We recently discovered that our friend, Trish Fontanilla, is on the board of Food for Free. You all may know Trish as the founder of the BOSFilipinos, she interviewed gather here founder, Virginia back in 2018 for their "Filipinos in Boston" series. Cambridge's Vice Mayor Alanna Mallon founded the Cambridge Weekend Backpack Program and joined Food for Free in January of 2016. We are big fans of Vice Mayor Mallon. Food for Free was the first organization we donated to when we began the We Care Wednesday initiative in 2017. We have written about food insecurity and the pandemic over...

Perhaps you read the Washington Post article, "This tribe helped the Pilgrims survive for their first Thanksgiving. They still regret it 400 years later." published on November 11, 2021. If you haven't, we encourage you to. You'll learn that the Mashpee Wampanoag Museum draws about 800 visitors a year. Compared to the 1.5 million tourists that visit Plymouth's museums and gift shops and learn a white-washed version of history. A version of history that mythologizes the violent events that followed European arrival into a story of friendship and mutual sharing. But the reality is that the Wampanoag People’s generosity was met with...

The last few weeks of August have been difficult to navigate: surges in COVID cases across the country, weather events that have taken precious lives and left people without homes, food, and power, a Supreme Court that is primed to destroy women's rights, and the end of a 20 year war that brings with it a refugee crisis (and so much more). We know we can't do it all. And we fear we will never do enough. For September we'll be fundraising for the Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston's Fund for Afghan Immigrants and Refugees. With your generosity, the...

We were so excited to read Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui's announcement of the creation of Cambridge's guaranteed income pilot program, Cambridge RISE (recurring income for success + empowerment). Cambridge RISE aims to address the growing economic divide and racial inequities in Cambridge, while also maintaining its diverse population and continuing to be a place families thrive. Beginning June 2021, Cambridge and its key partners will conduct an 18-month Guaranteed Income Pilot Project for single caretaker households. The pilot will provide $500 recurring monthly payments to 130 residents within the participant group to increase financial stability, and show what is possible on...

We renewed our sponsorship of the Be Seen Project to kick off July and we wanted to highlight this mutual aid organization founded by Mindy Tsonas Choi. The Be Seen Project resources and amplifies BIPOC artists and makers who are using their work to center marginalized voices and create social justice and cultural change. "We can not change what we can not see. Here's to powerful ways of seeing and being seen." From producing an excellent podcast, providing BIPOC artists and makers micro-grants to continue their work, and organizing/planning/moderating the Disrupting Craftivism quarterly conversations, this project has already done so much...