AROUND THE VALLEY

Greater Lowell Community Foundation Announces New Fund Established in Honor of Veterans and First Responders

The Greater Lowell Community Foundation announced the establishment of the Hidden Battles Endowment Fund. This new field-of-interest fund supports programs to help preserve the healthy minds of military veterans and first responders for treatment and counseling to addresses suicide prevention, depression, PTSD and other mental health issues.

Hidden Battles began as a fiscal sponsorship fund of the Greater Lowell Community Foundation in 2017. The organization was started by Scott Hyder, an Army veteran and retired Westford police officer.

“By teaming with GLCF, we know our money is in the right hands. We started this new field-of-interest fund because we know that the foundation will bring Hidden Battles to a whole new level – a level that can expand on the programs that are keeping our men and women in uniform mentally safer,” said Scott Hyder of Pelham, N.H., founder of Hidden Battles.

Enterprise Bank Once Again Supporting Local Veterans During November

For the third year, Enterprise Bank is recognizing local organizations that provide support and services to military veterans with the Checking with Purpose campaign. Throughout the month of November, Enterprise Bank will recognize six local organizations within the bank’s service area that support veterans. Each branch location is partnered with one of the organizations.

For every new checking account opened with Enterprise Bank from Nov. 1 to 30, the bank will donate $10 to a designated local veteran’s organization in the Checking with Purpose campaign, which this year includes Cunningham Veteran’s Home, Lowell; iPods for Wounded Veterans, Wilmington; Clear Path for Veterans, Devens; Veterans Northeast Outreach Center, Haverhill; Homeland Heroes Foundation, Salem; Harbor Homes – Veterans First, Nashua.

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network Receives $10,000 Grant from the Greater Lowell Health Alliance

Wayside Youth & Family Support Network’s PrideSide Lowell program received a $10,000 grant from the Greater Lowell Health Alliance (GLHA). The grant will allow PrideSide Lowell to add a group for high school youth who identify as LGBTQ+ that will focus on peer leadership and creating community connections for middle school youth.

The Greater Lowell Community Foundation and the Community Foundation of North Central Massachusetts opened its 2019 Nashoba Valley Healthcare Fund Cycle on Oct. 22. The foundations are seeking requests for proposals from nonprofit organizations supporting the advancement of community health of residents in 13 communities: Ashby, Ayer, Bolton, Dunstable, Groton, Harvard, Lancaster, Littleton, Lunenburg, Pepperell, Shirley, Townsend and Westford.

Grant awards will range from $5,000 up to $20,000; however, larger scale collaborative projects that are more than $20,000 will be considered if the funding request is justified by the impact of the project. The foundations are especially interested in seeing proposals that address systemic issues including but not limited to opiate addiction, food scarcity, obesity, substance abuse, suicide screening and prevention and other specific issues as indicated by community needs.

Link House Inc.’s Links of Hope Event Raises Over $135,000

Almost 400 people gathered at the Blue Ocean Music Hall in Salisbury for Link House Inc.’s Links of Hope Gala this fall to raise funds as part of National Recovery Month. The event, which was attended by Governor Charlie Baker, raised over $135,000. Frank Cousins, Jr., former Essex County sheriff and Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry president/CEO received the Nick Costello Heroes in Recovery Award. Comedian Jimmy Tingle emceed the event and John Broderick, Dartmouth Hitchcock senior director of external affairs was the keynote speaker. 

Seaside Legal Solutions Ribbon Cutting

On Oct. 8, Seaside Legal Solutions held a ceremonious ribbon-cutting ceremony for their new Newburyport office located on Pleasant Street. In attendance were State Senator Diana DiZoglio’s office, Newburyport Mayor Donna Holaday, the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce & Industry staff, attorney Joel Favazza, his son, and Seaside Legal Solutions staff.

Seaside Legal Solutions provides effective and efficient residential and commercial real estate legal services to the Cape Ann area and Boston’s North Shore. They have been providing legal services out of their other Gloucester office for 10 years, and were the lead sponsor of this year’s Newburyport Fall Harvest Festival.

Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust Renews National Recognition

The Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust (LP&CT) has renewed land trust accreditation from the Land Trust Accreditation Commission, an independent program of the Land Trust Alliance.

“The Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust’s accredited status demonstrates our commitment to permanent land conservation that benefits the entire community,” says Mark Romanowsky, president. “Our land trust is a stronger organization today having gone through the rigorous accreditation program.”

LP&CT is one of only 439 land trusts across the nation that have been accredited.

Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce to Host Southern New Hampshire Water Forum

The Greater Salem Chamber of Commerce will host the 2019 Southern New Hampshire Water Forum, Drinking Water: New Standards and Solutions, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Nov 14, at Brookstone Event Center in Derry.

Attendees of the event will have the opportunity to learn more about water quality issues and developments taking place in the southern tier New Hampshire.

Expanding Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care to Seabrook

Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care, in partnership with Anna Jaques Hospital, opened a new practice on Nov. 4 in Seabrook to enhance New Hampshire residents’ access to high-quality primary care.

The new 5,000-square-foot medical office space, located at the Route 1 Shopping Center, was chosen to provide a convenient and accessible location for patients and their families.

Primary care physicians Sangita Agarwal and Alexander Asch provide personalized, comprehensive primary care for patients of all ages. Beth Israel Lahey Health Primary Care offers access to specialists and specialty programs through its affiliation with Anna Jaques Hospital in Newburyport.

Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity Hosts Volunteer Appreciation Event 

On Nov. 1, Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity hosted its annual volunteer appreciation dinner. This event recognizes dedicated volunteers, supporters, board members and business leaders who have contributed time towards building affordable housing for local families in need. 

Volunteers are the foundation of the organization and, during the 2018/2019 fiscal year, 1,267 dedicated individuals contributed over 33,000 hours towards volunteering. The value of these hours equates to approximately $843,000 in savings, which under normal circumstances would have been paid to construction companies and experts in the building process.

Merrimack Valley Habitat for Humanity staff and members of the board were joined by 100 of the most regular volunteers at the Claddagh Pub in Lawrence for a celebratory night of recognition. Awards were presented to volunteers who have contributed 500 or more hours over the previous year. Awards were also presented for 400, 300, 200 and 100 hours contributed.

D’Youville Hosts 17th Annual Lasting Impressions Dinner to Honor Sisters of Charity of Ottawa

On Nov. 7, the D’Youville Life & Wellness Community hosted their 17th annual Lasting Impressions dinner. This year, over 300 guests attended the sold-out, emotional event to honor the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. The dinner was the largest of its kind hosted by D’Youville.

Although D’Youville’s connection with the sisters dates back almost 60 years, the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa have been in Lowell since 1880 when they first arrived to provide education to the children of mill workers. The sisters also founded the St. Jeanne D’Arc School and played an instrumental role in building what is now the Saints Campus of Lowell General Hospital.

The Sisters of Charity of Ottawa established D’Youville in 1960 and ran it for three decades. D’Youville has evolved over the past two decades from being solely a nursing home (and for years an adult day health care center) to a multifaceted “continuum of care” organization. Today, D’Youville is the largest long-term skilled nursing care facility in Lowell and provides special care for Alzheimer’s patients. In addition, they also offer senior housing and both memory care and traditional assisted living.

As the sisters’ numbers decreased, they requested that their board of directors find a suitable successor to be D’Youville’s “sponsor” or formal overseer on behalf of the Catholic Church and who would uphold high standards for quality health care. After more than two years of searching, sponsorship was transferred to the Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm, a group based in upstate New York with very similar values and priorities to the Sisters of Charity of Ottawa. To learn more about the process and what it means for D’Youville, watch this video.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence Welcomes Elizabeth Suh as Assistant Director of Education

The Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence has appointed Elizabeth Suh of Topsfield as assistant director of education. In this role, she provides high school students with the tools and resources required for college, including counseling in financial aid applications, SAT/ACT preparation and college tours.

“Elizabeth’s expertise will help hundreds of youths achieve their academic dreams of becoming the first in their family to attend college,” said Karen Kravchuk, director of education at the Boys & Girls Club of Lawrence. “We’re so fortunate to have her as part of our club family.”

Suh earned a master’s degree in bilingual/multicultural education from Instituto Franklin in Madrid, Spain in 2017. She earned a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies with a minor in studio art photography from Allegheny College.

Dracut Chiropractor Elected President of Massachusetts Chiropractic Society

Dracut chiropractor Gerard Cassista has recently been elected president of the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society, the only statewide, nonprofit membership service organization representing the chiropractic profession in Massachusetts.

Cassista has been an active member of the Massachusetts Chiropractic Society since 1981. During most of that time, he has served as a director on the board in one capacity or another, including continuing education director and chairman of membership. He is also a past president of the Merrimack Valley Chiropractic Society.

Lowell Remodeler Gains Regional Recognition

The Builders and Remodelers Association of Greater Boston awarded Amesbury’s BLB Custom Building with two prestigious PRISM Awards at their 75th annual event. The gala aims to recognize the finest projects and superior achievements of builders, remodelers and other professionals in the home building industry.

BLB Custom Building was awarded a Silver PRISM for their “Farmhouse Kitchen” in the highly competitive Best Kitchen Remodel category. BLB Custom Building’s Director of Marketing Tom O’Brien was also awarded the Gold PRISM for Rising Star of the Year for his accomplishments and performance within the industry.