Charity

Watertown-Belmont Chamber Awards Four Scholarships to High School Seniors

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The Watertown-Belmont Chamber of Commerce awards scholarships annually to Belmont and Watertown high school seniors planning to attend college. The WBCC announced the winners. This year the Chamber received multiple applications from Watertown and Belmont seniors. A volunteer scholarship committee comprising members of the Chamber’s board of directors, Katherine Rafferty, Mount Auburn Hospital; Pamela Giannatsis, Tufts Health Plan; and Sandy Penchansky, of Watertown Savings Bank read each application and selected the award recipients. Here are this year’s award recipients:

WBCC Scholarship

o   $1,000 to a Watertown High School (WHS) senior and Watertown Resident: Bailey Herrera Samayoa

o   $1,000 to a Belmont High School (BHS) senior and Belmont Resident: Colleen Murphy

The Barclay Good Citizen Scholarship

o   $500 to a High School senior boy and Watertown Resident: Sam Carton

o   $500 to a High School senior girl and Watertown Resident: Stella Varnum

Congratulations to our recipients!

Charity

Tufts Health Plan Employees Volunteer to Help Out the Watertown Boys & Girls Club

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Tufts Health Plan employees participated in their 9th annual Volunteer Day on Tuesday, the company announced, fanning out across Eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire, helping community organizations with projects ranging from preparing meals for local homeless shelters to providing safer access to the water for athletes with disabilities. Some employees spent the day volunteering at the Watertown Boys & Girls Club at Hale Reservation in Westwood where the Club holds its summer camp. Tasks included cleaning up the area, sectioning off parts of the site for different activities, putting up tents, loading supplies. The Watertown Boys & Girls Club is the largest nonprofit youth service organization in Watertown, serving 1,000 registered members between 7 and 18 years old. “The employees in our organization are extraordinary — they believe very strongly in our mission and demonstrate their commitment to improving the lives of our members and our community each and every day,” said Tom Croswell, Tufts Health Plan president and CEO.

Charity

UPDATED: Watertown Boys & Girls Club Golf Tourney Coming Up, Players and Sponsors Sought

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{NOTE: The date of the Watertown Boys & Girls Club Golf Tournament has changed!}

Watertown Boys & Girls Club will host their annual golf tournament on Monday, August 14, 2017 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. Foursomes and single golfer tickets can be purchased at bit.ly/WBGCGolf2017, along with sponsorships of varying levels.

Charity

Watertown Woman to Swim in Boston Harbor to Raise Money for Children’s Cancer Programs

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Wendy Gulley of Watertown will swim in the Boston Harbor alongside Olympic swimmers Heather Petri, Kristy Kowal, Carlton Bruner, Janel Jorgensen McArdle, Alex Meyer and Eric Wunderlich for the 21st annual Swim Across America Boston Harbor Swim on July 7, 2017 to support pediatric cancer programs at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, the hospital announced. “Every year, swimmers of all ages come together for the Swim Across America Boston Harbor Swim to make a splash in the fight against cancer,” said Kitty Tetreault, event director, Swim Across America Boston. “Participants get to spend the day doing something they love while raising critical funds for pediatric programs at Dana-Farber and MassGeneral Hospital for Children. The SAA Boston Harbor swim is a 22-mile relay style open-water swim beginning at 7 a.m. on July 7 from Rowes Wharf behind the Boston Harbor Hotel. A minimum fundraising pledge of $2,000 is required for individuals to participate.

Around Town

Watertown Woman Biking 62 Miles in the RIDE to End Alzheimer

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Ellen O’Connell, of Watertown, will bike 62 miles in the Alzheimer’s Association, Massachusetts/New Hampshire Chapter’s RIDE to End Alzheimer’s on Saturday, June 24, the Alzheimer’s Association, MA/NH Chapter announced. Starting and finishing at Odiorne State Park in Rye, NH, the RIDE provides a 2-, 30-, 62- and 100-mile route through the towns of coastal New Hampshire and the north shore of Massachusetts. O’Connell joins the RIDE to honor her father who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s over 10 years ago. The youngest of 6 children, Ellen is the captain of the team Pedaling for Parents, “I founded it with one of my dear friends whose mother also suffers from Alzheimer’s. My friend Leigh has been my support system throughout this whole ordeal.

Blood Diseases

Watertown Woman Raising Money for Blood Disease at Not Your Average Joe’s

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A Watertown woman and her son who suffer from a blood clotting disorder will he raising money for a walk for The New England Hemophilia Association. Heather Hoiseth has Von Willebrand’s Disease and said it is passed on from parent to child. “My late mother passed on Von Willebrand’s Disease to my brother and I, and we then passed it on to our children,” Hoiseth said. “I have 1 son and he has 3 daughters effected and 1 son without.” Von Willebrand’s Disease is caused by a decreased amount or malfunction of the protein that makes blood platelets stick together to form a clot.

Charity

Iconic Business Woman Yolanda Taking Part in This Year’s Relay for Life

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Waltham resident and iconic Boston-area businesswoman Yolanda Cellucci will participate in Relay For Life of Watertown, Newton, Waltham this coming Saturday, the American Cancer Society announced. While she’s always supported the work of the American Cancer Society, now her motivation is a near and dear source – her daughter. Celucci’s daughter Linda Petrosian, 57, was diagnosed with esophageal cancer three years ago and has endured a “terrible” surgery that removed a mass in her throat, chemotherapy and radiation. She’s still scheduled to go through 10 months of treatment. She’s plagued with a horrible cough and sickness, but she still stays active; a strong network of friends and family have helped her get through it, Celucci said.

Cancer Research

Watertown Man and 2 Sons Will Buzz Their Hair Off to Fight Childhood Cancer

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Special guest, Rob Gronkowski, and hundreds of brave men, women, and kids – including a Watertown man and his sons – will unite to buzz their heads for pediatric cancer awareness and raise funds for the charity, One Mission. The eighth Annual Buzz Off will take place on Sunday, June 4, at Gillette Stadium and the money raised through Buzz Off participation will help fund exciting programs for kids fighting cancer at local hospitals. Watertown’s Watertown’s Ken and his sons Bryce and Ethan will buzz their heads to raise funds for pediatric cancer programs.
“One Mission does whatever to get it takes to get kids and families through cancer treatment, said Ashley Haseotes, Founder of One Mission. “Our goal is to make life in the hospital less lonely and stressful, provide some joy during a time of fear and uncertainty, and give patients and their families the support they need to get through the emotional and unexpected financial challenges of treatment.”
Proceeds from the Gillette Buzz Off event will fund One Mission programs at Boston Children’s Hospital, the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Hasbro Children’s Hospital in Providence, Rhode Island. “I’m so excited to be part of the One Mission Buzz Off again this year! One Mission helps so many kids going through a really tough time,” says Buzzee and Tight End Rob Gronkowski.