Local Philanthropist Thanks Community for Support

To the Editor,

On behalf of the Host Committee for the Third Annual “Celebration in the Garden Party” and my husband Jason, it was our pleasure to host this wonderful event to benefit Shrewsbury Public Schools at our home, The Fallon House.

We moved to Shrewsbury about four years ago and, having not known one soul, but wanting to do something for our new community, Jason and I thought our home would be a perfect venue for an event to help raise funds for Shrewsbury’s Schools. Jason is an educator and I am a business owner, and we fully realize the value and the impact of education not only on our children but also for the community as a whole. We are the parents of two young children, and we look forward to them attending Shrewsbury’s schools. We wanted to do something to give back.

How did we get here?

I marched into town hall about three and a half years ago with an idea and was quickly put in touch with Beth McCollum who is the Shrewsbury Public Schools volunteer coordinator, and, from there, our committee was born.

Soon, we had a group of committed individuals who, besides me and Beth, included Melanie Petrucci, Mark Adler, Debra Page Mooney, Hannah Kane and Steve Levine.  We were in business and our first Garden Party took place in June of 2009.

Last year, we moved the party to The Pease Tavern, which is currently the home of committee member Hannah Kane, her husband Jim and their family. This year, we came back home to The Fallon House, and over the course of time, gained the following committee members, Brenda Buckley, Beth Casavant, Christa Duprey, Alicia Gabarino, Maureen Harrington and Kathleen Keohane. Jason and I are in awe of the talent of this group.

One of the most overwhelming aspects of our move to Shrewsbury has been how active this community is and how much people really care about this town. It is certainly infectious, and we are amazed by how the town comes together to support various causes and the support it has given us to move the mission of this project forward. The mission is to simply raise much-needed money that can go directly back to the town’s children’s education and that is all.

We also want to acknowledge Shrewsbury, and the surrounding communities for their support of this endeavor and the many businesses, families and individuals who have provided sponsorships, auction items, goods and in-kind services along the way. Without your support our experiment would not have worked, but worked it has.

We grew from a group of seven with a profit of $9,000 in our first year to 11 members and roughly $25,000 in our third. It is exciting to think of where the next couple of years will take us.

We are very fortunate and happy to have landed in Shrewsbury and we want to thank you for graciously welcoming us to town and for getting behind the “Celebration in the Garden Party.” With your continued support we can do much more.

With thanks,

Heather and Jason Logrippo

4 Prospect St., Shrewsbury