Beverly Resident and Hamilton-Wenham School Teacher Wins $20,000 in Merry Mixers 50/50 Raffle

Merry Mixers, the non-profit organization supporting our North Shore children’s hospital for more than 65 years, recently presented a check for $20,000 to the winner of its annual 50/50 raffle, Beverly’s Anna Vitale.

Vitale, who grew up in North Reading and attended Endicott college for her undergrad and graduate degrees, is currently a special education teacher at Hamilton-Wenham elementary school.

“This is amazing. I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with the money – I might buy a car, which would be so helpful,” said Vitale. “I just recently heard about the Merry Mixers organization, and the work they do for North Shore children and thought it was such a wonderful cause.”

Funds raised by Merry Mixers in 2016 and 2017 are dedicated to funding the NSMC Family Resource Center, which provides services for families dealing with psychological, emotional and physical health issues, ranging from opiate addiction to coping with terminal illness. Conferences, workshops and family support groups are offered year-round, as well as an active mindfulness-based stress reduction program. In the past two years alone, Merry Mixers raised more than $150,000 for the Family Resource Center.

About the NSMC Family Resource Center

The Family Resource Center provides education, support and resources for children, adolescents and professionals through a specialized library, conferences, workshops and monthly Family Round presentations. The Center is open Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. For more information, visit: http://nsmc.partners.org/pediatrics/family_resource_center

About Merry Mixers

Merry Mixers, Friends of the North Shore Children’s Hospital, is a non-profit organization designed to support and raise funds for the hospital that has cared for North Shore children for more than 100 years. More than $1 million dollars has been raised and donated since inception, with $88,000 donated to MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center in 2015 alone during the organization’s 65th anniversary year. For more information, visit www.merrymixers.org.