Josephine McNeil, Co-Founder and Executive Director of CAN-DO has received a 2023 Community Advocacy Award and award grant from the Eastern Bank Foundation for CAN-DO’s effectiveness in helping low and very low income residents of Newton access affordable housing and get access to the services they need to achieve more financial security and housing stability. Under her leadership, CAN-DO has developed approximately 50 units of housing for people with developmental disabilities, survivors of domestic violence, veterans, and homeless families. She is one of 12 Communtiy Advocacy Award recipients in the region of Greater Boston, New Hampshire, Merrimack Valley, North and South Shores, and Cape Cod. She said, “It’s not enough to house people on the brink. Helping stabilize their lives with hands-on services so they can successfully sustain housing and access ongoing economic and social resources is critical – especially in cities that might seem, on the surface, to lack economic hardship. Awards like this are so deeply appreciated and important for raising awareness and connecting with colleagues always fuel ideas that can help us serve our community in new and different ways.”
Dr. Regina Wu, volunteer president of the Newton Food Pantry, has received a $10,000 community service award — the Myra Kraft Community MVP Award — from the Kraft Family and the New England Patriots Foundation. She will donate the award to the Newton Food Pantry to support general operating expenses and expand the number of hours it will be open to serve clients. In her ten years serving on the board, Dr. Wu has been instrumental in doubling the size of the Newton Food Pantry, sharply increasing the number of residents it serves, adding new programs and services, expanding its culturally relevant food selection, and increasing the diversity of the volunteers. “After years of getting to know our clients, I’ve come to realize that anybody is a step away from food insecurity. A health issue, a job loss, a pandemic – circumstances can change quickly. That’s why it is so important we welcome any Newton resident with joy, respect and compassion, no questions asked, and no proof of need required,” she said.
Good Shepherd Community Care — a community-based, not-for-profit and non-sectarian hospice, and the first hospice in Massachusetts — has been awarded $225,000 over three years from the Cummings Foundation for HEARTplay, its program bereavement program designed to support children, teens and young adults of all abilities who are coping with the death or serious illness of an important person in their lives.
The following students from Newton graduated in May:
- From Bucknell University: Phoebe Blumberg (Environmental Studies), Rachel Gamburg (Cell Biology/Biochemistry)
- From Fairfield University: Nicholas Aicardi, Sophia Markert, Catherine Robinson, Thomas Robinson, Vanessa Yee
The following students from Newton received Dean’s List Honors this semester:
- From Bucknell University: Phoebe Blumberg, Rachel Gamburg
- From Fairfield University: Nicholas D. Aicardi, Elizabeth M. Cosgrove, Matthew R. Fallon, Catherine E. Robinson, Vanessa S. Yee
- From Marquette University: Grace Zucchero (Nursing)
- From University of Wisconsin – Madison: Abby Altman (College of Letters and Science), Mitchell Carroll (School of Business), Erin Cunningham (College of Letters and Science), Evan Grimm (Col of Agricultural & Life Sci), Nathan Hautefeuille (College of Engineering, Honors), Sage Pollack (School of Human Ecology, Honors), Zachary Schwartz (College of Letters and Science), Cleo Whitney (College of Letters and Science)
