Category Archives: Medfield Outreach

Medfield Outreach survey open to 3/27

Posted on March 18, 2022 | Comments Off on Medfield Outreach survey open to 3/27

From Medfield Outreach –

Medfield Outreach is seeking your input for a community survey.   Thanks to the generosity of the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund, we are working with a consultant and a group of community stakeholders to better understand the community’s needs and we’d love to hear from you!

YOUR OPINION MATTERS

If you are a Medfield resident, or work for the Town of Medfield, your opinion matters.  Please click this link to share your valuable input.  This survey is available in English, Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish. This survey is anonymous and takes less than 10 minutes to complete.  The survey is live now and closes on Sunday, March 27th. 

The results of this survey will be made public following the analysis of the data.  Furthermore, the data collected will be important in helping consider future resources, services and programming in Medfield.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Medfieldoutreach@medfield.net

Thank you in advance for your participation.

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Posted in Medfield Outreach

Medfield Outreach showing film about suicide at MHS Wednesday, 9/27 at 7PM

Posted on September 21, 2021 | Comments Off on Medfield Outreach showing film about suicide at MHS Wednesday, 9/27 at 7PM

From Medfield Outreach –

My Ascension: A Documentary Film and Movement to Spread Hope and Fight Suicide

WHEN: Wednesday, September 29, 2021, 7:00 pm

WHERE: Medfield High School Auditorium


WHAT/WHY:
September is Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. In order to raise awareness and reduce the stigma of talking about mental health and suicide, the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention (MCSP), a Medfield Foundation initiative, is hosting a screening of the film “My Ascension”, which documents the true story of a young woman who survived a suicide attempt. A panel discussion of mental health professionals will follow the film. This event is intended for adults and high school students and is not recommended for anyone under the age of 14.

REGISTRATION: https://forms.gle/EERgi3daPtswRG679   

SYNOPSIS:
A suicide attempt left 16-year-old varsity cheerleader, Emma Benoit, paralyzed, but propelled her on a mission to use her painful experience to help others find hope and shine more light on the fact that 20 young people die every day by suicide in the in the United States. My Ascension is a feature-length documentary that chronicles Emma’s inspiring journey and quest to walk again, as she works to bring Hope Squad, a school-based suicide prevention program, to Louisiana. The film also highlights the stories of two remarkable young people who tragically did not survive their attempts, and we learn first-hand from their families, friends, school officials, and suicide prevention experts about the devastating effects of suicide and what can be done to prevent it.

COST: This event is being offered free to the community. We kindly request donations to MCSP (click the registration link to see options for donations) if resources permit. No one will be denied participation based on inability to donate.

Questions? Contact Medfield Outreach at medfieldoutreach@medfield.net or at (508) 359-7121

**NOT RECOMMENDED FOR STUDENTS YOUNGER THAN HIGH SCHOOL AGED**

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Posted in MCSP - Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention, Medfield Outreach

Tim & Linda Bonfatti – MFi Legacy Fund founders

Posted on February 13, 2021 | Comments Off on Tim & Linda Bonfatti – MFi Legacy Fund founders
We give to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund because we believe deeply in the local initiatives it supports, like Medfield Outreach and Medfield Cares About Prevention. Having this strong community charitable foundation helps make Medfield a special place and is the reason why we have lived here for over 25 years. Linda & Tim Bonfatti We invite you to join us. To learn more, please visit: medfieldfoundation.org/legacy-fund

If you too value what Medfield has meant to your family, invest in its future by becoming a Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund founder too.

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Posted in Charity, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Medfield Foundation, Medfield Outreach

Girls Who Care fundraiser for MYO

Posted on June 26, 2020 | Comments Off on Girls Who Care fundraiser for MYO

From Jackie Alford and Kathy McDonald –

GWC.HS Photo

GWC Final Fundraiser in support of Medfield Youth Outreach!

The Girls Who Care service group (GWC) is a group of Medfield High School 2020 graduates who have been together since Kindergarten. They have completed approximately 50 service projects over the years and are excited to announce their final project! They have partnered with a fundraising company to offer a variety of items featuring a beautiful and unique logo designed by Medfield alumnus Rachel Tatro. To them, the logo represents the spirit of the MHS Class of 2020 along with the love and support they as a class have felt from the Medfield community during the unusual end to their time at MHS. They are selling these items to raise money for Medfield Youth Outreach, an organization that helps Medfield families in need access assistance and resources. Click on the link below to see almost 90 items that you can purchase with the logo on them. Great for graduation gifts, off-to-college gifts, or keepsakes! GWC will receive 35% of the proceeds for almost all of the items, and all money raised will be donated to Medfield Youth Outreach. All orders must be placed by July 3rd and will be delivered in time for MHS graduation on July 25th. Thank you for helping them give back to the Medfield community one last time before college! Click here to view the items and place your order.
gwc logo

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Posted in Charity, Medfield High School, Medfield Outreach, Teens, Volunteers

Vigil 3PM Sunday

Posted on June 6, 2020 | Comments Off on Vigil 3PM Sunday

A group of residents has organized a vigil for Sunday at 3 pm, with the UU Church bell to toll at 4 pm to mark an 8 min. 46 sec. moment of silence. Additional details are below. We’d like to thank Chief Guerette for her input on the timing. Please join us if your schedules permit.

 

You are invited to gather in solidarity with the BBIPOC (Black Brown Indigenous People of Color) community members in Medfield and beyond, to condemn racism and promote racial equality and to hold vigil for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and their families on Sunday at 3pm AND to participate in a day of action.

 

On Sunday at 3 pm you are invited to line the sidewalks between the Police Station and Town Hall with signs and/or candles OR outside your home in your neighborhood.  At 4 pm we will be in silence for 8 minutes and 46 seconds. The Unitarian Church will ring the bells to commence and complete the moment of silence.

 

You are also welcome to show your solidarity with a sign, piece of art or chalking in the town center on Sunday at any time during the day.  There will be some interactive art, writing installations and an altar outside the Unitarian Church at which you can leave an offering of peace, and we encourage whatever else the community wants to offer.

 

There will be no speakers at this event, we are coming together in action and a show of support. Please honor social distancing and wear masks.

 

Racism is an ongoing problem. This gathering on Sunday is only one step in the direction of promoting racial justice. If you are interested in being part of an ongoing effort, please reach out to Kathy McDonald at Medfieldyouthoutreach@medfield.net.

 

HOW YOU CAN HELP ON SUNDAY:

 

  1. Spread the word! Please tell all of your friends, schools, businesses you know, library etc.

 

  1. If you own or know someone who owns a business in Medfield (or would like to go call them or show up at their door) ask them to offer their store front or windows for art and messaging.  Gather a group of friends to create something with that store together. Take the lead!

 

  1. Create a sign and show up in the town center with your family or a group of people anytime on Sunday.

 

  1. Do you feel passionate about education? Perhaps you want to pass out fliers with resources.

 

  1. Do you want to gather some students to sing during the day? Do it. And spread the word so people come.

 

  1. Want to gather a smaller group in your neighborhood for the moment of silence? I encourage you to take the lead and hold space for that.

 

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Posted in Events, Medfield Outreach

Mental Health Awareness Month

Posted on April 30, 2020 | Comments Off on Mental Health Awareness Month

green heart

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Look for the green ribbons and the green hearts around town to remind people that May is mental health awareness month.

 

Medfield residents – if you feel the need for mental health assistance, you can find counselors through Medfield’s subscription to the INTERFACE Referral Service – click or call INTERFACE (617-332-3666 x1411) to get:

  • INTERFACE’s no cost to you review of its database of local counselors
  • INTERFACE’s list of counselors who take your insurance
  • INTERFACE’s list of counselors who have availability to see new people
  • INTERFACE’s contact information for the counselors

 

INTERFACE is made available to Medfield residents without cost because of  underwriting from the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention, a Medfield Foundation initiative that pays the annual fee.

 

TO DONATE to the Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention.

 

Call the INTERFACE® Helpline 617-332-3666 x1411 or 1-888-244-6843 x1411 WILLIAM JAMES COLLEGE INTERFACE Referral Service Where can you learn about Mental Health Resources in or near your community? How can you access Mental Health Services for all ages? Find answers at the INTERFACE Referral Service. interface.williamjames.edu Call Monday-Friday 9:00 am-5:00 pm to consult with a mental health professional about resources and/or receive personalized, matched referrals. For additional information and resources, please visit interface. wil liam james .edu/ community /medfield. Funding for this valuable service is generously provided by the Medfield Public Schools and the Town of Medfield.Interface cards_Page_2

 

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Posted in health, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, MCSP - Medfield Coalition for Suicide Prevention, Medfield Outreach

Medfield Helping Organizations

Posted on April 18, 2020 | Comments Off on Medfield Helping Organizations

I was asked yesterday – “Could your blog offer names and contact information of organizations that help Medfield residents in time of need?”   I will list the ones of which I am aware, and invite others to add to my list.

 

The Home Committee

The oldest helping entity I am aware of is the Home Committee.  Kathy Thompson (kathompson@gmail.com) and Georgia Colivas of the Home Committee appeared at a recent Select Board meeting to explain the Home Committee.  At that time they announced that the Home Committee had made a substantial donation to the Medfield Foundation’s COVID-19 Relief Fund.

 

Town of Medfield

The Town of Medfield’s human services are managed through the Medfield Youth Outreach, the Council on Aging, and Veterans Services.

Medfield Youth Outreach
88R South Street, Door 12
Medfield, MA 02052
cgoldstein-walsh@medfield.net
Work 508-359-7121

Lisa Donovan, Outreach Coordinator
Council on Aging
One Ice House Road
Medfield, MA 02052
ldonovan@medfield.net
508-359-3665

Jon Cogan, Veterans Agent

Email
Phone: 508-906-3025

Medfield Foundation

mfi logo

The Medfield Foundation was started in 2001 with a simple idea, that Medfield residents would be willing to make private donations for public purposes in their own hometown, and to date over $3 m. has been given.

As a result of the annual Angel Run each December being a Medfield Foundation initiative, MFi started fourteen years ago raising monies for its Public Needs Fund to assist Medfield families.  The MFi’s Public Needs Funds are disbursed to an Angel Fund administered jointly by the Medfield Youth Outreach office and Pastor Phil Bauman of the UCC, from where the monies are disbursed to Medfield families in need.

MFi responded four years ago to a perceived need to assist all Medfield children to be able to attend summer camp by the creation of its Camp Fund, currently administered by Rose Colleran.

Medfield Helping Hands, a Medfield Foundation initiative, is a volunteer network that supports Medfield families in temporary crisis with meals and rides. It is run by Laurie Nealon, Kathleen Cahill, and Katie Henebry.

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is an endowment established for the long-term benefit of the Medfield community which engages in grant-making to support community-driven projects.  Its Community Board, run by Todd Trehubenko and Chris Cahill, is engaged in raising $1 m. to endow the Legacy Fund.

Most recently, MFi has created its COVID-19 Relief Fund, which was created to specifically assist residents in need due to issues arising due to the COVID-19 virus.  The COVID-19 Relief Fund is being headed by Evan Weisenfeld and Abby Marble

Any Medfield Foundation initiative mentioned can be reached through the website, or by an email to president@medfieldfoundation.org or  treasurer@medfieldfoundation.org.

 

Churches

I suspect that all the churches in town are engaged in helping residents as well, but I do not know those details.

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Posted in Charity, Council on Aging, COVID-19, Medfield Foundation, Medfield Outreach, Veterans

An appreciation of our town employees

Posted on March 25, 2020 | 2 comments

town seal

An appreciation for a job well done

I have been thinking this morning about the Town of Medfield employees who provide we residents with the services that allow our lives to continue with as much semblance of normalcy as possible at all times, but most especially in these truly unsettling circumstances we are currently experiencing. Our water goes on, public safety continues to serve us, the Transfer Station even added Sunday openings, and all the town government systems continue to function, if behind a digital curtain, all so that we residents can continue our lives.

The town employees are providing essential services, so while they likely share the same unease that envelopes us all, they continue to work their jobs.  I wanted to publicly share with the Town of Medfield employees my sincere appreciation for their efforts  and to thank them.

I am extremely appreciative of what all the town employees are doing now, working under difficult circumstances – I want to let them all know just how much this one resident, one who tries hard to observe closely the functioning of the town government so as to understand it as well as possible, truly appreciates what our team of town employees are accomplishing for we residents.

2 Comments

Posted in Council on Aging, DPW, Employees, Fire Department, Library, Medfield High School, Medfield Outreach, Medfield Park & Recreation Commission, People, Permitting, Planning, Police Department, Recycling & Solid Waste, Town Services

Inaugural MFi Legacy Fund grant wins MCAP a huge Federal grant

Posted on December 2, 2019 | Comments Off on Inaugural MFi Legacy Fund grant wins MCAP a huge Federal grant

mfilf-20191129-event

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund Grant Presentation Ceremony
(Pictured from left to right) Todd Trehubenko, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair; Christian Donner, Friends of the Medfield Rail Trail; Dawn Alcott, Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP); Jean Mineo of the Cultural Alliance of Medfield; Chris Cahill, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair

Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund Grant Pays Huge Dividends to Medfield

 When the Medfield Youth Outreach team from Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) submitted a grant request to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund team to hire Bright Solutions Consulting to review and assist with writing MCAP’s federal Drug Free Communities grant application, it seemed like a long shot. Those involved all believed that the goal of making Medfield a recognized Drug Free Community was worth pursuing.

The Legacy Fund team took a chance on MCAP and awarded it a $5,000 grant in November 2018 and MCAP immediately went to work with the consultant on their federal grant application. The grant request was submitted in early 2019 and the team waited for the big announcement. On November 6, 2019 it was announced that MCAP was awarded a FY 2019 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $625,000 paid over five years by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This grant will allow the coalition to hire a full-time prevention coordinator who will carry out evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing youth substance use in the Medfield community, services that have been proven to reduce substance abuse in other towns.

“The MCAP coalition owes the success of the DFC grant application to the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund grant, which allowed MCAP to hire an experienced grant writer,” said Chelsea Goldstein-Walsh LICSW, the Interim Director of Medfield Youth Outreach. “We are looking forward to launching a proactive and comprehensive effort to decrease youth substance use and promote wellness in the community.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund is an endowment established for the long-term benefit of the Medfield community which will also engage in annual grant-making to support community-driven projects. “This is exactly how we see the funds from the Legacy Fund being used to benefit Medfield,” said Todd Trehubenko, co-chair of the MFi Legacy Fund. “We think of the grants we can provide to be like an accelerant, helping add fuel to help grow programs and services that benefit Medfield residents.”

The Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund’s fundraising goal of $1,000,000 will enable the fund to grant annual funding requests. They are currently looking for founders/investors to help build the endowment which will enable this level of giving back to the community.

 

About Medfield Foundation

The Medfield Foundation (MFi) is a 100% volunteer run 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation whose mission is to enrich the lives of Medfield residents, build a stronger community, and facilitate the raising and allocation of private funds for public needs in the town of Medfield. Since its inception in 2001, the Medfield Foundation has raised over $2,300,000 (Yes, two million three hundred thousand dollars!) to support community-wide initiatives in Medfield.

MFi was founded based on the realization that some residents were interested in contributing more than town taxes to support projects and services that would enrich life in Medfield. You are urged to go to http://medfieldfoundation.org to learn more.

 

For more information please contact:

 

Todd Trehubenko, MFi Legacy Fund Co-Chair

617-785-5619

legacyfund@medfieldfoundation.org

 

or

 

Evan Weisenfeld, MFi President

508-740-4367

evan@medfieldfoundation.org

give local

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Posted in Charity, Cultural Alliance of Medfield, health, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Medfield Foundation, Medfield Outreach, Medfield Rail Trail, Teens

MCAP Receives $625K Grant

Posted on November 25, 2019 | Comments Off on MCAP Receives $625K Grant

MCAP Logo_1C_300

MCAP Announces Receipt of $625K Federal Grant

The Medfield Cares About Prevention (MCAP) substance abuse prevention coalition, a Medfield Foundation Initiative, announced that it was awarded a FY 2019 Drug-Free Communities Support Program grant in the amount of $625,000 over five years by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, in cooperation with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. This grant will allow the coalition to hire a full-time prevention coordinator who will carry out evidence-based strategies aimed at preventing youth substance use in the Medfield community. Superintendent of the Medfield Public Schools and MCAP coalition member, Dr. Jeff Marsden, responded to the news of the grant award: "I'm so happy for our kids and community that we will have someone dedicated to substance use prevention. The collective efforts of MCAP really came through for our community and our district looks forward to this important work." Medfield is honored to receive this grant and is prepared to launch a proactive and comprehensive effort to decrease substance use. The goals of the Medfield Cares About Prevention coalition are to establish and strengthen community collaboration in support of local efforts to decrease youth substance use. The coalition will seek to achieve its goals by implementing the following strategies: providing information and support, enhancing skills, providing incentives and disincentives for youth substance use, changing the physical environment, and modifying policies. The coalition will specifically target alcohol and electronic vapor products and will promote positive alternatives to substance use through community collaboration. This successful grant application was made possible by the tireless efforts of coalition members, as well as by a coalition consultant, Amanda Decker of Bright Solutions Consulting. MCAP was able to contract with Bright Solutions Consulting thanks to a generous grant from the Medfield Foundation Legacy Fund, an endowed fund of the Foundation for MetroWest. Securing this mini grant of $5,000 positioned MCAP to secure grant writing consultation services and set the coalition up for a successful award of the DFC grant.

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Posted in Children, health, MCAP - Medfeild Cares About Prevention, Medfield Outreach, Teens, Uncategorized