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...

In the summer of 2019 (sooooo long ago, right?) I (Virginia) participated in the ICA Deep Dive conversation on maximalism. At this event she met, Mel Taing, a Cambodian-American photographer who had graduated from MassArt. Mel's photos from that event are some of my favorite photos of myself in my element, talking about creating with color and texture and specifically fiber as well as making something. I've stayed in touch with Mel since then, mostly on Instagram. I noted that in Mel's email signature there was a link to the MassArt JET (Justice, Equity, and Transformation) BIPOC Fund and was...

For October we will be fundraising for Project Bread. Project Bread envisions a Massachusetts where hunger is permanently solved. They connect people and communities in Massachusetts to reliable sources of food while advocating for policies that make food more accessible—so that no one goes hungry. Did you know that food insecurity doubled during the pandemic? Project Bread provides resources to understanding food insecurity in Massachusetts as well as ways you can be a hunger advocate. Project Bread works with legislators to craft policy solutions to strengthen critical nutrition programs while engaging with partners to address the underlying factors contributing to hunger. Their...

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...