On a personal note
Marianne and I have four amazing daughters. You may have met some of them over the years. Our daughter, Colleen, was the inspiration for Oil Heat Cares, and she sits on the board of that charity. She just sent me this note and I wanted to share it with you. Every bit helps:
Hi Family & Friends,
I'm writing to share some exciting news about my career and to ask
for your support. As most of you know, I've spent the past six years
working for the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship, an AmeriCorps program
that provides 40 individuals with the opportunity to give one year of
volunteer service through running essential out of school time
initiatives for low-income youth across the state. Just a couple of
weeks ago I was promoted to lead this wonderful program as our new
director and I am thrilled to take on these new challenges and
responsibilities. I look forward to continuing to wake up every day
excited to go to work to see the tremendous growth that my volunteers
experience while serving young people as well as the impact they have on
their youth. To give you an example of what I'm talking about, I
thought I'd share a story about one individual that has made a
difference through our program.
This year I've had the privilege of working with Julie, one of our
fantastic AmeriCorps Fellows. Julie didn't grow up with a lot of
resources in her Boston neighborhood and her parents both worked
multiple jobs to make ends meet. She witnessed extreme violence in her
community and looked to her after school program as a safe haven. At
this program, she also found dedicated mentors who supported her in
staying on track in school and ultimately being accepted to college.
After college, Julie knew she wanted to give back by providing young
people in her neighborhood with a productive, safe environment. She
joined our program and has spent the past ten months leading a teen
leadership group that provides a safe place to go afterschool and
valuable workshops on leadership and civic engagement. She serves as an
inspiring role model to these teens, many of whom have shared that they
would like to serve their community just as she has. Julie has committed
to serving for another year with our program and hopes to pursue a
career in public policy to influence legislation that will provide more
opportunities for urban youth.
As you may remember, last year I asked you all for support as our
program faced an uphill battle with our federal funding. Your support
and generosity allowed us to continue providing these amazing
opportunities for volunteers and youth this past year. After a
challenging year of work on another federal grant proposal, we recently
received the good news that we were awarded federal funds for 40
AmeriCorps Fellows for the next year. We learned that the competition
was extremely tight and only 1 of every 5 programs that applied received
funds. We are proud of our success and at the same time know that these
statistics show the importance of diversifying our funding base. This
is where our annual appeal comes in! I'm asking each of you to please
support the Massachusetts Promise Fellowship and allow us to continue
providing individuals like Julie and the young people she serves with
opportunities to both give back and be mentored by inspiring role
models. Every gift, big or small, will support us in continuing this
important work. Click the link below to donate!
http://www.masspromisefellows.org/support.html
Thanks for your support,
Colleen
