d’ouevres and a cash bar. Each ticket costs $100, and only 300 will be sold. First prize $10,000, second prize $500 and third prize $200.

Charity

Tufts Health Plan Grants $25K to Local Groups, Including One Sending Care Packages to Troops

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Tufts Health Care Foundation provided the following information:

Five community organizations will receive grants as a result of a new program engaging Tufts Health Plan employees in grantmaking. Each of the company’s five business resource groups (BRGs) recommended an organization for a grant up to $5,000 from the Tufts Health Plan Foundation. 

“The Tufts Health Plan BRGs were established to create opportunities for education, mentoring and leadership, to support diverse communities through volunteering, and to foster a culture of respect and inclusion,” said Tufts Health Plan President and CEO Tom Croswell. “These grants are the result of a new collaboration between the Foundation and the BRGs that grew out of our desire to strengthen community connections.”

“The organizations recommended by the BRGs are aligned with their missions and present opportunities for the Foundation to support work important to employees,” said Phillip Gonzalez, the Foundation’s senior program officer. “Each business resource group took a unique approach and identified a process and focus for their community investments. They learned how difficult, and rewarding, these decisions can be.”

The organizations receiving the first-ever grants for this program include:

BAGLY, Inc. (Boston Alliance of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer Youth) Boston, Mass. 

Recommended by Prism, the LGBTQ and allies BRG
To support Health Education and Risk Reduction Team (HEARRT), a program that educates and trains LGBTQ+ youth about mental and physical health.

Charity

Gospel Night Tribute to Aretha Franklin in Watertown Raising Money for Affordable Housing

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The following information came from the Clergy and Laity for Affordable Housing:
Clergy and Laity for Affordable Housing (CLAH) Fundraiser: Gospel Night with a Tribute to Aretha Franklin and a Touch of Motown. An Evening of Music and Spiritual Uplift
Magic of Motown, with Arthur Jefferson, and the New Rhythm Band
Music of the night includes Aretha Franklin, Four Tops, Temptations, and Stevie Wonder! Appetizers and desserts provided. Drinks available to purchase from the bar. Friday, Oct.

Charity

Watertown Teen Receives Special Bike That Will Allow Him to Ride With His Dad

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A young man from Watertown recently received a special bike from the ATI Foundation as part of the American Physical Therapy Association’s (APTA) annual continuing education conference in Providence. Toni Calisir is a teen battling an undiagnosed medical genetic condition similar to muscular dystrophy, a disorder that impacts muscle use and significantly impacts mobility, according to the ATI Foundation. His condition leaves him with weakness from head to toe; he uses a wheelchair most of the time, needs maximum assistant with mobility and is non-verbal. The bike was a surprise for Toni, who will be able to ride the adaptive bike with his dad. It will also allow Toni to enjoy simple pleasures and outdoor activities just like other teens his age.

Charity

World Music and Dance Group Performing to Benefit Watertown’s Sister City Program

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An internationally renowned world music and dance ensemble will perform in Watertown as part of the Tremedal Coffeehouse series. The group — Libana — illuminates the creativity, vision and spirit of women worldwide, according to organizers. Their performances have been described as “riveting, transformational and soul stirring, Libana takes audiences on a musical journey reflecting the universal human experience uniting us all.” Libana will peform on Oct. 20, 2018 at 8 p.m. at the First Parish Unitarian Church of Watertown, 35 Church St., Watertown.

Charity

5K Run, Walk Being Held in Memory of Watertown Resident Heather Zarkadas

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The second annual Heather Zarkadas Memorial 5K run and walk will be held on Oct. 13, 2018, and there is still time to register. The HZ5K will begins at Lowell Elementary School, 175 Orchard St., Watertown, at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 13. Proceeds from the event got to the Heather Zarkadas’ Children Education Fund. Heather was a Watertown resident and reading specialist who taught in the Lexington Public Schools.