This past Friday we were able to celebrate with over 200 community members at our annual fundraiser throughout the night! On behalf of the Milford Youth Commission and staff, we would like to thank everyone who attended, donated, supported, and volunteered to make the 9th annual St. Pat's Fundraiser successful, raising $8,500 for Youth Center programs! The event was held on Friday, March 29, 2019 at CraftRoots Brewing! The event included great beer and food, live music, raffles and community awards! The Youth Commission selects businesses, individuals and/or organizations each year for our Community Appreciation Award! The awardees are recognized for their years of dedication and support of the Youth Center! The 2019 Community Appreciation Awards were presented to Benjamin Moore and Milford TV!

Benjamin Moore has been a longtime supporter of the Center and supported the building through many projects, including transforming the basement! The majority of the basement was not a part of the renovation scope of the Center. Over the first year of being back in the building, the Youth Commission and staff made it a priority to try to accomplish this. Benjamin Moore stepped up and not only donated all the supplies to paint all the walls, floors and ceiling but also all the manual labor. Benjamin Moore also stored a large replica of the Green Monster wall and cut it to size to build it on the wall adjacent to our batting cages! Finally, they coordinator a special visit from Wally from the Red Sox to come visit us 2 summers ago and take pictures with the wall! This project, valued at over $15,000 worth of materials and labor, was donated at no cost to the Center or Town!

Our second Community Appreciation Award was given to a local organization who has always supported the efforts of the Youth Center, Milford TV! At first, Milford TV began with helping to promote youth center events and programs but the relationship really changed when they helped film multiple shows and clips on the reasons to support the Youth Center renovation. From there it led to us sending our After School members to get trained in the use of the equipment and editing so the kids could not only learn but also take part in helping the Center promote everything we do! Finally, after learning that we were trying to accomplish finishing off an additional basement room for a music and multipurpose media center, Milford TV asked us if they could host a Telethon for us to raise the necessary funds. We have now completed two telethons with the third in the planning stages. We have been able to raise over $15,000 for this future space due to their efforts! We would also like to wish Rob O'Keefe good luck as he starts his new adventure in California and to congratulate Liz Harkins who will now be taking over as Director!

Finally, we also had a special presentation to the Morin Family on behalf of the late Artie Morin. Artie was the former Director of the Center during a very difficult, yet transformative period in the history of the Youth Center. Artie remained an advocate for the Center and its program well after he completed his tenure here as the beloved leader. The Youth Commission presented the family with an original door knob from the Armory as a thank you for his years of dedication and service to not only the Milford Youth Center but the entire community. The Family was also presented citations from State Representative Brian Murray and Selectman Mike Walsh. It's due to the generosity of local businesses and individuals, like Benjamin Moore, Milford TV and Artie Morin that we are able to continue to offer free after school programming, an affordable summer camp and provide a safe and fun environment for the youth of Milford! We are thankful for these long-lasting relationships that have helped the Center live up to its mission in providing a safe environment that promotes self-esteem, builds character, and fosters the notion of community and the importance of respecting and serving others.

We would like to extend a huge thank you to CraftRoots Brewing for allowing us to host our event at their awesome location for a second year in a row! Robin, Maureen and Irene were amazing to work with and we loved being able to support a local business in town!  We would also like to thank the band, Zach Innis and the Honeybees, for performing at our fundraiser. Zach Innis & The Honeybees play the music of Tom Petty, Mudcrutch, The Heartbreakers, Traveling Wilburys, and much more. The band, comprised of Milfordians Scott Ayotte, Jeff Edwards, Zach Innis, Lindsey Nogueira, Bill Shaner, and Chris White, has performed a handful of successful shows in Milford and the Boston area over the past year. Everyone loved the music!  

We would like to thank every individual, organization and/or businesses that contributed to this fundraiser with a monetary donations and/or raffle prize: International Study Tours, LLC, Paul & Debra Bonvino, Milford girls Softball League, The Callahans, Joshua Otlin, Antonio Lopes , United Way of Tri-County, Trinity Episcopal Church, Amy & Adam Eastwood, Lisa White, Commerce Bank, a division of BershireBank, Judy Tusino, Benjamin Moore, Brian Murray Law Office, Rodney Burnham, Danielle King, Janelle Provencher, Signs Plus, Walsh Brothers Incorporated (Gentile Family), Joanna Abrantes, Abrantes Building Company, Applebee's New England, Edible Arrangements, 99 Restaurant, Dogfish Head Brewery (Sam Calagione), CraftRoots Brewing, Teachers Driving Academy, Pepperoncini's, Garden Pizza, Johnny Jacks, CycleBar Milford, Goldfish Swim School, E-Z Way Car Wash, Prezo Grille & Bar, MacMed Spa, Signs By Jerry, Jessie Dillon Beauty, HealthSource of Milford, Joan Ward, Phyliss Winn, Supercuts, Ray Auger and Big Y!

Thank you to Gene's Variety and the Morin Family for donating sheets of pizza, Prezo Grill & Bar for donating meatballs, Chili's Bellingham for donating chips, salsa and guacamole and to Oliva's Market for also providing delicious appetizers at a discounted price! Thank you to Milford Town Crier, Myfm 101.3 and Milford TV for helping us promote the fundraiser. We would lastly like to thank our amazing staff, volunteers and board members (Amy Tamgani, Chuck Calagione, Sandra Caproni, Susan Salamone, Darlene Dulude, John Dulude, Lisa White, Ron Talyor and Brenda Wheelock) who helped with the planning, ticket sales, raffle prizes and set-up! For more photos click here! We are still collecting donations. If you would like to make a donation, please click here.