Coming Up
Girl's Night out at Lisa's Boutique
April 16, 7-9pm
Parent Talk, the community-based organization in Boston's Metrowest area dedicated to families with young children is partnering with Circle of Hope and Lisa's Boutique to invite you and your friends out for a night of shopping, wine, snacks, fun and a chance to give back. 10% of your purchase that evening at Lisa's will be donated to Circle of Hope. Need a new addition to your wardrobe? Want a special, unique gift for a friend? Need a little fashion advice? Come join us for wine, cheese and snacks Wednesday, April 16th 7-9 PM at Lisa's Boutique in Needham, 1502 Highland Avenue. Please RSVP by April 9. To RSVP, or for more information, e-mail Kate Maguire at: [email protected].
Honor Someone Special for Mother's Day
April/May  In just a few weeks, supporters will be invited to make a donation to Circle of Hope in honor of an important woman in their lives - a beautiful card is sent on their behalf. Watch your e-mail for more details. Needham Garden Tour
June 8  The Needham Women's Club's Needham Garden Tour takes place Sunday, June 8th and will feature the gardens of six Needham homeowners. If you enjoyed the Tour last year or the year before, you will be pleased to know that the 2014 event features six different gardens that have not yet been featured on a Needham Garden Tour. All proceeds of the Needham Garden Tour will be donated to Circle of Hope.
|
|
Special Requests- Infant and toddler size clothing for spring
- Infant and toddler spring jackets
If you have any of the above, please drop them off at 65 Rosemary Street during any of our
DROP-OFF TIMES:
Monday, 9-10 AM
Tuesday, 4-5:00 PM
Wednesday, 9-10:00 AM
Wednesday, 3-4:00 PM
Thursday, 10-11:30 AM
Saturday, 9-11 AM
|  |
We Love to Hear This...
It's notes like this, that motivate us to work harder. You, our supporters, will especially appreciate these words...
"I can't begin to tell you and everyone at Circle of Hope how much the many donations of clothing has meant to our guests at the Long Island Shelter . The quality of the donations that are brought in and the way the bags are organized and marked is unmatched. Please know that each process it takes to get the clothing to us is appreciated. Many of the donations that you send to us go out to our guests the same day, no dust gets on these garments."
John Comaschi Boston's Long Island Shelter for Men
|
|
|
Go To Crew Update
This past month we had two urgent requests for our Go To Crew members. We were facing a delivery to family shelters of Project Hope and Casa Nueva Vida and our inventory was nearly depleted of infant and toddler clothing. Just prior to that we had received a call from Jewish Vocational Services requesting clothing needed for refugees in training for the hospitality industry and needed black pants and white shirts. Once again, the Go To Crew came to the rescue. Thank you all!
P.S. Welcome new Go To Crew members Stephanie Patel, Katie Dammann, and Maria Furlong!
The Go To Crew is a small group of supporters who receive an e-mail if a special need arises. Being a member of the Go To Crew does not obligate its members to donate every time there is a need. If you would like to be a member of the Go To Crew, or know someone who would like to be on this e-mail list, just respond to this e-mail, or click here.
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Friends of Circle of Hope,
As we exhale without seeing our own breath we can inhale a deep breath of spring air and be fully aware of the impact of a winter's generosity to those in need. We've answered the urgent requests for winter coats (look for our report in the coming weeks) thanks to our wonderful donors and our partnership with Anton's Coats for Kids. Although we couldn't keep up with the requests for adult hats and gloves, every child in the homeless shelters and motels received toasty warm hats and mittens all winter. Many of those children received winter boots as well.
All of this was made possible by our extraordinary team of COH volunteers, donors, and partners who I truly cannot thank enough. You'll read about some of our community volunteers and partners in this newsletter. We've got energetic elementary, middle school, and high school students in Needham who created drives, collected donations, and bounded through the front door of Circle of Hope with armloads of boxes and joyous smiles. I just love their energy, determination, and compassion.
I am reminded of the words of my dear friend and mentor, Carolyn, who said that every act of kindness "adds to the sum of good in the world." Thank you to all our business partners, volunteers, and donors for your acts of generosity and kindness. It's all so good.
With deepest thanks,
Barbara Waterhouse
Executive Director
|
Spring Cleaning?
There were certainly times this winter when it was hard to believe but, it's now fair to say that spring has arrived. During the bitterly cold months of winter Circle of Hope was fortunate to receive so many coats, hats, sweaters, boots, and other necessities that were able to keep the most vulnerable members of our community safe and warm. And while the needs of our community change in the warmer weather, the demand for clothing continues to only increase.
We ask that as you tackle spring-cleaning projects in the coming months, please keep Circle of Hope in mind for any spring clothes you can spare. We need tops, t-shirts and pants for babies and children, women, and men.
Keeping our clients in appropriate, seasonal clothing is crucial to the preservation of their dignity and their health. Every item we receive is hand delivered to a man, woman, or child in need. So we thank you for your continued support as we all head into this new, welcomed season of rebirth and growth.
|
Coming Soon: Gently-Used Furniture Auction
It's not unusual that when we move, downsize, or redecorate, we are left with a beautiful piece of furniture that doesn't have a place in our home any more. The hard part is, what to do with it?
Soon, Circle of Hope will be auctioning one exceptional furniture piece per month, as an online fundraiser. If you have a beautiful piece of furniture you would consider donating, that should be considered by our Auction Team, please e-mail Kate by clicking here. We will visit your home and if we can sell it we will have it picked up. For consideration, furniture pieces must be fine quality, in excellent condition and may be vintage or contemporary. Absolutely no furniture can be "dropped" at Circle of Hope and and no pieces can be accepted until the Auction Team meets with the owner. The proceeds of this fun new fundraiser will help Circle of Hope continue its growth of doing more to help Boston's children, women, and men who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.
|
|
Because of YOU...
Because of people like YOU, Circle of Hope is able to help hundreds of people in Boston area homeless shelters and programs serving refugees and disadvantaged youth. Here are some of our stories from this month...Girls Basketball Team Supports COH
 | | L to R: Sarah Sylvan, Tess Sussman, Maya Kinel, Sammy Kaplan, Katherine O'Connor, Emma Dubois, Mia Filippine, Marcella Hunt, Jane Fanning Not Pictured - Annee Alperin, Hallie Popkin, Kate McLeod |
We are always in awe of the kids who find time in their busy schedules to think about giving to Circle of Hope. The twelve members of the 8th Grade Girls Needham Metrowest Basketball Team did just that. During their busy season while balancing school work and other extracurricular activities,
they found time to do a clothing drive to help the families and individuals that Circle of Hope supports. Pictured above, just a fraction of the bags dropped off at Circle of Hope recently. Thank you girls!
|
Charles River Apparel = 2,444 Articles of Clothing
On March 18, Circle of Hope Executive Director Barbara Waterhouse was invited to speak to employees at Charles River Apparel. This was the first event of the year under the umbrella of the company's Charles River Apparel Cares program. After learning more about what COH does, employees immediately began sorting new clothing returns and overstocked items into boxes. The end result was 2,444 BEAUTIFUL articles of clothing for Circle of Hope to deliver to the children, women, and men who need them. Click here to view photos from the CRA Cares Day.
|
Dancers and their families support COH
 | | Emily Sheppard initiates drive collecting 30 bags of clothing. |
Needham High Sophomore Emily Sheppard, with the support of Charles River Ballet Academy, conducted a Hat, Glove, and Mitten Drive to support Needham-based Circle of Hope. The drive that took place in January and February generated 30 bags of clothing. Emily was thrilled to fill a need at Circle of Hope. "The best memory that I have is probably picking up the first round of donations and seeing the donation box almost overflowing with wonderful winter clothes that I knew would be valuable to so many people in need." Thank you Emily and all the dancers and their families of Charles River Ballet Academy.
|
Broadmeadow's 100th Day of School Project
 | | L to R, Charlie Bruel, Hilary Bruel (mom), Katie Bruel |
Thanks to the kindergarten families at Broadmeadow School in Needham who participated in a sock drive to support Circle of Hope. The goal was to collect 100 pairs of socks to commemorate 100 days of school. In the end, 300 pairs were collected. The teachers Catherine Prout and Monica Staley found this opportunity to teach all sorts of lessons while helping others:
- awareness of and kindness to others
- appreciation of the many blessings we have (and sometimes take for granted)
- community service
- grouping/forming sets
- naming attributes
- sorting by attribute
- counting
- exploring quantities up to and beyond 100 related to our 100th day of school
Thank you Broadmeadow families for supporting Circle of Hope.
|
Thanks Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs
Lyn Evans Potpourri Designs hosted a company-wide 'Spring Cleaning' event March 13-15 in each of their Massachusetts stores. During the fashion event, shoppers were urged to drop by with gently used clothing for Circle of Hope. Thank you all!
|
|
|
