The Chairs for Children Gala Committee, led by board member Judy Gustin, did an amazing job decorating and planning for this fabulous evening. The committee of over 20 members had spent the last 6 months tirelessly planning for the event and it was no small job! Trees were wrapped in sparkling white lights, a chandelier hung overlooking the pond, and the chairs were displayed beautifully. Be sure to visit the Gala Auction page for more photos from the event.

One of the great challenges for the committee was to put on a fabulous party on a tight budget. A special thanks to all the vendors who gave donations or special discounts; The Event Company, Goodwin’s Party Shop, Ipswich Shellfish Company, Kate Wollensak Design, Mariposa, The Pressroom Inc., Shaw’s Supermarket, The Shed, Shop & Stop, Stone Leaf, and Wolf Hill Garden Center.

Auctioneers Jack Good and Senator Bruce Tarr helped Pathways raise over $100,000 the evening of the auction. The chairs were a great success! During one of the highlights of the evening artist Ken Knowles offered to create another chair to match his “The Captain’s Chair” if the bidder would double his offer and the caterer, Tim Hopkins, offered to throw in a cocktail party for 50 people. Sold! We are grateful to our friend Chris Hamilos for taking the challenge!

In addition to auctioning the chairs, supporters of Pathways were given the opportunity to donate to the William Dyer Scholarship Fund, created by the original donor in honor of her late husband. This fund makes it possible for children to attend Pathways who are on a waiting list due to family eligibility or the availability of subsidized slots. In many cases, our family caregivers earn a very low wage and yet do not qualify for free child care. On September 16th we raised $45,000 for our Scholarship Fund!

Many of Gloucester High School’s Marine Corp Junior ROTC students, led by advisor Sargent Major Rod Wilday, volunteered their time to help at the Gala. They helped Pathways staff guide parking, bring the chairs up to the auction stage, and load chairs at the end of the auction. These students were very impressive and many guests commented on how great it was to have them there. We could not have had such a well organized evening without their help!

To celebrate the success of our Chairs for Children event and thank all of those who were involved, we are having a Pizza Party at Pathways for Children on October 19th at 6:30 PM. We will have complimentary pizza, salad, beer and wine. This is a great opportunity for those who have not yet visited our Emerson Avenue site to come and see the value of their support. Invitations have been sent to our Sponsors, Artists, Committee Members, Volunteers, and Chair Purchasers, but if you would like to stop by and celebrate with us, please do so! We are requesting your RSVP by Monday, October 16th in order to provide enough pizza for everyone. Please contact Stephanie Walters at swalters@pw4c.org or 978-281-2400 ext. 154. We hope to see you there!

Urgent Need! Every year Pathways for Children Social Services Department provides nearly 200 of our children with winter coats purchased at a significant discount off-season. This year our special source for these children’s coats closed its doors. A committee of board members is working to purchase and gather coats, and our Pathways staff has organized an internal Coat Swap. To meet our goal, we are also appealing for donations of new or gently used winter coats sized 4T to 18. Please consider Pathways this year when cleaning out closets. If you have a question regarding the coat drive, please contact the Pathways development office. Thank you!

Visit our past editions of this E-newsletter below:

March 2006

April 12th, 2006

April 26th, 2006

May 19th, 2006

June 12th, 2006

July 27th, 2006

September 8th, 2006