The ABCD North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center has overseen a series of initiatives that have allowed us to bring cheer to this Holiday Season for the seniors and families that we serve in the North End, West End, Beacon Hill, and Greater Boston neighborhoods. We could not have done this without the heartfelt participation of local community-based organizations, our elected officials, and members of our community.
We kicked off this season of giving with Thanksgiving, where we distributed 130 turkeys to North End and West End families. At the Thanksgiving Day Celebration at the NSC, we served a full course turkey meal to over a hundred people and were delighted to have a visit from President/ CEO of ABCD, John Drew, who greeting the participants with sincere expressions of support and best wishes.
December has been a month filled with celebrations and providing a joyous holiday to the families we serve through several programs to bring gifts and necessities to those in need. We had the pleasant visit of the children of the North End Music and Performing Arts Center (NEMPAC ) who performed the annual Holiday Musical Recital for the delight of the NSC clients and staff.
The new ABCD program “Adopt a family “ was a tremendous success, allowing us to obtain substantial relief to more than a half-dozen families with toys, food, household items , and vouchers for essentials. The sponsors of the “Adopt a Family” included companies and organizations such as Sperry Top-Sider, the local Coast Guard, Strada Apartments, and private donors. On the morning of December 23rd three divisions of the Coast Guard came to the NE/WE NSC with their families to personally hand out the gifts from the wish list that the families had presented. One of the gifts was a laptop computer for a young mother of two children who is studying to get her accounting degree at Bunker Hill Community College.
In addition, we gave out dozens of toys as part of our annual ABCD toy drive.
My most profound thanks go to all who contributed to making all these events successful and memorable, especially at this time of the year. The connections made through these events will allow us to identify and assist the needs of the communities that we serve and connect families and seniors to other resources, including basic needs assistance and recreational activities.
I want to express special gratitude to the volunteers of the ABCD North End/West End Neighborhood Service Center , without whose tireless and selfless hard work make it possible for the NSC to operate.
We will continue our work of contributing to reducing and eliminating poverty in our neighborhoods. Thank you for being a part of our work and our mission!
Happy New Year and All the Best in 2015,
Maria Stella Gulla
Director
