NoteWorthy – 9/22/19

AROUND THE VALLEY

Thorndike Exchange Celebrates Grand Opening

On September 20, a ribbon-cutting was held at Lowell’s Thorndike Exchange, a mixed-use community. Speakers included Lowell City Manager Eileen Donoghue and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker.

In his speech, Baker stressed the necessity of innovation for gateway cities such as Lowell, Lawrence and Haverhill, and cited the Exchange as a prime example of how the “live play work” concept can bring vitality to urban areas.

Following the presentations and ribbon-cuttings, guests were given a tour of the Exchange, including its luxury one- and two-bedroom apartments and the Jack Kerouac Library.

You can read about Thorndike Exchange in the most recent issue of mvm, or read it online here.

Essex County Community Foundation Invests An Addition $1.3 Million In Essex County Arts & Culture

Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF) is making an additional $1.3 million investment in arts, culture and the creative ecosystem of Essex County.

This next phase of ECCF’s Creative County Initiative (CCI), which was successfully piloted in 2018 with a $750,000 investment from the Barr Foundation and ECCF, is made possible through a second investment of $1 million from Barr. ECCF will raise the additional $300,000.

This partnership with Barr and the CCI will allow ECCF to expand on the pilot phase efforts, which included $300,000 in partnership grants to artists, nonprofits, business and community leaders for public art and creative place-making projects.

Business Development Strategies Assists With Securing Tax Incentives For Vicor’s $33.5 Million Andover Expansion

Global high-performance electronics manufacturer Vicor Corporation is kicking off construction of a multimillion dollar expansion of its Massachusetts manufacturing plant this fall. The new project was spurred by a valuable government tax incentives package secured by Business Development Strategies Inc., the state’s leading government tax incentives consulting firm, and the project aims to help the company retain and create new jobs in Andover.

Greater Lowell Community Foundation Announces LHS Scholarship Established In Honor of Gerald “Jerry” C. Barnes II

The Greater Lowell Community Foundation announced the establishment of the Gerald C. Barnes II Scholarship Fund. This new scholarship fund honors the spirit of Gerald “Jerry” C. Barnes II by awarding scholarships to a Lowell High School (LHS) graduating senior lacrosse player.

A 2015 graduate of LHS, Barnes completed his junior year at UMass Amherst as a natural resource conservation major when he died unexpectedly. An active outdoor enthusiast, Barnes worked for the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation at Walden Pond. He also enjoyed playing lacrosse, which he played throughout high school.

A fundraiser will be held on November 29 from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Keep in Lowell.

Bethany Community Services And Element Care Partner Bring Medical Services On-Site At Leading Senior Housing Community In Haverhill

Element Care, a nonprofit, health care organization serving adults 55 and older, has opened a new on-site medical office at Bethany Community Services’ Merrivista campus in Haverhill. This partnership creates a link between senior housing and senior health care services to help older adults age-in-place with access to high-quality medical and supportive services where they live.

The new medical office will be dedicated to treating residents of Bethany Communities who enroll in Element Care’s Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and will be staffed by a licensed nurse. Medical care and services will include medication reviews, vaccinations, wound care, education regarding health concerns and coordination of care.

Local Country Musician Jillian Cardarelli’s Releases “I Never Do This”

Local country star Jillian Cardarelli‘s latest release, “I Never Do This,” is now available on Spotify, Apple Music, Pandoraand more. You can watch the video here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

NECC Names Manager of Culinary And Hospitality Programs

Northern Essex Community College has appointed Denis Boucher of Exeter, N.H. as the new manager of its culinary and hospitality programs.

The college currently offers an Associate of Science in Hospitality Management and is planning to offer a culinary arts certificate program, likely by the fall of 2020.

Boucher has extensive experience as a chef, restaurant manager and culinary educator. As director of Tompkins Cortland Community College’s Coltivare in Ithaca, N.Y., he oversaw a project involving a sustainable culinary lab, restaurant and event space.

Mass. Kids Making A Difference: Gloria Barron Prize For Young Heroes

Each year, the Barron Prize celebrates 25 inspiring, public-spirited young people – some named as winners and some named as honorees – who have made a significant positive difference to people and the environment. The 2019 Barron Prize winners and honorees have just been announced and there are four from Massachusetts this year.

Kylee McCumber, age 17, of Leominster, Mass., has been named a 2019 honoree by the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

McCumber founded KyleesKareKitsForKidz.org, a nonprofit that for seven years has provided weekend kits of non-perishables to food-insecure children in her community. Every week, she distributes kits containing breakfast, lunch, and dinner items to 496 children in her town and four neighboring ones. McCumber also hosts an annual school supply and backpack drive in order to provide each of the children she serves with back-to-school supplies. She hosts a similar drive during the holidays to collect gifts for children.

Liam Hannon, age 12, of Cambridge, Mass., has been named a 2019 honoree by the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

Hannon founded LiamsLove.com to feed people who are experiencing homelessness. Over the past three years, he has hand-delivered nearly 3,000 lunches to people living on the streets in his hometown. With help from volunteers, he makes lunches in his family’s kitchen and tucks each one into a paper bag decorated with messages of kindness. His GoFundMe campaign has raised over $40,000 to support his work.

Anna Du, age 13, of Andover, Mass., has been named a winner of the 2019 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

Du invented a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that detects microplastics on the ocean floor. She has also created the Deep Plastics Initiative campaign (DPI) to educate others about preventing and cleaning up ocean plastics pollution. Through her DPI presentations around the world, Du is inspiring young people to use science to tackle world problems. She is also encouraging scientists to work together in an open-source manner to develop innovative technologies. She has written a children’s book, “Microplastics and Me,” and has raised more than $7,000 to distribute it free to kids and libraries in high-need communities.

Will and Matthew Gladstone, ages 14 and 11 of Arlington, Mass., have been named winners of the 2019 Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes.

Brothers Will and Matthew co-founded BlueFeetFoundation.com to help save the Blue-Footed Booby, whose population in the Galapagos Islands is declining.

They have sold over 10,000 pairs of bright blue socks to raise more than $80,000 for the Galapagos Conservancy and the Charles Darwin Foundation, nonprofits working to protect the blue-footed booby. The boys’ donations are fully funding the first ever research expedition to the Galapagos to study the bird’s decline.