Natick to be part of the Stop Hate Rally route, March 27th

March 25, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

A Stop Hate Rally & Run to show solidarity in wake of the March 16th Atlanta shootings in which eight were killed, including six Asian women, will take place along the Boston Marathon route on Sat., March 27, 10am – 11am.

Demonstrators along the route will run, walk, and rally to condemn acts of violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and to display the unity, resilience, and strength of the Asian American community.

This event is organized by the New England Chinese American Alliance (NECAA).

More information to come such as where along the route in Natick demonstrators will be gathered.

尊敬的朋友：

新英格兰华人联盟(NECAA)联合Wellesley华协、Belmont 华协、Lextington华协、Winchester华协，Newton华协、Brookline中文学校、莱星文化中心、美国华人联合会麻州分会, 旅美科协波士顿分会、波士顿清华校友会、吕令子基金会、亚美会、Westar、Brookline 华人居民群、美国中餐联盟、平世界基金、犇跑团、Needham华协将于3/27/2021在波马沿线的八个镇举行一场首尾相连的示威活动。

我们将在波马道路的沿线举行插牌、举牌活动；我们将在有人行道的镇举行接力跑；我们将有四队跑者在波马沿线的四个地点同时出发，共同完成一个马拉松赛程。同时，我们也将在Hopkinton和Boston Common举行纪念仪式。

我们希望，通过用此项活动，表达我们对逝去同胞的哀思；表达亚裔长期被视为“温顺胆小”的不满；表达主流社会长期对亚裔偏见的愤懑；表达亚裔社区日益增长的活力、团结和力量；我们也更想表达，一个团结、平等、多样化的美国才会是一个更安全、更美好、更值得期待的国度。

所有参加者都要求佩戴口罩，保持社交距离。若您想举牌表示支持，不胜感谢！

活动详情：
10:00-10:30 Hopkinton纪念仪式。
10:00-11:20 沿波马道路的插牌和举牌活动。
10:30-11:20 Hopkinton、Framingham、Wellesley 、Newton 4个地点同时出发，跑步。每段10公里。
11:20 最后一段的跑者抵达Boston Common Parkman Bandstand ，举行纪念仪式。

我们希望，活动结束后，在条件允许的情况下您能通过社交媒体分享您的经历和感受。

期待您的加入！

Partner organizations:

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Natick-based Family Promise will no longer use area congregations to shelter families

March 22, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

Family Promise Metrowest Executive Director Sue Crossley in a video address announced that the Natick-based homeless prevention program would no longer use 19 area houses of worship as part of its shelter program to house its partner families. For over ten years Family Promise has worked with an interfaith network of congregations to help temporarily house families using a rotational model in which a congregation hosted as many as five families. Partner families would live at one church or synagogue for one week, then move to another for the next week, and so on as they worked with Family Promise toward the goal of permanent housing.

On the week their congregations were scheduled as hosts, volunteers would rally together. With the help of a congregation leader with a passion for the program and a talent for working a Sign-Up Genius, an army of volunteers would take on the tasks needed to ready the church for families and make them feel welcomed and cared for. Teams would set up and break down bedrooms; make meals and eat dinner with families; play games with the kids; do laundry; and more. It was a real “it takes a village” kind of experience.

In putting together its most recent 5-year strategic plan, however, Crossley said changing the model for shelter was a decision brought about not only by the pandemic, which forced the homeless prevention program last year to move their families from congregations to hotel rooms “to ensure everyone’s health and safety”, but also in response to focus groups. “We came to the realization that having a shelter site where families live rather than rotating to the different congregations really made the most sense for everyone,” Crossley said.

That realization has come on the heels of a successful capital campaign that allowed Family Promise in 2019 to not only pay off its mortgage in full, but establish a building fund to handle future maintenance. The organization bought the 3-bathroom property in 2017 for $950,000. Without mortgage payments, Family Promise’s monthly expenses have been significantly reduced. Thanks to the pandemic, that new “found money” was immediately put to use—for example, the program incurred hotel costs once the churches could no longer host families due to social distancing measures. In addition, Family Promise has begun to help families who need shelter diversion services that would allow them to bypass shelter entry altogether, such as help with moving expenses, or a safe place to stay for a few days until they could move into permanent housing elsewhere.

As Family Promise searches for a shelter site where families will temporarily live, it is possible that the current day center on Mulligan Street in Natick could become a small shelter. It is expected that area congregations will continue to play a major volunteerism role in the program.

The Campaign for Change

Family Promise Metrowest’s mission is to transform the lives of families with children facing homelessness by mobilizing a diverse community to provide shelter, education, and comprehensive support. Their May 1st-2nd 2021 Walk for Change—self-guided walks in all of its supporting towns—will raise funds for programming that supports the families on their path to sustainability.

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Natick Community Organic Farm barn burns to ground, dog sounded alarm

March 17, 2021 by Bob Brown 1 Comment

Awful news from Natick Community Organic Farm overnight, as it posted a video of its 200-plus-year-old barn burning down.

Three sows and 13 piglets were lost in the 3-alarm fire that took place around 4:30am, according to the farm. “No humans were hurt, except in their hearts,” posted Office Farmer Trish Umbrell on Facebook.

natick community farm fire — The barn after the fire

Overhead look from Natick GIS:

A new farm dog called Eddy is credited with sounding the alarm, awaking on-site caretakers, who were able to evacuate and call 9-1-1. “We commend the work of the Natick, Wellesley, and Framingham Fire Departments, who acted quickly and bravely. They contained the fire to the barn, protecting the farmhouse and surrounding animal structures,” Umbrell wrote.

All about Eddy, who sounded alarm on @natickfarm fire pic.twitter.com/UOvtLkoGoa
— Natick Report (@NatickReport) March 17, 2021

The non-profit farm will be closed until Monday while the fire department investigates and the farm can plan its next moves.

An outpouring of support for the farm has flooded social media as word gets out.

You can donate to the farm either through a crowdfunding campaign launched by the farm, or directly through the Natick Community Organic Farm website.

According to the farm, the timber-framed barn was built after the Hurricane of 1815, using wood from downed oak trees that was milled on-site. In recent times has been used as a shelter for equipment, feed, and animals. The public had been free to walk through when the doors were open.

Stalls in the barn each spring are used as birthing space for pigs, and also serves baby chicks.

The barn had been modernized with solar panels on its southern roof.

We spoke to some of the farm’s personnel after the fire:

Natick July 4th parade off, but town could go all Mardi Gras with Float Houses

February 23, 2021 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Natick’s Friends of the 4th not surprisingly have nixed this year’s July 4th parade in light of the pandemic, but organizers are offering a Plan B that they hope will get locals jazzed.

Taking a page from New Orleans and its Mardi Gras, where hardy partiers have decorated their homes colorfully as Float Houses, the Friends of the 4th will encourage Natick residents to do likewise come summer.

“We are thinking outside the box, and planning to have a Float House contest with scavenger hunt,” organizers have said in a Facebook post. “We feel this year, we can have a fun event with appropriate social distancing and masks, just not the traditional parade. We hope the residents of Natick will participate by decorating their stoops, porches and front lawns into stationary 4th of July themed floats!”

Participants will be able to register their decorated houses and vie for prizes. Businesses will be encouraged to get into the spirit as well.

Meanwhile, it’s not too early to prep for the 2022 parade.

us a flag on white background — Photo by Brian McGowan on Unsplash

Natick business visit: we stop by the new PGA Tour Superstore

February 4, 2021 by Deborah Brown Leave a Comment

In a crafty move, the PGA Tour Superstore in Natick welcomed those who golf or are golf-curious to its grand opening at 1398 Worcester St. (Rte. 9 east), in the former Michaels art supply store. We dropped by to visit the 34,000 sq. ft. retailer to see what they’ve done with the place after a gut remodel achieved in a sub-part time of about four months. Hey, it’s not their first swing at this kind of thing. The Natick location marks PGA Tour Superstore’s third Boston-area location (Braintree and Peabody are its other area outposts), and 45th store overall.

PGA Tour Superstore, Natick, located on Rt. 9 eastbound in the former Michaels craft store.

“We’re definitely rolling and so excited to be here. It’s been a lot of effort to get everything together to get to this point, and a lot of fun,” assistant general manager Tyler Clerverdon said.

The PGA store, short for Professional Golfers’ Association, offers what you would expect in a store of its massive size—all the golf gear and apparel you could ever want, on a grand scale. An entire wall of just golf balls. An entire wall of just shoes. Aisles of just clubs. You get the idea. The store’s emphasis is on golf, but it also offers tennis equipment and apparel.

When we stopped by, a bunch of families were having fun puttering about the 1,500 sq. ft. putting green area, while the virtual golf center’s bays were filled with those trying to find the perfect club or improve their swings. There are four bays for club fitting, and four practice bays, with practice bay rentals available at a rate of $10 by the half-hour. You can bring your own clubs, but not your own bag. And if you’re wondering why you must wait a few minutes when there’s an empty bay right over there, that would be due to physical distancing requirements. The virtual golf center offers lessons in two additional bays, and is staffed with certified instructors.

The 10 bays have different purposes but use the same technology. Data-driven improvement metrics are very big here. To make every swing count, each practice bay is outfitted with ball flight launch monitor technology, as well as video swing capture and playback capabilities. The idea is to give golfers concrete feedback about how to improve their overall game.

With winter looming long, golf courses frozen solid, and a dearth of things to do that seem safe during a time of pandemic, it’s likely that PGA Superstore will see a steady stream of the activity-starved. If those improved or newfound golf skills transfer over to the outdoor links come spring, so much the better for Natick’s newest addition to the route 9 retail landscape.