Archives for November 2018

Happy Friday! We hope you’ve all had an amazing week and have an even better weekend ahead! Let’s get it kicked off right with our top three feel-good stories of the week.

Happy to Help

Via Fox News

Alexis Easter is a 19-year-old girl that works at Burger King in Mechanicsville, Virginia. A frequent customer, known as “Mr. John,”  is an elderly man with a bad back, so Alexis has taken it upon herself to always walk him back to his car. She makes sure he gets in safely and they talk for a little bit before he’s on his way. It is such a beautiful thing to see somebody go out of their way to help another that can do nothing for them in return. Sometimes the smallest actions can leave the biggest impressions.

Sold Out

Via Global News

Donut City is a California donut shop that has been run by Stella and John Chan for nearly 30 years. Recently, Stella suffered an aneurysm and every day, as soon as John has sold out of donuts, he runs directly to Stella’s rehabilitation facility to be by her side. The local community eventually heard of what had happened to Stella and wanted to help. John did not want to take anyone’s money so one faithful customer, Dawn Caviola, took to social media to ask the people to buy out the shop so that John could leave early to visit his wife. Immediately, people responded to the post and the shop has been sold out by noon every day! One day he was even out by 10. Now that is how you come together and give back to those who deserve it most.

Blessing Bike

Via Western Journal

Rosemary Sorce, a 92-year-old woman from Boise, Idaho, has always loved bike rides. Unfortunately, as she’s gotten older, riding has become too much of a challenge. After watching a video of somebody taking senior citizens around town on a special bike, her daughter Jill had an idea. She went on Craigslist and found an old rusted cargo bike which she and her husband took apart, painted, added new wheels and tires, and gave to Rosemary for her birthday. Jill and her mother bond as they go on bike rides together and noticed others finding joy in their joy.  Jill began calling it the Blessing Bike because it brightens the days her mother as well as those who see the special moments between the two of them.

We hope these stories have put a smile on your face and warmed your heart. Find inspiration, go out and make a difference in somebody’s life today.

Looking for something to get involved in that will also benefit your community? We have just the list for you. Check out these local events happening near you this week!

 

Bridge 2 The Future Party to Benefit Bridge Over Troubled Waters

Thursday, November 8th 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

City Winery | Boston

80 Beverly Street, Boston’s North End

November is National Homeless Youth Awareness Month. Join Bridge 2 the Future to connect and collaborate with like-minded supporters for an evening in support of homeless, runaway, and high-risk youth that rely on Bridge programs and services. All proceeds from Bridge 2 the Future will benefit Bridge Over Troubled Waters. For more information, click here.

 

Imagine & Believe: An Evening to Benefit NTSAD

Thursday, November 8th 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Royal Sonesta Hotel

40 Edwin Land Blvd, Cambridge

National Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases Association presents Imagine & Believe: An Evening to Benefit NTSAD. This annual fundraising event raises at least $100,000 to support the many children, adults and families who struggle with genetic diseases, including Tay-Sachs, Canavan, GM-1, Sandoff and related genetic diseases. For more information, click here.

 

Concert for Dignity featuring Jackie Foster & Brandon Diaz

Thursday, November 8th 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm

Church of the Covenant

67 Newbury Street, Boston

Enjoy a unique and memorable concert with Berklee School of Music students and TV singing competition stars, Jackie Foster and Brandon Diaz, and help women experiencing homelessness and poverty. Proceeds from the concert will ensure that Women’s Lunch Place of Boston continues to help heal women, restore their sense of belonging, and support them as they work to regain dignity and rebuild their lives. For more information, click here.

 

Heroes in Health Care Gala

Saturday, November 10th 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm

Mandarin Oriental

776 Boylston Street, Boston

VNA Care will honor three Heroes in Health Care during the nonprofit’s 13^th annual Gala. Heroes in Health Care raises essential funding for VNA of Boston’s charitable care programs as well as for palliative care provided by VNA Hospice & Palliative Care. For more information, click here.

 

Moonlight Masquerade

Saturday, November 10th 8:00 pm to 12:00 am

ALoft Hotel Seaport

401 D Street, Boston

Join the Junior League of Boston for its second Moonlight Masquerade – a fun-filled evening featuring entertainment, dancing, great food and drinks, silent auction, raffles, and more! All event proceeds benefit the Junior League of Boston and its community-based programs in support of the wellness of girls. For more information, click here.

Each day is a day to celebrate. No matter what is going on in the world, there is always good to counteract it. Here is our way to help the movement by sharing our top three feel-good stories of the week.

Loving Legacy

Via CBS

Last month marked the five year anniversary of school teacher Colleen Ritzer’s passing. The young teacher died in 2013 when a student attacked her in the school’s bathroom. Instead of being sad or angry thinking about this day, her friends created the campaign “Kindness For Colleen” which encourages people to perform random acts of kindness every year on Oct. 22 in her memory. How beautiful is it that these people create a beautiful and inspiring legacy out of such a tragedy.

Here’s a Tip

Via Today

Albert Lexie had been a shoe shiner at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Children’s Hospital for over 30 years. Within those 30 years, he had collected a large sum of money in tips. About a week ago, Albert, unfortunately, passed away, but he didn’t go without leaving a beautiful gift behind. Albert Lexie had left all the money he ever made in tips from shining shoes, which came out to be about $202,000, to the children’s hospital’s Free Care Fund, which provides medical care to uninsured and under-insured children in the Pittsburgh area.

Helping Hands

Via WPBF

San Jose California has come up with the perfect plan to clean the streets of their city and help out their homeless population. They plan to hire 25 homeless people to help pick up litter and will pay them $15 an hour for four or five hours per day. This program will start them off on a path that could change their lives and could be just the self-esteem boost these people need to get back on their feet. The leaders of the program hope this will transition these homeless helpers into full-time work!

We hope these have helped to inspire and motivate you to see the glass as half full and enjoy a beautiful weekend.

In Massachusetts today, one in ten people are living in poverty. The most vulnerable and fastest-growing demographic within this population are women and children, so it may be surprising to learn that as recently as 1973, there were no shelters for homeless women in the entire United States.

In the early 1970’s, Kip Tiernan, a social justice activist and writer, had the opportunity through her work with the St. Phillip’s/Warwick House to visit a number of housing projects, mental institutions, jails and hospitals where she was appalled by the effects of de-institutionalism and a lack of public policy to address the needs of the homeless and poor. While visiting some of the men-only shelters around the city, she was particularly struck by the sight of women dressing as men just to get a meal.

Kip founded Rosie’s Place in 1974 as a safe place for homeless and underprivileged women to get a hot, nutritional meal and escape the dangerous streets and cold of winter. It was the first women-only shelter in the country.  It was also decided to accept no city, state or federal money so that Rosie’s Place could be run without the influence of outside demands or policies. Today, almost four decades later, Rosie’s Place feeds over 12,000 women per year and offers a number of other services to help the homeless women of Boston get back on their feet.

Food Programs

Rosie’s Place will first and foremost be known as a place where homeless women can get a hot meal. Located at 889 Harrison Ave in Boston, the “Dining Room” is open for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner Monday through Friday and Brunch and Dinner on the weekends. Instead of lining up cafeteria style, the woman are served healthy meals tableside by volunteer waiters and waitresses. An average of 220 women and children rely on these meals every day.

There is also a food pantry that provides 20-40 pounds of healthy food to an average of 2,000 women per month. The women are allowed to “shop” freely and choose items including meat, dairy and a selection of seasonal fruits and vegetables from local farms, that work best for their families.

Emergency Services

In addition to serving food, Rosie’s Place also offers the following emergency or immediate needs services:

• Essential Services: The facility offers women a place to come in off the street and meet some of their most basic needs including laundry, showers, lockers to store important items, and a place to just sit and rest. The women can also use Rosie’s Place as a mailing address and have access to phones and computers.
• Overnight Shelter: The overnight program is open 365 days a year providing 20 women at a time with a place to sleep for up to 21 days.
• Health and Wellness: Women who come to Rosie’s Place have access to medical assistance including but not limited to: blood pressure and blood sugar checks, STD and HIV testing, assistance with detox, dental check-ups and more. This is possible through partnerships with a wide variety of community-based health agencies

Opportunity

Rosie’s Place wants to get women off the streets and they do so by offering services to find new opportunities.

• Education: They offer education services including ESL classes, tutoring, computer classes and more. Each course involves an intimate learning experience with no more than eight students. Over 170 volunteer teachers, private tutors, and substitutes are trained by certified staff to teach over 350 students weekly.
• Housing: Through HomeStart, a number of housing search specialists help women to find available housing, fill out applications and stay on top of the entire process.
• Job Search: Similar to housing, Rosie’s Place has partnered with Community Work Services to provide specialized job search services on-site helping women apply for, attain and maintain gainful employment.

Advocacy and Empowerment

A multi-lingual staff of advocates assist the women with a multitude of issues including:

• Advocacy: Every woman has a number of short- and long-term needs that need to be addressed. Rosie’s place employs advocates to assist them with things like housing, health and wellness, support groups, clothing, transportation, emergency funds and more. Advocates schedule more than 1,100 appointments each month.
• Legal Aid: Many women who end up at Rosie’s Place need legal assistance to be able to move forward. The legal program consults with over 700 attorneys to address issues such as housing, family law, immigration, debt, and more.
• Arts: Rosie’s Place wants to offer the women they serve more than just the basic necessities. They offer a calendar of guest art classes and workshops as well the opportunity to attend performances and exhibits in the area. Last year, nearly 5,000 guests took part in 200 workshops and field trips. They also regularly host musical, dance and stand up performances during dinner service.

The people at Rosie’s Place believe in enriching the lives of women, even after they no longer require their services. That’s why they offer outreach services to follow up with past guests to make sure they’re on the right path and are able to maintain their new way of life. They also have a Friendly Visitors volunteer program that connect weekly with women who are more isolated, providing them with a friend they can chat with and confide in.

All of these programs, combined with the hard work and dedication of the hundreds of volunteers, is what makes Rosie’s Place truly special. It is not just a shelter, but a community of staff and volunteers working with the homeless and vulnerable women and children of the city of Boston to help them live a better life.

If you’re interested in learning more about Rosie’s Place or would like to apply to volunteer, click HERE.