Fundraiser Night to Keep Moulton's Name Alive

Stephanie Moulton's family is holding a memorial fundraiser again this weekend to celebrate Moulton's life and benefit a student looking to go into nursing.

Moulton's mother, Kim Flynn, of Peabody, invites everyone to come and enjoy themselves, whether they are friends, former coworkers, family or are just coming to show their support. Flynn will be at the door to greet everyone and likely deliver a speech during dinner.

"Help carry on Stephanie's name," Flynn told Peabody Patch. "I want to thank everyone for their donations and support. A crowd of people came out of the woodwork to be able to help out with this."

Flynn added she doesn't want people to remember Moulton as the girl who was murdered at work, but rather have the scholarship be a tribute to her.

, 25, lost her life while working as a mental health worker Jan. 20, 2011 -- roughly 18 months ago. She was allegedly killed on the job by Deshawn Chappell, a patient who is charged with Moulton's murder at a mental health clinic in Revere.

for all mental health workers while dealing with both the case against Chappell and .

In light of last year's fundraiser, which was held at the  in Peabody and maxed out the capacity of the building at 350 -- the family actually had to turn some guests away to stay within the fire code, organizers decided to make the function bigger this year and have it over at the Vittori-Rocci Post in Beverly, which holds 500 people.

The fundraiser is Saturday at 143 Brimbal Ave. in Beverly from 7-11 p.m. Five hundred tickets and seats are reserved the event and guests will pay $20 per ticket. The event is for 21 and older since it runs late in the evening and alcohol will be served.

The money will benefit one nursing student -- Moulton was planning to study nursing at North Shore Community College in Lynn prior to her death.

"[The event] is to raise money for a big scholarship to keep her name alive and to give her life meaning," said Moulton's father, Bob Moulton, of Ipswich. "We raised $8,000 to $10,000 last year. The scholarship's going to go towards someone in the field to bring an awareness of how dangerous the job can be, and to hopefully, make their job safer."

A scholarship hasn't been awarded yet, but rather funds will build up until a considerable amount will be awarded to fund a worthy recipient's education. The scholarship may or may not become an annual award.

Deanna St. John, of Danvers, Moulton's step-grandmother, said last year's benefit was a success and received a lot of attention because the tragedy happened just months before.

"We're trying to make it a celebration," St. John said. "As a fundraiser, it's not a sad time, because we're not dwelling on how we lost her. We're keeping it on a lighter note rather than sad note. We're trying to help someone achieve what Steph wanted to do -- to go to nursing school."

The food will be going all night long -- family friend Bob Sylvester has volunteered again to be the chef for the night -- and Mike Bird will also return to volunteer as an Elvis impersonator. Disc jockey Jason Boeman, who never met Moulton but read a news story about her, also asked to help out.

A live band, the Glittercats out of Beverly, will also provide entertainment and WCLEX 105.7 Classic Rock will hand out give-a-ways in the parking lot in the early hours of the evening.

There will be a $1 raffle for Red Sox tickets, gift certificates for spas and grocery stores, helicopter rides, pet/shower items, and a 50-50 raffle. Door prizes will also be given out.

A live/silent auction will feature sports memorabilia, including an autographed photograph of former Boston Red Sox player Jason Varitek as well as concert tickets for Toby Keith, Deff Leppard/Poison and 311eleven.

The organizers are asking people and restaurants to donate a variety of food items and hors doeurves.

Financial donations can be made payable to the Stephanie Moulton Memorial Fund, , 12 Chestnut St., Peabody, MA 01960.

Tickets will be sold at the door Saturday, but if you'd like advance tickets, contact Kim Flynn at 978-317-0267 or flynnkimberly1@gmail.com, Anthonee Flynn at 978-210-7431, Bob Moulton at 508-572-0579 or bmoulton200@yahoo.com, Deanna St. John at 978-777-0328, or Dave St. John at 978-852-6141 or acjcontractor@msn.com.