Charlestown Mothers Association Gala & 2012 Review

The Charlestown Mothers Association (CMA) invites you to join the 2012 Annual Fundraising Gala on Saturday, November 3, 2012 for a night of dinner, dancing and silent auction!  This Masquerade Ball is the culmination of many months of hard work and fundraising by volunteers and Board Members who are all dedicated to making Charlestown a wonderful place for families to live and grow.  The CMA is a unique organization; it is run by a 100% volunteer board and it does not charge membership fees. We could not be successful without the dedication of our membership and the Charlestown community. As you consider a donation or Gala attendance for the year, we want to share with you how the CMA fulfilled its mission with the funds so generously donated at last year’s Gala:•College Scholarships:  In 2012, the CMA awarded a total of $4,500 in College Scholarships to three outstanding Charlestown women, Terry Voong, Erin McLaughlin and Katie McGoff.•Camp Scholarships:  This summer, when presented with a large number of local children who were unable to afford any summer camps, the CMA dramatically increased its funding of Camp Scholarships and sent 20 boys and girls to the Charlestown Community Center summer camp. Additionally, the CMA expanded its relationship with Agassiz Village, a life-changing overnight camp in Poland, Maine by paying for an additional 11 Charlestown boys and girls to spend a week at the camp.  Without the generosity of its members and our local community, the CMA would have been unable to make such a dramatic impact in the lives of so many children. •Support of Community Organizations and Outreach:  The CMA works with many of the other wonderful organizations in Charlestown which aim to improve the lives of people in our neighborhood.  T past year, the CMA has given over $10,000 to local Charlestown organizations to support their programs.  The CMA has provided valuable support to Charlestown’s food pantry, Harvest on the Vine, the Charlestown Community Center, Anthony’s Dream, Charlestown Lacrosse and Learning Center, Charlestown Basketball, All Star Jr. Bruins, Charlestown Girls Softball, Town Track, Little League, Rookie League, Youth Football and Cheerleading, Kennedy Center, Charlestown Against Drugs (CHAD), Charlestown Boys and Girls Club, Charlestown Working Theater, Friends of City Square Park, Bunker Hill Day Parade and others.  The CMA also uses its extensive contact list to help raise awareness for local needs and to keep its membership informed of local happenings and issues pertinent to Charlestown families.•Parks/Library/Schools:  CMA representatives work hard to make sure the City improves our parks, playgrounds, libraries and schools by attending community meetings and communicating Charlestown’s needs to local government officials and agencies.  By sharing the Boston Public Schools school choice survey with its membership,, Charlestown lead the survey results with 40% of the responses, by far the greatest participation of any neighborhood in Boston – all part of CMA member efforts to help shape the conversation around the transformation of Boston Public Schools.  When the MBTA proposed to eliminate the 92 bus line and Charlestown Ferry, which would mean significant public transportation cuts for Charlestown, the CMA wrote a strong letter in opposition, after which three CMA Board members were invited to meet with the Executive Director of the MBTA, to directly advocate against any service reductions, outlining the potential adverse impact on the community.  In addition, we participated in the renovation discussions for Doherty Park and the new pedestrian bridge connecting Charlestown’s Paul Revere Park to Cambridge’s North Point Park.  Finally, the CMA spent over $1,000 this past year on new toys for the playgrounds at Doherty, Peter Looney and Navy Yard Parks.•Community Events:  The CMA hosted (or co hosted) over 30 events last year, including the Spring Egg Hunt, Patriots’ Day Parade, Halloween, Touch a Truck Day, Meet the Schools Fair, the annual CMA Gala, monthly New Moms’ Breakfasts and monthly Moms’ Nights Out, in addition to Speakers Series and joint activities with community partners.  This year we introduced our first community clothing sale; over 150 families attended this gently used clothing shopping event.  The clothing not purchased was donated to Boston organizations which help abused women and children, homeless men and women, and families in transition.  We also launched our first “Guys’ Events” for the CMA dads, holding a spring golf tournament and a fall F1 racing day.  Going forward, we will establish a subcommittee to focus on events aimed at children 10 years old and above.  We continue to try to anticipate and meet the needs of our membership. In short, the Charlestown Mothers Association is a true community-based organization.  With over 1,000 families in our membership, all located within the one square mile of Charlestown, we are one of the largest community mothers associations in the country!  In the past three years, the average age of a child in CMA has risen from 2 to 5 years of age, demonstrating that more families are committed to staying in Charlestown.  Each day the CMA welcomes new members, as families are drawn to the Charlestown neighborhood as a place to raise their families.Please come and support the CMA this year at the Annual Gala!  Tickets are $75 each and can be purchased online atwww.charlestownmothersassociation.org. If you cannot make the gala, please consider making a donation athttp://www.charlestownmothersassociation.org/donations.htm. We are always looking for new volunteers and members to help plan and grow our organization; please feel free to reach out to any of us.Sincerely,Rebecca Love and Leigh Hurd, Co-PresidentsCMA Board:  Laura Carroll, Kristen Flores, Becky King, Virginia Mansfield, Sarah Newlin, Jane Reitz, Jennifer Rossi, Lynne Soutter & Deanna Sutton