Above: Southborough Rotary Club’s support of SYFS for the holidays is just one of the charity related items I’m rounding up.
I have a number of items to share about organizations and residents doing good this season. So, I’m rounding them up into one post today. It includes another opportunity for struggling families to get needed support. And it includes another opportunity to do some good of your own.
Neighbor’s Brigade is offering support
According to the Community Advocate, Southborough families facing hardship have another channel to apply for help this season. The local “Neighbor’s Brigade” is offering support:
Neighbors helping neighbors. That is the mission of the Neighbor Brigade, a nonprofit, charitable organization, which coordinates a network of volunteers to provide free assistance to people who are experiencing a sudden or temporary crisis in their lives. The Northborough Southborough Neighbor Brigade chapter held a successful gift card drive in November, and is now looking to help brighten the holidays for local families who are facing hardships. . .
Gift cards for gas and grocery stores were donated by community members. If you or someone you know in Northborough or Southborough is facing a hardship this holiday season, you can privately provide a brief description of the need to the Neighbor Brigade by email at northboroughsouthboroughMA@neighborbrigade.org. The request will be reviewed as there is a limited amount of gift cards available. All information will be kept confidential. . .
Neighbor Brigade’s mission is to provide short term crisis assistance to people who may be receiving cancer treatments, facing an illness, recovering from an accident or house fire, or grieving a family death. Typically the assistance is a maximum of three to four months. (read more)
Jingle fundraiser for pediatric patients
If the prior story inspires you to be charitable, Southborough’s Kelly Donfield is offering another way to support a cause this Sunday. An announcement shared:
Southborough resident Kelly Donfield is spreading holiday cheer, hope and magic in more than one way. She has organized the Christmas Eve Jingle 2020, which will bring smiles to many faces, including kids in the pediatric unit at UMASS Memorial’s Children’s Medical Center in Worcester. You are asked to go outside on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24, at 6 pm and ring jingle bells for five minutes. Jingle bells will be sold and money collected will go towards fulfilling the wish lists of children who will be unable to celebrate Christmas at home this year.
Donfield and her elves will be at Aero Coffee Roasters, 318 Main Street in Northborough, Sunday, December 6 from 9:30 am – 11:30 am selling jingle bells. Your donation will ensure that you and your family are ready to jingle on Christmas Eve.
Bells can also be purchased on Saturday, December 12 at the NY Bagel Factory, 205 Turnpike Road, Southborough (formerly Red Barn Coffee Shops) from 9:30-11:30 am.
“It will be an amazing memory for our children and our community,” Donfield said. “It hopefully will bring a little cheer to a child facing a health crisis this Christmas.”
Donations can be made in cash or via Venmo @Kelly-Donfield. Questions can be directed to Kelly at kadonfield4@gmail.com.
Rotary supports SYFS
This fall, Southborough Youth & Family Services ran its annual gift card collection to support families in need through the holidays. The Southborough Rotary Club pitched in their support, along with some PPE. President Robert Bussey wrote:
We made the handoff of the 20 gift cards and 100 masks to Christina McCarthy (SYFS Administrative Assistant). She was very grateful and thanked the club for our 4 projects that were SYFS related this year. She mentioned that they are seeing a lot of donations and attention this year. I would say that this club has helped get them some more visibility than they otherwise may have had. That visibility has led to more donations, allowing them to keep providing outstanding services to our community.
On semi-related note, I can’t help but note that the festive contributed photo shows that the Southborough Gardeners have been busy doing more of their good works–adorning municipal buildings with wreaths.
Fay School 5th Graders support DCF
Fay School shared on instagram that its community got into the giving act recently. Fifth graders supported a drive for Mass DCF:
View this post on Instagram
Do you know of other residents/groups doing good? Post a comment or drop a line.
