Coming Up Coat Drive at Orvis at Legacy Place
January 18-February 9
For the second year in a row, Orvis at Legacy Place has initiated a Coat Drive and is giving you one more reason to donate a coat to Circle of Hope. They will present YOU with a $25 coupon towards the purchase of a new coat, jacket or sweater priced at $50 or more!
January
We are honored to be the designated "Karma Partner" of The Littlest Spa through the end of January. Those who bring in toiletries, packages of women's and children's socks and underwear will receive one Karma Credit per item, up to ten dollars per visit. The Littlest Spa is at 45 South Main Street in Natick.
|
|
Special Requests- Men's winter coats
- Men's sweaters
- Men's jeans and sweatpants
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...
"This last (as always) delivery was another major bonanzaaaaaaah for all the clients who have taken many full bags home to their families. As you can see from the attached pix, there are a lot of happy faces here."
Litty Medalia
Lead Vocational English Instructor
Jewish Vocational Services (JVS)/Refugee Services
 | | Happy faces at JVS |
|
|
|
Go To Crew Update
Two weeks before Christmas, we called out to our Go To Crew with an appeal and once again they responded with clothing and monetary donations to support Women's Lunch Place and Boston's Long Island Shelter (for men). Here is an excerpt of the request....
"We have an urgent request for warm winter hats AND gloves/mittens for both women and men.
We have almost no gloves or hats and we have received a special request from both Women's Lunch Place and Boston's Long Island Shelter (for men) for these items."
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,
My heart overflows with gratitude to our expanding Circle of donors and volunteers who make it possible for us to serve so many people in times of deepest need. In this issue you'll see the smiling faces of people helping others and read about our amazingly successful Annual Fund drive. This generosity extends the reach of Circle of Hope in tangible ways and allows us to say, "Yes!" to the many requests that keep on coming from homeless shelter directors and health care providers trying to meet the increasing needs of Boston's poorest citizens. In a December 22nd Boston Globe article, a pediatrician at Boston Medical Center reports that more than half of Boston's children younger than 4 were housing insecure, moving frequently or otherwise living in unsafe or inappropriate housing. Dr. Megan Sandel states that such children are more likely than their housing-secure peers to get hospitalized, be hungry, and have developmental delays and says, "housing is a vaccine; it protects our children from hunger, disease, and violence, just as a shot protects them from measles." Thank you for helping so many children and families be protected from the worst effects of housing insecurity and homelessness. Together we are making 2014 warmer, brighter, and healthier for so MANY more people than I dreamed possible just a year ago. Happy and Healthy New Year to All! With deepest thanks,
Barbara Waterhouse
Executive Director
|
 | | We surpassed our goal! |
Thank You.
Let The Growth Begin.
The Annual Fund drive ended on December 31st, and we have to say in this first newsletter of 2014, THANK YOU for your support. In September we began sharing with you a vision of doing much more for the children, women, and men we serve, and you have linked arms with us and in so many ways shown us that we can do this together. Up until now, we have never stated a goal for an annual drive, and this year we shared that our dream was to reach $20,000 in donations. AND WE DID IT! In fact, with your support, we raised over $28,000!
Let the growth begin. Here's what we are already working on. Bowdoin-Geneva Teens. You may remember a Boston Globe series entitled "68 Blocks" that unveiled the challenges of families who live in Bowdoin-Geneva neighborhood. The 2nd part of the series was about a priest, Father Richard "Doc" Conway who works and walks this neighborhood trying to help improve the lives of those who are struggling. The Globe article spotlights a man who has worked in all types of parishes within the Catholic Church but it's here he feels he can do the most good. "People here are real," he says in the article. Turns out, Father Conway is a friend of ours and we have forged a partnership to provide clothing specifically for the "at risk" teens his is trying to help. We have long looked for a way to help the young people in this neighborhood and are relieved and thrilled to be working with someone who can literally hand the clothing to those who need it most. The day after our recent delivery, Father Conway called to express his gratitude and tell us he'd already handed coats that morning to teens who went to school that day without one. Boston Healthcare for the Homeless Program (BHCHP) Expansion. Last month, we received a request from BHCHP who we already support in many ways, to consider providing clothing and basic necessities to five additional homeless shelters under their care. One of those shelters is for families suffering from domestic abuse, and the others are temporary housing for families. With the support you have shown us not only during our Annual Fund campaign but also the many bags of gently-used clothing you continue to bring, we feel emboldened to say, YES this year to Boston Healthcare for the Homeless and are thrilled with the opportunity to help more homeless families. Thank you for being a part of the solution to help Boston's most vulnerable families and individuals. With your help, we are sure that we can do so much more to ease the struggle for thousands of children, women and men.
|
|
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...Aramark Delivers Clothing for Men
We feel very fortunate to have received beautiful sample clothing and jackets from our friends and partners at Aramark.
Our cargo van was filled with Aramark boxes which we delivered immediately to both Long Island Shelter and United Homes Shelter for men.
In a letter thanking Robyn Grote, Senior Manager Inventory Reporting for Aramark, COH Executive Director Barbara Waterhouse said, "Your generosity means so much to all of us at Circle of Hope. You give us the gift of being able to directly help so many men."
|
Boot Drives at Monsignor Haddad Middle School and Christ Episcopal Church
 | | Nick and Wyatt Cava drop off donations |
We are grateful for ALL the gently-used clothing that comes through our door, but when the weather is as cold and snowy as it's been lately, we get extra excited when we receive boots! Yes, the kids at Needham's Monsignor James J. Haddad Middle School held a boot drive just before the holidays, led by students Nick Sava and Jake Cedrone. And for the second year in a row, the parishioners at Christ Church next door held a St. Nicholas Day boot drive. COH was the recipient of all those donations! Thank you to all!
|
Thank you Orvis!
 | | John Anderson and COH Executive Director, Barbara Waterhouse |
Thanks to the folks at Orvis at Legacy Place for inviting us to operate their complimentary gift wrap on weekends leading up to Christmas. We had a blast. Shoppers who made a donation to Circle of Hope received $25 off Orvis coupons. And we are so grateful to all the volunteers who joyfully offered to wrap: Julia Baker, Lin Arno, Denise Sheppard, Clair Windsor, Denise Sullivan, Andi Yanoff, Trish Lincoln, Terry Windhorst, Pam Lindberg, Pam Goody, Emilie Hitron, John Anderson, Stacey Colarusso, Christy Curran, Dani Sammut, Kelley Maguire, Heidi Wilson, Judy Gelman, Eileen O'Keefe, Mary Joe Hollender, Linda Kickham, and Lori Shaer. Special thanks to COH friend Betsy Husted at Orvis for making it all possible!
|
|
|
