Nonprofit corner - Marblehead Current

Christmas Walk to step off with old favorites and new events

27Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Business, Community resources, Culture, Entertainment, Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Nonprofit corner, Recreation, Top Stories

Christmas Walk to step off with old favorites and new events

Marblehead’s 52nd annual Christmas Walk & Holiday Stroll starts Thursday, Nov. 30, and runs through the weekend with all the traditional highlights along with some new additions. Santa and Mrs. Claus meet with families at State Street Landing last year. COURTESY PHOTOS “We’re really happy to keep this awesome event going,” said Chamber of Commerce Director Katherine Koch. “The energy is definitely there.” Favorites from the weekend include the Christmas tree lighting, Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving by lobster boat, parade, Gingerbread Festival, shopping and more. Santa and Mrs. Claus arrive by lobster boat. The Christmas Walk parade steps off on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 11:45 a.m. Glover's Regiment participates in the Christmas Walk last year. New events to look for...

17Nov

By Walter V. Robinson, Boston Globe editor at largeNo Comments

Columns, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories, Viewpoints

‘THE WATCHDOG IS AWAKENING’

Nonprofit news has made it possible for millions of people to once again have the information they need to make informed decisions, a return to the journalism that holds power to account. For many of us, nonprofit journalism is the antidote for our collective malaise. For two decades now, we’ve looked on in disbelief, and often averted our eyes, as the vigorous journalism we had been accustomed to withered away. Walter V. Robinson, Boston Gloe editor at large Over the last several years, this existential threat to the roots of our democracy has become ever more dispiriting. Often, it seems, we are a nation where people seek the affirmation they crave rather than the information they need. Much of the country has been fixated on whether we can trust the news we read and watch. ...

15Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Community resources, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

‘Everybody needs a family.’ Marblehead couple leads campaign to help foster kids

Raising six children in a blended family, Kathy and Ted Truscott of Marblehead could not imagine their kids growing up without parents or siblings. That is partly why they got involved with Plummer Youth Promise, a Salem nonprofit that serves youth in — or at risk of entering — foster care through several programs, including family foster care, a group foster home and community apartments. Breaking ground on a new facility at Plummer Youth Promise. From left to right: Ted and Kathy Truscott of Marblehead, Plummer Executive Dir. Nicole McLaughlin and Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll. COURTESY PHOTO “It really resonated with us, the idea of a child not having a family,” Kathy Truscott told the Current. “Plummer is working with a segment of the population that’s often forgotten about. The...

11Nov

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Local News, Nonprofit corner

Holiday Pops announces featured performer

Soloist Eliza Howells, a Marblehead native and Tufts University student, will be the featured performer at the Holiday Pops Concert on Dec. 9 at Abbot Hall. Howells recently returned from Italy, where she appeared in Mozart's "Die Zauberflote" with the Trentino Music Festival. She will perform with the Dirk Hillyer Festival Orchestra at the concert hosted by the Rotary Club of Marblehead Harbor. The Marblehead High School graduate won the town's Marblehead’s Got Talent contest in 2018. She recently premiered her first commissioned composition with the Voices Unheard ensemble in Hopkinton. Floor seats are $75 and balcony seats are $35 and available at rotaryclubofmheadharbor.org. Proceeds from the concert benefit local and international charities supported by the Rotary Clu...

11Nov

By William J. DowdNo Comments

Community resources, Culture, Local News, Nonprofit corner

‘Pie in the Sky’ benefit underway

A longtime Marblehead fundraiser is underway to provide Thanksgiving pies and feed critically ill residents. The 31st annual "Pie in the Sky" drive benefits Community Servings, which provides medically tailored meals to chronically and critically ill individuals. Volunteer bakers are selling pies for $35 each. Senior real estate specialist Diane "Dee" Vigneron said the sale of each pie will feed a client for a week. Pies can be picked up Nov. 21 at the Marblehead office of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, which has sponsored the fundraiser for 19 years. Community Servings delivers 650,000 meals annually in 21 Massachusetts communities. Vigneron said the nonprofit is on track to prepare and deliver 1 million meals this year to those too sick to shop and cook. More inf...

9Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Marblehead Public Schools, Nonprofit corner, Top Stories

Family, friends launch this season’s holiday greens campaign in memory of Sophia Smith

Sophia Smith loved crafting. “Her room was filled with sparkles and glue and paper. Soph would love this, she would love all this decorating stuff,” said Tracy Ackerman, a friend of the Smith family. Friends (left to right) Melissa Barrett, MJ Boudreau, Tracy Ackerman, Jenn Smith and Holly Lamb fill planters with holiday greens in memory of Sophia Smith. COURTESY PHOTOS Sophia passed away five years ago this month at the age of 12, after battling a rare pediatric brain tumor. The town was draped in blue [Sophia’s favorite color] ribbons during her illness and after her death. For the last several years, friends of Sophia’s family have come together to create and sell planters of holiday greens in her memory. The money raised is given as scholarships to Marblehead High School s...

8Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

About Us, Local News, Nonprofit corner

SAVE THE DATE: Journalism icon Walter Robinson of “Spotlight” fame to speak at Current event

Walter V. Robinson, who led The Boston Globe’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Spotlight investigative journalism team, will speak at a special event hosted by the Current at the Warwick Theater on Wednesday, Nov. 29. As part of the evening, the Current will show the Academy Award-winning film, “Spotlight,” based on Robinson and his Globe colleagues. (Michael Keaton played Robinson on screen.) Journalist Water V. Robinson of "Spotlight" fame is coming to Marblehead. COURTESY PHOTO Robinson is currently editor at large at the Globe, where his high impact stories about local, national and international events have graced the front page since 1972. The “Spotlight” evening begins at 6 p.m. with a champagne reception and light refreshments. At 6:30 p.m., Robinson will talk about investigati...

7Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Nonprofit corner, Sports

Court battle at Seaside as pickleball, tennis players volley

The topic of pickleball packed another Rec & Parks meeting on Oct. 30, as the commission discussed converting more courts to allow pickleball. People play pickleball at Seaside COURTESY PHOTO “There were a lot of voices in the crowd,” Rec & Parks Commissioner Matt Martin told the Current. “We heard opinions from the tennis community, opinions from neighbors concerned about noise and opinions from pickleball constituents who are looking for more places to play.” Pickleball players had asked to temporarily line courts three and four at Seaside Park for dual use for tennis and pickleball. “At first glance, we were all in. We have approval from the MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) for dual purpose on each court,” Martin said. “But after h...

2Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Art, Community resources, Culture, Entertainment, Life Style, Local History, Local News, Nonprofit corner, Recreation, Top Stories

CURRENT EVENTS: Marblehead’s best bets Nov. 1-8

Current Events spotlights exciting happenings in the coming week. If you’d like to contribute a listing, please email Current Editor Leigh Blander at lblander@marbleheadnews.org. Rock the ArtsThursday, Nov. 2, 7-10 p.m. Support performing arts programs at Marblehead High School at the Rock the Arts gala at the KingHooper mansion. The evening will feature live music, raffles, appetizers and desserts. Wangari Fahari Trio at Me&TheeFriday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m. The contemporary African music of the Wangari Fahari Trio comes to the Me&Thee, 28 Mugford St. Wangari is a Kenyan singer, writer and activist who was mentored by Grammy award-winning South African singer Miriam Makeba and civil rights activist Joan Baez. Details and tickets at Meandthee.org. Taste of...

1Nov

By Leigh BlanderNo Comments

Local News, Nonprofit corner, Sports, Top Stories

After three paralyzing accidents, Marblehead man changes lives of others

It’s been an exciting few months for Thomas Smith of Marblehead, months he could not have imagined as he was recovering from three separate paralyzing accidents — two playing hockey and one car crash. He was even told by doctors that he would never walk again. But in September, he walked, with forearm crutches, down the aisle as he married the love of his life at Abbot Hall. And in October, he and his foundation donated $100,000 to the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Thomas Smith, far right, with his wife, Rachael, are shown with former Bruin legend Zdeno Chára and his wife, Tatiana, at the recent Great Sports Legends Dinner, where Smith donated $100,000 for paralysis research. COURTESY PHOTOS “The research will help restore hand function to people paralyzed from the neck down,...