Mercy Meals and More received ” the call” and the temporary emergency shelter will be opening on Tuesday January 7th at 7 p.m. so people can come out of the cold.

They are in need of donations of food and paper supplies. Give Rev. Russ Chamberlain a call at 508-728-1489 to donate or arrange a time to bring donations to 634 Purchase Street. They can use one female and one male for four hour shifts. The shifts are 7 to 11 p.m. 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. and 3a.m. to 7 a.m. ( this shift provides the volunteers with a free breakfast on Rev. Russ) Any one interested in helping out or bringing some food i.e. snacks such as fruit, yogurt and fruit cups and luncheon meats for sandwiches please give Rev. Russ a call at 508-728-1489.

Mercy Meals and More is in urgent need of coats and blankets now to prepare for the winter. On average, over 100 people show up each day to the the free diner that provides breakfast each morning. The diner also provide used clothing daily and is in critical need of coats and blankets due to the colder temperatures.

Mercy Meals and More is also the only cold weather, official emergency shelter in New Bedford. During the cold times they need volunteers to help at the shelter. They are asking volunteers to provide their contact details so they can be contacted when the need arises.

If you have used clothing, blankets, coats or money that you want to donate, or are willing to volunteer this winter, contact Russ Chamberlain at 508-728-1489, or stop by the shelter Monday through Saturday at 7am. They are located at Pilgrim U.C.C. on 634 Purchase Street. You can also visit their website at: http://mercymealsandmore.com/.

On Saturday August 17, 2013 internationally acclaimed artist Ken Richards will be celebrating the opening of his New Bedford studio by hosting a gala Art Exhibit and cocktail party to raise money and awareness for United Way of Greater New Bedford Hunger Commission. Richards will donate 5% of all sales from the show to the commission.

Ken Richards is an artist whose beautiful landscapes of Greece and New England are what first called attention to his artwork. Richards resides and has studios in Mykonos, Greece New Bedford, Mass. He has had successful shows in Athens, Paris, London, New York, Los Angeles, Charleston, South Carolina and Southampton, NY which have resulted in an international reputation for colorful, lively and bold paintings, all acrylic on canvas or linen. His paintings hang in galleries across the USA, throughout Europe and in the private galleries of international collectors.

“For survival, food is the most basic of human needs.” says Richards “Since I have such strong ties to New Bedford, a show that benefits The United Way of Greater New Bedford Hunger Commission was a natural choice. They are so important to our community because they are the only local program that coordinates food distribution to emergency food pantries and kitchens, working with 21 locations in Bristol County.”

“We are pleased that Ken has brought his collection to New Bedford and has decided to benefit the Hunger Commission with a percentage of the show’s sales. Ken is a New Bedford treasure and is deeply rooted in the community,” replies Bill Shell, Program Coordinator, Hunger Commission of Southeastern Massachusetts “Richards’ has been a supporter of the Hunger Commission for many years and has hosted successful fundraisers in the past.”

The event is on Saturday, August 17 5:30 PM -9:30 PM 768 Purchase St New Bedford (Bristol Bldg) Admission is free of charge. For more info and to RSVP call 508-496-7980.

Ken Richards
Website: www.artistkenrichards.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artistkenrichards
An internationally acclaimed Greek-American artist Ken Richards resides and has studios in Mykonos, Greece and New Bedford, Massachusetts.

His paintings have garnered much praise and excitement from collectors, media and art societies around the globe His paintings hang in galleries and private collections across America, throughout Europe and in residences of the Saudi Royal Family.

His travels to the Serengeti Plain in Tanzania, Alexandria and Giza in Egypt, Marrakech in Morocco, and the island of Crete have yielded some of his most interesting studies in light. More recently he has found Paris and the north of Italy to be great sources of inspiration.
Hunger Commission

United Way’s Hunger Commission, of Southeastern Massachusetts annually distributes more than one million pounds of food – including fresh, locally grown produce – to local programs for those in need.

A leading statewide advocate on hunger issues, the program is responsible for managing Emergency Food and Shelter Program funding for Bristol County. The Hunger Commission also partners with the National Association of Letter Carriers and the US Postal Service to coordinate the local piece of the largest one-day food drive in the country.

---

The New Bedford Parks Recreation & Beaches Department is participating in the Summer Food Service Program. Meals will be provided to all eligible children free of charge. Children who are part of households that receive benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) (formerly foods stamps), or benefits under the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), or Transitional Aid to Families with Dependent Children (TAFDC) are automatically eligible to receive free meals.

Acceptance and participation requirements for the Program and all activities are the same for all regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

The City of New Bedford is partnering with public enrolled programs at public schools, local churches, and community centers to provide meals through the Summer Food Service Program. Ask your Summer provider if they are participating, or contact New Bedford Parks Recreation & Beaches Department at 508-961-3015 to find out more information.

Meals will be provided at the enrolled sites, at various times and dates as follows:

• Ashley School
• Boys & Girls Club
• Carlos Pacheco School
• Carney Academy
• Community Boating Center (2 locations)
• Dennison Memorial
• Gomes School
• Grace After School
• Harbour House Family Center
• Holy Family Holy Name
• HA Kempton School
• Inglesia DeCristo Misionera
• Keith Middle School
• Kennedy Day Summer Program
• Lincoln School
• Nazarene Christian Academy
• New Bedford Community Service Department Kool Days
• New Bedford High School
• New Bedford Whaling National Historic Park
• Normandin Middle School
• Rodman School
• Roosevelt Middle School
• ROSS Program @ Presidential Heights
• Temple Landing
• Trips for Kids
• YMCA Camp Frederick Douglass
• YWCA Girls Exclusive
• YW Kids School Age Program

Closed/enrolled sites are subject to change as the Summer progresses. List of Open Program Sites for New Bedford’s Play in the Park and Summer Food Program. Meals are provided between 10:00 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the sites and times as follows:

• Andrea McCoy Recreation Center – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Ashley Park –  10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Blue Meadows Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Brickenwood Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Brooklawn Park 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Buttonwood Park Playground – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Clasky Common Park – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• County & Weld Street Community Garden – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Dottin Place Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Magnett Park Playground – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Montes Park – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Nashmont Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
• Parkdale Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Riverside Park – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Roberto Clemente Park – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Ruth Street Tot Lot – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m
• Satellite Village – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Shawmut Village – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• West Beach, Under the Pavillion – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
• Westlawn Housing – 10:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

 

 

Join us for a wonderful evening of collegiate baseball. Saturday, June 8th at 6:30pm. Paul Walsh Field in New Bedford. Thanks to our sponsors * ALL Children get in FREE! This is a wonderful opportunity for the entire family to spend quality time together. Parents, Grandparents, Aunts Uncles, Cousins, Friends and Neighbors. 

We’ll have a truck there to accept donations of “gently-used” children’s things: clothes, toys, books, puzzles, games and baby safety items. (Strollers, car seats, pack and plays, high-chairs) Anything kids no longer need or use – if it’s in great shape – we’ll pass it along, in real-time, to a local kid who really needs it! (On the SouthCoast there are over 25,000 children living in poverty)

GiftsToGive™ is a magical place. Thousands of local children come here to engage in giving and service. We call it Tangible Philanthropy and Big Citizenship. Kids donate their “gently-used” clothes, toys, books and things they no longer need or use and volunteer at our huge re-purposing center to process, organize and package tons of donations, transforming them into thousands of individual gift packages. Hundreds of local agencies and care givers go on-line and order customized gift-packages for homeless and at-risk children in their care. All this is made possible through the commitment of our volunteer management team and adult volunteer workforce. Volunteers from age three are welcome. We’re open Monday through Saturday. Details at www.giftstogive.org

* Our wonderful and most amazing sponsors truly understand the importance of “Family” and helping make all our children successful! The Fisherman’s Market and The New Bedford Half Marathon

Today, May 29, 2013 at the New Bedford High School, seniors in the National Honor Society presented a $1,000 check to the Schwartz Center for Children, funds raised through a teacher talent show they organized. Mary Hodgson, the CEO of the Schwartz Center was there to receive the check and thank the students for their charitable community service.

Mrs. Aja Beach, a French teacher at the high school, won the talent show with an original inspirational rap song that she wrote to students about following your dreams, which was accompanied by a hip hop-infused tap dance.

In her speech at the check presentation today, Mrs. Beach said “I chose the Schwartz Center because I’ve seen amazing results in my friend’s son who gets therapies at the Center. I’ve watched him grow and improve in many ways as a result of those therapies.”

Mrs. Beach had many of her students supporting her at the show with cheers and hand-made signs as well as a student choreographer named Mikayla Lapre who created the dance she performed and a student beat-boxer named Chandrea Grant who performed onstage with her as a background accompaniment to her rap song.

The National Honor Society recognizes students who have the highest GPA’s in the school. They also must do an excellent job displaying the four characteristics deemed to be a necessary part of an Honor Society student. Those are Academic excellence, Service to others, Leadership, and Superior Character.

On Wednesday, May 29th at 1:00 p.m., in the Little Theater at New Bedford High School, National Honor Society students will present the Schwartz Center for Children with funds raised in a talent show. New Bedford High School seniors in the National Honor Society successfully organized and ran the teacher talent show as a charitable community service project. The National Honor Society raised just under $1,000.00 at this event and chose the Schwartz Center as the recipient. Mary Hodgson, the CEO of the Schwartz Center, will be there to receive the check.

Each teacher had to choose a charity that they would compete for and the winning teacher would have all of the show’s proceeds donated to the charity of their choice. Mrs. Aja Beach won the talent show with an original inspirational rap song that she wrote to students about following your dreams, which was accompanied by a hip hop-infused tap dance. Mrs. Beach is a French teacher at New Bedford High School.

She chose the Schwartz Center in Dartmouth as her charity because she has seen the amazing results of the therapies given to her friend’s son at this center and watched him grow and improve in many ways as a result. She has also heard so many great things about the Schwartz center from people she knows that have children that attend the facility.

Mrs. Beach had many of her students supporting her at the show with cheers and hand-made signs as well as a student choreographer named Mikayla Lapre who created the dance she performed and a student beat-boxer named Chandrea Grant who performed onstage with her as a background accompaniment to her rap song.

The National Honor Society recognizes students who have the highest GPA’s in the school. They also must do an excellent job displaying the four characteristics deemed to be a necessary part of an Honor Society student. Those are Academic excellence, Service to others, Leadership, and Superior Character.

Operation Clean Sweep, a New Bedford based anti-litter organization, will hold the first of its series of 2013 neighborhood cleanups on Saturday, May 4th, 2013 in Ward 2 from 8:30 am until Noon. The Ward 2 cleanup will be hosted by the Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District and headquarters will be located at the parking lot on Sawyer Street between Acushnet Avenue and N. Front Street.

The Greater New Bedford Regional Refuse Management District will provide breakfast for volunteers in the morning and Domino’s Pizza, “The Official Pizza” of Operation Clean Sweep will provide lunch.

Throughout the year, the organization will spearhead several other cleanups in New Bedford neighborhoods and will tackle Ward 5 on May 18th, Ward 6 on June 15th, Ward 3 on August 17th and Ward 4 on September 21st.

Students, individuals, families and community service groups are encouraged to volunteer with Operation Clean Sweep to earn community service hours, demonstrate support for their neighborhood, and pride in their community.

Volunteers are encouraged to pre-register by visiting www.operationcleansweep.net or by calling (508) 979-1493. Pre-registration is not required but it is preferred so that organizers are better able to plan for the needs of the day. Volunteers are asked to wear closed toe shoes and clothing appropriate for the weather. Tools and gloves are provided. Walk-ups are always welcome and all volunteer names will be entered into a drawing for a covered trash barrel!

Call (508) 979-1493 to host a cleanup or for more information. Find Operation Clean Sweep on Facebook!

The Team Noah Foundation is joined by Cameron’s Kids, and the Traver / Jordan Alves Foundation (TJA), to build a home addition for 62-year-old grandmother caring for her grandchild with special needs and his sibling. The 20 by 30 foot addition will include a basement for storage, a handicap accessible bathroom, kitchen and a bedroom for the 12-year-old boy who is wheelchair bound. The build is planned to begin and end in a record 7-day span with the help of volunteers.

Currently, the family’s home in Wareham is very small. The grandmother, who has health challenges of her own, is the primary caretaker of her two grandchildren. Her special needs grandchild weighs close to 100 pounds and she finds it exceedingly difficult to manage his care in the current environment, which is not handicap accessible and requires her to pick him up several times per day.

The plight of this family was brought to the attention of Victor Fernandes through a connection with the Schwartz Center for Children, where the child receives services. Victor is a new member of the Schwartz Center’s Board of Directors. His own child Noah attended school at the Center for several years, until his condition progressed to the point where home-care was necessary. Recently Victor and his wife Christine established the Team Noah Foundation in honor of Noah to help families with children impacted by medical and developmental disabilities.

Fernandes is also the co-proprietor of Fernandes Masonry, Inc. of New Bedford that participated in the American reality TV series Extreme Makeover: Home Edition a few years ago. Fernandes wanted to do something similar for this family.

Fernandes reached out to two local businessmen who have also contributed to numerous noble causes related to youth or disabilities. Nelson Cardoso, the proprietor of Cardoso Construction and Cardoso Concrete of Acushnet and Allen Alves, the co-proprietor of Lighthouse Masonry Inc. of New Bedford. Both men found it to be such a compelling story that they decided to get on board and contribute with their company’s construction skills and labor.

Although the project is still in its initial stage, various volunteers have already stepped up to offer help, according to Fernandes. But much more is needed. “We still need some labor and materials, such as floor and roof trusses, shingles, granite, and kitchen equipment. Furniture any other donations will be much appreciated,” Fernandes said. “It would also be nice if someone could donate a vacation so that we could send the family away for one week and get all the work done during that period.”

Anyone interested in donating labor or materials, please contact Victor Fernandes at 774- 473- 9776.

On February 26th, the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts will celebrate its 10th Annual Red Dress Fashion Show and Silent Auction. While numerous events highlight the ‘red dress’ in the month of February, the YWCA has a legacy for hosting a night to remember. Pair a great cause, food, entertainment, a silent auction and a fashion show with models picked right from the community, and you’ve got a once-a-year event that can’t be missed. You can check out photos from last year’s event on the YWCA Facebook page.

This year, over 20 women will model in the fashion show. In the past nine years, over 181 women have modeled. These women are selected from throughout the community and as a special treat, in honor of its 10th year, many former models will return to walk the catwalk once again. The featured dresses are donated by local clothing stores and spotlight some of today’s top designers. In addition to the models, a number of ‘men in uniform’ will escort the ladies on the runway. Also from the community, escorts have been asked to wear their uniforms from military service to law enforcement and public safety professions.

To date, the event has raised $72,370 for the YWCA’s HEARTplus program. These funds have and will continue to support the YWCA Health and Wellness Outreach and Education Program, an effort which uses YWCA Community Health Workers and trained Peer Educators to educate women in the community about heart disease awareness and prevention. Workshops are offered in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

While the funds raised remain close to home, the YWCA is also a longtime active participant in the National Heart Truth Red Dress Project, which features women modeling a collection of dresses from America’s top designers. The dresses serve to spread the message that “Heart disease does not care what you wear.” In fact, a startling one in every three American women dies of heart disease.

“Many people still believe that heart disease is a man’s disease, when in fact, it is the number one killer of American women,” says Gail Fortes, Executive Director of the YWCA. “Many risk factors such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and family history also contribute to a woman’s risk of developing heart disease. It is very important that women are aware of the steps that they can take to reduce their risk of developing heart disease.”

Tickets are selling out fast and may or may not be available at the door. For ticket information, visit their website.