If you have received this email as a forward and wish to subscribe to the Westborough Connects mailing list, please click HERE. For previous newsletters, click HERE.
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Hello Neighbors and Friends -
Happy New Year!
This month, we are thrilled to join our partners Westborough Interfaith Clergy, Central MA Connections in Faith and Westborough Public Schools in co-hosting our 5th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration! After two years of virtual programs, we are excited to be back in person - see below for details and we hope to see you there!
Since it's the start of the new year, we've included a look ahead at what we have "in store" this year (including ways that you can be part of it!).
Yours in community,
Kelley Petralia
Executive Director, Westborough Connects
kelleyconnects1@gmail.com
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Thank you to our newest sponsors! |
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Westborough Connects relies on local business support and we are grateful to our new
sponsors:
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Thank you, Curry Printing, for being a Friend of Westborough Connects sponsor.
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Upcoming Westborough Connects Programs |
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Read the program press release HERE and watch an interview about the event on Westborough TV's Frank & Mary HERE.
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WESTBOROUGH CONNECTS PRESENTS:
StoryWalk® featuring the book
What the Road Said
by Cleo Wade.
The latest installment of our StoryWalk® will be ready beginning January 15th.
We are excited and grateful to announce that Hastings Elementary School (located at 111 East Main Street) is our host for this self-guided StoryWalk®. It will be open to the public weekdays after school as well as on weekends and school holidays.
About the book: What the Road Said is described as a "New York Times-bestselling comforting and uplifting picture book from bestselling poet and activist Cleo Wade...It's okay to be afraid or to sometimes wander down the wrong path. Bestselling poet and activist Cleo Wade's What the Road Said features illustrations by Lucie de Moyencourt and encourages us to lead with kindness and curiosity, remembering that the most important thing we can do in life is to keep going."
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Also coming up in 2023 from Westborough Connects |
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Join us at our upcoming Connect Over Coffee! |
January 12th, 4- 5pm
Public library meeting room (downstairs)
Our Connect Over Coffee initiative provides an opportunity for informal meet-ups with fellow community members. Please drop in for conversation and snacks with Westborough Connects staff, volunteers, friends and interested community members. A special thank you to Red Barn Coffee Roasters (17 South Street) for generously providing coffee and pastries for our Connect Over Coffee events!
Feel free to bring a friend!
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We aim to connect people to important, valued and (mostly) local resources. For example, HERE is a recent bulletin we sent out. Stay informed through our monthly Notes on Connection newsletter (you're reading it now!), our website, Facebook page and at Westborough community events like the Block Party and Farmers' Market.
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Our current 2023 program lineup includes 4 annual community programs: |
Mental and behavioral health programming through our Square One Collaboration |
Square One is a collaborative partnership between Westborough Public Schools, Westborough Youth & Family Services, the Rotary Club of Westborough, Westborough Public Library and Westborough Connects. Together, we offer free programming and resources designed to support community education and resilience around substance use & mental health. |
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Volunteer Help Needed: Square One Program |
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Our Square One Collaboration team is beginning planning for a new program called Spring into Wellness and we'd like YOU to join our planning team!
This wellness fair will feature hands-on activities and exhibitors offering resources to support the mental and behavioral health of community members across the life span. It will take place on May 7th from 2-5pm.
There are many opportunities for individuals to volunteer - including program planning, and logistical and marketing support.
Interested? Contact Cheryl Thomas - cherylconnects2@gmail.com.
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Community Programs and Events |
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PLEASE NOTE: A goal of this newsletter is to highlight free, community-focused events that are open to all and bring us together. We do our best to keep up with all the great things going on around town, but we need your help! Please reach out and let us know about any events that would be important to include! Email us at westboroughconnects@gmail.com. Thank you.
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Annie E. Fales Elementary School
Grand Opening Celebration
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January 8, 2023, noon to 2pm
Eli Whitney Street
Free Event; Open to the Public
The public is invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony, followed by an opportunity to tour the new building.
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Westborough Historical Society presents:
“Famous Women of Westborough Across the Centuries”
Monday, January 9, 7pm
Westborough Public Library, 50 West Main Street
Westborough women have been ingenious, powerful pioneers since the town began. Learn about their trials and triumphs in this program. This program will feature entrepreneur Betsy Fay (1700s), beloved teacher Annie Fales (1800s), prize-winning author Esther Forbes and horticulturist Bea Warburton (1900s), and Gold Medal Olympian Nikki Stone (2000s).
Presented by historian Kristina Nilson Allen, this free event will be held in the Meeting Room of the Westborough Public Library.
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Westborough Public Library is offering several programs this month for adults. For more information, including registration information, visit HERE.
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Upcoming SPARK Kindness Program - YOU are invited! |
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February 7, 7-8PM
via Zoom
For parents, caregivers, educators, and community members of all ages. Behind every child who is differently wired is likely one or more frustrated, isolated, perhaps even burnt out adult. In this practical and actionable talk, author and parenting activist Debbie Reber, MA, shares ten powerful “tilts,” a.k.a. practical ideas to help parents shift their thinking and actions in a way that will help them feel more confident and peaceful about their everyday reality, create a stronger family dynamic, and give their extraordinary children what they need to thrive. ASL Interpretation will be provided at this event.
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Opportunities for Connection, Civic Engagement, and Helping Others & the Environment |
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Town of Westborough
Elected Position Openings
There are several openings for elected positions within the town of Westborough. Click HERE for a notice from the Town Clerk's office, which includes a list of positions up for election.
Nomination Papers for the 2023 Annual Town Election are available during Town Hall hours in the Town Clerk’s Office, 34 West Main Street. Elected Town Office positions are open to resident voters who wish to hold an elected town office. The last day to obtain Nomination Papers is Friday, February 3, 2023 at 5:00pm.
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Thanks to the generosity of many through several fall fundraisers, the Westborough American Legion Post 163 recently granted $1,500 to the Westborough Food Pantry. Read about it HERE.
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Westborough High School has begun composting leftover food from lunches with plans to make the compost available to town residents. Read about it in The Patch HERE.
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This new section will help readers get to know a little more about
some Westborough Connects' sponsors!
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Meet Realtor Stephanie Stuchlik, a Westborough Connects Bridge Builder Sponsor. In her own words...
Building community is important to me because it is hardwired into my DNA and my story. As a Christian I believe all of life boils down to loving God and loving people, and that happens through one relationship and intentional connection at a time. I can pinpoint in my own life key moments when someone who invested in me had a monumental impact for a lifetime, and that’s what I want to pass on to others as I serve my community as a Realtor and business owner, volunteer with Westborough Connects, friend and neighbor.
In our world today misunderstandings run rampant. I see that every day simply being married to someone from another culture, where our view of the world and communication styles can differ vastly. My husband is Czech and I lived there with him for 5 years teaching Business English and Soft Skills to professionals. That time abroad with a language barrier made it abundantly clear to me how isolation and misunderstanding can impact our quality of life. We need each other and the patience and empathy to communicate through our differences – in a world where people often see things as black and white, I prefer to live in the gray.
My Real Estate business is called Your Community Realtors because building community is at the very heart of what we do – whether that’s helping our clients find their community where they settle, building community within our own client family or working to build the kind of community we would like to be a part of ourselves. The Turquoise Table, a movement I am passionate about, is an extension of that. It’s a symbol for connecting and living life with the people around us in an authentic, simple way. This is all why being a part of Westborough Connects and the work we are doing is so important to me. Their mission is my mission.
When you see me outside at my own Turquoise Table on Fisher Street please stop by and visit!
We greatly appreciate Stephanie's support of Westborough Connects and having her as a member of our volunteer team.
You can find Stephanie on Facebook HERE.
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Noteworthy Reads and Resources |
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With our 5th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration this month, we thought it would be fitting to share the video from last year's program featuring Dr. Todd "Bowtie" Jenkins.
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One of our favorite resources, the Greater Good Science Center launched a new podcast series on the "science of awe." Listen to the first episode, "How Awe Brings Us Together," HERE.
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It's that time of year for annual New Year's Resolutions. While we think of what we want to do new/better/different, the concept of "social fitness" is something to consider. Researchers John T. Cacioppo and Stephanie Cacioppo shared their research and recommendations for combating loneliness and isolation in this Harvard Business Review article (from 2017 but still very relevant), The Social Muscle. While presented as a consideration for the workplace, the lessons also apply in a community setting.
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“Make New Year's goals. Dig within, and discover what you would like to have happen in your life this year. This helps you do your part. It is an affirmation that you're interested in fully living life in the year to come.”
-Melody Beattie
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About Westborough Connects
Westborough Connects, a registered 501(c)3 nonprofit organization (EIN # 84-1751472), is a community connector with a mission to help build a thriving, kind, and connected community where everybody belongs. By listening and responding to the needs of the community, we connect people to resources and to each other. We foster meaningful relationships through events, collaborative partnerships and communications.
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westboroughconnects@gmail.com
www.westboroughconnects.org
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