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Helping Pet Owners in Financial Need — The Animal Rescue League of Boston in 2010 was able to buy a Spay Waggin' from funds from a bequest made nearly two decades ago, and is going on the road through southeastern Massachusetts and Cape Cod. The 33-foot long vehicle will be staffed by a veterinarian and two technicians. With a preparation area, a fully equipped surgical suite, and a recovery ward, it can accommodate up to 40 animals.



Thinking Beyond the Container — Containers to Clinics, a new, Boston-based nonprofit that converts used shipping containers into medical clinics to help improve the health of women and children in developing countries, formally launched itself on Nov. 16, 2009, at a gala event at the Institute of Contemporary Art. The event sought to build constituency and raise funds, and attracted hundreds of people who got a chance to inspect converted containers, shown here on the museum’s parking lot.



Pitching in to Help People in Need — Tawnya Johnson and 25 of her colleagues from AMAG Pharmaceuticals lent a hand to sort donated food at The Greater Boston Food Bank's new 77,000-square-foot facility on South Bay Avenue in Boston during an open house on Oct. 24, 2009, the first to which the public was invited. The Food Bank is the largest hunger-relief organization in New England and one of the largest food banks in the country.



Raising Hands for Green Energy — Nearly 200 people rallied outside the Massachusetts State House on March 14, 2009, joining the call for clean electricity. The rally, organized by Massachusetts Power Shift, a non-partisan network of climate activists advocating bold, comprehensive solutions to climate change, was held a few days after the state Senate passed a resolution calling for 100% clean electricity within 10 years.



Boys, Girls, and Turkeys — The Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston teamed with Nexus Alliance to give away nearly 400 turkeys to Dorchester residents the weekend before Thanksgiving 2008. The Alliance, which fosters a network of black male professional mentors, tapped other sponsors to support the effort, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Tremont Credit Union, Robert White Associates, and the Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts.



In These Hands is the theme of a a major print, outdoor, and online advertising campaign for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston (BGCB). The pro bono effort contributed by Hill Holliday of Boston aims to raise awareness among inner-city youth of BGCB programs that seek to help them make responsible choices. See more by clicking here.



Partying for the MFA — The fifth annual summer party of the Museum Council of the Museum of Fine Arts, on June 14, 2008, attracted hundreds of young professionals to help support the Council’s gift to the Building the New MFA campaign. The event featured a Latin American Feria de Arte, inspired by pieces from the MFA’s collection and the new Art of the Americas Wing.



MOBA Opens in Somerville — The world renowned Museum of Bad Art (MOBA), headquartered in the basement of the Dedham Community Theater since its founding in the 1990s, has opened a second exhibition space in the basement of the Somerville Theatre in Somerville. Featured here is Invasion of the Office Zombies by Jenna Cathyla. MOBA offers a classic case study in how to garner global publicity on a shoestring. Read more.



Pinocchio Comes to Town — Boston Children’s Theatre, the only performing arts organization in Boston that provides live theatre opportunities for and by children, will stage the classic Dec. 8-31, 2007. Going for the donkey juice, which will turn them into donkeys, are, clockwise from left, Kaelyn Anderson, 11, of Mattapan, Rossella Cerulli, 9, Back Bay, Keesha Pina, 11, South Boston, Christine Mahoney, 10, Charlestown, Nyeilla Veale, 9, Mattapan, and Daniel Kwolek, 11, of Lexington.



Power Lunch — Steve Drew of Hollister, Inc., a volunteer for Everybody Wins! Metro Boston, spends lunch one day a week helping young readers in local elementary schools improve their reading skills and attitudes toward reading. Through reading aloud, sharing favorite stories, and talking about books, the program aims to promote a love of reading. The nonprofit's Power Lunch program currently matches adults with children at 11 schools in Billerica, Boston, Cambridge, Chelsea, Everett, Framingham, Somerville, and Waltham.



Go Red Sox! — During the 2007 World Series the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, just blocks from Fenway Park, invited fans to show their creative support for the Red Sox with its first-ever “Oh you Red Sox!” visitor photo contest. Fans were invited to take their pictures wearing their Sox best or showing their best signs of support for the team in front of the “Oh You Red Sox!” banner at the museum, and then email them to press@isgm.org.



Lighting Up the Airwaves — A 30-by-45-foot digital mural powered by light emitting diodes displays images daily from 6:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on the exterior wall of the new home of public broadcaster WGBH. More than 6,000 members of the public toured the state-of-the-art digital studio complex in Brighton during an open house Oct. 13-14, 2007. (Jeff Goldberg/Esto photo)



October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Although medical experts recommend that women 40 and over receive annual screening mammograms, many do not, often out of fear of discomfort or pain. Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge, recently acquired a MammoPad, shown here with Mammography Director Jacqueline Wilkinson, which can ease the discomfort many women feel during mammography.



Rowing for Dollars — Marblehead resident Paul Mazonson (left) and Jack Tatelman raced in the Blackburn Challenge, a 23 mile open-water rowing and paddling race off the coast of Gloucester this summer to raise more than $25,000 to benefit Hospice of the North Shore in Danvers. The two also organized "Rock n Row," a rowing club to encourage the sport of open water rowing.



Hub on Wheels — Boston’s largest city sponsored sporting event, which includes biking on Storrow Drive without cars, will support the Boston Digital Bridge Foundation, an organization that brings technology and its benefits to Boston public school students and their families. For more about the Sept. 27 event, and to register, visit Hub on Wheels.



Businesspeople Up in Arms — This billboard, located on the side of the Massachusetts Turnpike in Boston, is the latest in the ongoing campaign by Stop Handgun Violence, a nonprofit founded by businesspeople in 1995 to prevent firearms violence through public awareness and sensible legislation without banning guns. The organization says gun injuries in Massachusetts have declined 50% since 1994.



Getting Beyond Grief — Sieara, 7, and Joshua, 4, Belanger of Salem swim at Camp Stepping Stones at Gordon College in Wenham. Offered by the Center for Grief & Healing, a program of Hospice of the North Shore, the camp provides a special opportunity for children and their families who have experienced the loss of a loved one. Nearly 30 families attended the camp this year, making it the largest to date.



Summer's Here! — And that means it's time to head to the beach. In this case, it's Crane Beach in Ipswich, one of 96 properties statewide maintained by The Trustees of Reservations, a membership organization. Through Labor Day, member admission prices at Crane Beach have been decreased from $11.00 to $5.00 per car. After 3:00 p.m., admission drops by another 50%. (Photo by Tom Kates.)



Coffee and Art — Haley House Bakery Café, a Roxbury nonprofit that seeks to create economic sustainability for under-employed women and men, this month features self-portrait quilts created through a workshop offered at Rosie's Place by Brett Cook, Clara Wainwright, and Kathy Parkinson. Opening reception is set for June 7.



Going Public — Beverly-based Health Quarters, a provider of reproductive health care and education services in northeastern Massachusetts, is conducting a public information campaign, using buses and commuter rail. The $25,000 effort, funded by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, has also supported development of related informational postcards, posters, and new bi-lingual web content.



Developing Media Literacy — Teens from the Somerville and South Boston Boys and Girls Clubs regularly meet at Somerville Community Access Television (SCAT) where SCAT staffers teach them media literacy and video production skills. The kids create their own music videos, documentaries, and studio programs that are posted on the Web and shown on public access television.



Talking about Art — The Brookline Arts Center will inaugurate its new outdoor sculpture garden—"Conversation Pieces"—with a gala reception on Saturday, May 5. Shown here is Clean Slate, a sculpture made of aluminum and stainless steel by Kim Radochia of Hamilton. The sculpture garden features the works exclusively of Massachusetts artists.



Technology as Art — The biennial Boston Cyberarts Festival, April 20 through May 6, which celebrates technological and artistic innovation throughout Massachusetts, will feature the work of individual artists, established arts organizations, educators, and high-technology industry professionals. Shown here is "All That Remains" by Stephanie Maxwell.



Ms. Wheelchair Massachusetts 2007 — Kristen McCosh of South Boston basks in the pride of her mother, Dolores Donoghue, after winning the crown April 7 at a pageant held at The Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton. During the next year McCosh will educate and advocate for individuals with physical disabilities, as well as compete for the national title. For more, click on www.mswheelchairmass.org.



Grinning at Winning — Gabrielle Guarracino, a senior at Rockland High School, right, was all smiles when she learned she won the statewide Poetry Out Loud contest recently held at Regis College in Weston, sponsored by the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the Huntington Theatre Company. Gabrielle will travel to Washington April 30 to represent Massachusetts in the national finals with a chance to win $50,000 in scholarships and school stipends.



Follow Your Dream — Jay Blake, the world’s only totally blind auto racing crew chief, will appear with his award winning racecar at Dennis-Yarmouth’s Career Day at 210 Station Avenue, South Yarmouth, March 29, 2007, 8:50 - 10:20 a.m. Blake, founder and president of Follow A Dream in Marstons Mills, says dreams do not have to be surrendered to a life-altering or potentially catastrophic disability. For more, see www.followadream.org.



Young at Heart—and in Spirit — The Young@Heart Chorus, a self-described "rowdy bunch of 70-, 80-, and 90-year-olds," will screen a musical documentary about the group, made for British TV, to benefit the Academy of Music Theater in Northampton March 10 and 11, 2007. For more, see www.youngatheartchorus.com.



Redbrick Artists to Exhibit — Six Redbrick artists will be exhibiting recent work at Cinema Salem during the next six months, starting in March. Shown are is a new piece by Randi Dubnick, who works in pastels and watercolors. Dubnick's exhibit runs March 1–30, 2007, with an artist’s reception on March 4, 2-4 pm. For more, see redbrickarts.com.



Thumbs Up for the New Graduates — Eighteen certified nursing aides and home health aides graduated in January from Vinfen’s Extended Care Career Ladder Initiative, a workforce development program funded through a grant from the Commonwealth Corporation. From left: George Gougian, administrator at Vinfen Hancock Center; ESOL/English Graduate Maria Medina, and Boston City Councilor Charles Yancey.



Time to Sing — The Boston Children’s Chorus, a multi-racial, multi-ethnic arts education organization that unites local children to discover the power of singing, celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at its fourth annual concert, 7 p.m., Jan. 15, at Jordan Hall in Boston.



Bears, Bears, Everywhere — The show, presented by the Boston Children's Theatre, is providing fun for youngsters and the young at heart. Remaining shows are at 1 p.m. on Nov. 18 and Nov. 25 at the Grand Lodge of Masons, corner of Boylston & Tremont Streets in the heart of Boston's Theatre district. For more, click here.



Autumnal Inspiration — Ipswich resident Caleb Stone paints in the vegetable garden at Castle Hill, creating one of the juried works of art to be displayed at the Fall Crane Estate Art Show and Sale at Castle Hill in Ipswich Oct. 27–29. Sponsored by The Trustees of Reservations, the works to be displayed and sold at the show are inspired by Trustees' properties throughout Essex County. (Photo by Tom Kates.)



"Tabletop" — Art by Torriano DaRoza, a member of Vinfen’s Webster House, a day rehabilitation program in Brookline for individuals with persistent psychiatric disabilities. Artwork of seven artists in Vinfen programs will be on display at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown through Nov. 19.



Mixed Media — C.J. Lori, who created this image, will be one of five artists whose mixed media works will be on display Sept. 11 - Oct. 29, 2006, at the New Art Center in Newton, a nonprofit community art center dedicated to developing imaginative thinking in children and adults.



Milling Around — Mill samples constitute one of the largest and most extraordinary parts of the collection of the America Textile History Museum in Lowell, some of which can be viewed online.



"It's Like This..." — Rewarding Work Resources, Inc. provides a resource for people of all ages with disabilities and their families to find qualified personal assistants also known as PCAs.



Let's Make Music — Martin Pearlman, conducts the orchestra and professional chamber chorus of the Boston Baroque ensemble, which he founded in 1973 as the first permanent Baroque orchestra in North America.



Friends — Rewarding Work Resources, Inc. and provider agencies, such as Beaverbrook STEP of Watertown, helps people with disabilities receive the supports they need to lead full and independent lives.


We're Not in Kansas Anymore — Brianna Gallagher, Rowan Henderson, and Kevin Mahoney are off to see the wizard at the Boston Children's Theatre production of the The Wizard of Oz at UMass Boston's McCormack Theatre April 7, 8, 9, 19, 21, 22, 23.