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Town of Milford - COVID-19 Updates
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The Town of Milford will be providing updates on the COVID 19 pandemic on the Town website here. The Town has included video announcements (in English, Portuguese and Spanish) from the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen, Fire Chief, Police Chief, Director of Public Health and Town Administrator. The Town will also be updating the public every Monday at Selectmen meetings.
For the Town Clerk's May newsletter, click here. For the Board of Health's Emergency Order for Mandatory Face Covering in Essential Businesses, click here.
FYI: Effective at 5 pm on March 13 and until further notice, the following public buildings in Milford will be closed to the public:
* Town Hall
* Milford Youth Center
* Senior Center
* Memorial Hall
* Animal Control
* Library
Employees in these buildings will be working normal hours. Please conduct your business with these government employees via phone or email; check for offices' contact information at Town of Milford, MA. Also check out up-to-date information at Milford TV (information also available in Spanish and Portuguese). As the Town receives updated information about prevention and protection measures, it will use the Town of Milford website and Reverse-911 for additional announcements.
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We are keeping busy here at the Youth Center, doing whatever we can to help the community and use our resources to connect with those in need! Here are some updates as to what we have accomplished this past month to stay positive and do our part in the community!
Mask Making: In addition to the 500 mask kits for the food distribution at Memorial Elementary School we put together with the help of Milford TV, we have also made 125 mask kits for the Meals on Wheels and individuals at the Senior Center; 25 mask kits for the Highway
Dept; 88 mask kits for the employees of Town Hall and their families; 23
mask kits for
Library employees; 20 mask kits for First Unitarian Church Day Care; 10
mask
kits for the Veteran's Office; 50 mask kits for the Board of Health and numerous
individual masks donations to community members for a total of over 820 mask kits to the Milford Community. We couldn't have accomplished this without community donations of fabric and elastics! If you would like to donate materials please connect with us 508-473-1756 or email
here
!
Food Distribution: With the continued support and generosity of Amazon and Ariea Bryan, we have been able to continue food, toiletry and pet food donations to various community organizations including: Milford High School (4 deliveries) to be distributed to
families through the free breakfast, lunch and weekend emergency food
program, the Milford Daily Bread Food Pantry, the Milford
Humane Society and weekly care packages for some of our senior volunteers!
Amazon Birthday Gift Distribution: During the school year, we were able to let kids of our after school program pick a prize from donated toys, games and books accumulated from our Amazon donation deliveries. We felt
that kids would like an extra surprise on their birthdays while they are home during this difficult time so starting last week we began to deliver them! With the help of Milford Special Ops team, we will continue Birthday Gift
deliveries to the kids of our program in May, which has 45 birthdays!
Milford Senior Center Message Requests: We are reaching out to the community with helping us send messages to our senior population with messages of "We are thinking about you!" We will be collaborating with the Milford Senior Center to get these messages out. You can send a picture of yourself with a message or the message by itself to [email protected]
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MYC Virtual Programs: May 2020
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Happy May everyone! Thanks to the outreach of support from our volunteers, staff, Milford TV, and our other community members we will be hosting virtual programs on our
Facebook page and on the Milford TV local access channel (Comcast (channel 8) or Verizon (channel 38) if you live in Milford)! That's right, for the first time you can participate in some of our short virtual tutorials, crafts, activity ideas and other programs right from home! Programs/times may be subject to change based on volunteer availability. All programs will be posted directly to our
Facebook page, website and Milford TV's website/ phone app so you can watch them whenever you have time! You can also check out any previous programming
here!
This month we will continue with Martial Arts training with Anthony Miele on Mondays at 10:00 a.m. STEAM with Kate Poitras on Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Wednesdays we will have Fishing brought to you by Jerry's Bait & Tackle of Milford at 10:00 a.m. and Nutrition with our Assistant Director Katie Covell at 12:00 p.m. We will also continue with Kid's Play at 8:00 a.m. for kids ages (0-5) on Thursdays and Arts & Crafts at 10:00 a.m. with Joanna Abrantes also on Thursdays. Fridays we will offer Fit Friday at 10:00 a.m. with our Assistant Director Katie Covell! That's not all! Keep an eye out for some special drop- in programs and our Tik Tok Tuesdays at the end of the month! Click our
calendar to see the dates and times!
You can also still help the Milford Youth Center by creating virtual programs of skills, hobbies or activities that you would like to share with everyone! You might even be featured on Milford TV! If interested, please email our Program Coordinator at
here.
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MYC Receives Grant from the Foundation for MetroWest's
25th Anniversary Grant Program, sponsored by MathWorks!
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  We are so excited to announce that we've received a $5,000 grant from the Foundation for MetroWest for MetroWest's 25th Anniversary Grant Program, sponsored by MathWorks! In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was accelerated to provide immediate funding to all 57 eligible applicants. We're incredibly grateful for the support from these partners and our community, particularly during these challenging times. Now more than ever, it's important to support the nonprofit community and the amazing work of so many community organizations. When we applied to the Foundation for MetroWest's 25th Anniversary Grant Program, sponsored by MathWorks, we submitted a video to showcase who we are, what we do, and share our vision for a better, stronger MetroWest. Today, our partners are highlighting our submission, along with the other 57 applicants! Please take a few minutes to learn about the amazing work these groups are doing in our community by clicking
here
. We hope you'll watch the videos (MYC video will be shared on June 29th) and share with your neighbors!
About MathWorks:
MathWorks is the leading developer of mathematical computing software. MATLAB, the language of engineers and scientists, is a programming environment for algorithm development, data analysis, visualization, and numeric computation. Simulink is a block diagram environment for simulation and Model-Based Design of multidomain and embedded engineering systems. Engineers and scientists worldwide rely on these product families to accelerate the pace of discovery, innovation, and development in automotive, aerospace, electronics, financial services, biotech-pharmaceutical, and other industries. MATLAB and Simulink are also fundamental teaching and research tools in the world's universities and learning institutions. Founded in 1984, MathWorks employs more than 5000 people in 16 countries, with headquarters in Natick, Massachusetts, USA. For additional information, visit
mathworks.com.
About Foundation for MetroWest: Established in 1995, the Foundation for MetroWest is the only community foundation serving the 33 cities and towns in the region. We promote philanthropy in the region, help donors maximize the impact of their local giving, serve as a resource for local nonprofits and enhance the quality of life for all our residents. Since inception, the Foundation has granted $19 million to charitable organizations and currently stewards more than $26 million in charitable assets for current needs and future impact. To learn more, please visit
www.foundationmw.org.
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MYC Receives a Harvard Pilgrim Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grant!
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We are so happy to announce that the Milford Youth Center has been selected and awarded a Harvard Pilgrim Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grant for $500! We received notification and a letter that states "The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation greatly appreciates the work that you do in our communities and is proud to award you this grant." We would like to thank
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care for this generous gift, especially during this difficult time! Also, tha
nk you you to Gloria Sousa-Cosquete, who was the employee who requested that the grant go to the Milford Youth Center! Finally, we would like to acknowledge all healthcare providers,who day in and day out are fighting for us all everyday!
About the Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grants Program: To commemorate those Harvard Pilgrim members who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, Harvard Pilgrim and its Foundation created the Community Spirit 9/11 Mini-Grant program. This program enables employees from Harvard Pilgrim, Health Plans Inc. (our affiliate) and NTT Data (our IT partner) to award an annual grant, completely funded by the Foundation, to the local charity of his or her choice. Since the program began in 2002, these employees have directed almost $5 million to hundreds of organizations throughout our health plan service area - comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
About Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation:
Created in 1980, The Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Foundation supports Harvard Pilgrim's mission to improve the quality and value of health care for the people and communities we serve. The Harvard Pilgrim Foundation provides the tools, training and leadership to help build healthy communities throughout Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. In 2019, the Harvard Pilgrim Foundation awarded nearly $2.9 million in grants to 990 nonprofit organizations in the region. Since its inception in 1980, the Foundation has awarded $155 million in funds and resources throughout the four states. For more information, please visit
www.harvardpilgrim.org/foundation.
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MYC Dance Room Complete!
Thank You Community Partners!
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We are so happy to announce that our Dance room is completed! Consigli Construction Co., Inc., our 2018 Community Appreciation Awardee, sent a two-man crew to the Center to install flooring for our dance and exercise room! John Leofanti and John McDonough completed over 75 hours of donated labor to install the flooring. The Youth Center received a 2019 Greater Milford Community Health Network (CHNA 6)
grant to support the finishing out of the 955 sq. ft. of
existing but undeveloped space in the basement but the budget did not allow us to finish the floors. Thank you, Consigli Construction and especially Mark Morrow, Pam Daly, Gregory O'Donnell, John Leofanti and John McDonough for making this come to fruition!
This project truly was a complete community effort! Benjamin Moore, our 2019 Community Appreciation Awardee, donated the paint and labor to paint the walls back in August of 2019. We would like to especially thank Scott Kaplan, Bernie Hilton and Hector Ferreira of Benjamin Moore. We would also like to thank E5 Builders, LLC who won the bid for the project and to our Architect, Matt Holmes of Mjh Architects for his hard work
to make this
project come
together!
In
addition to receiving the CHNA 6 grant, the Town allocated the funds to put the appropriate dehumidification and air control system as well, allowing the Center to have a fully functioning and state of the art dance room to provide the community and our youth members when we are able to welcome you all back in!
With the help and training from Milford TV, please enjoy this time-lapse video that shows two years of hard work into a 3 minute video of appreciation!
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Help us Thank the
Milford Regional Medical Center!
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We are so appreciative of all of the hard-working nurses and to show our appreciation for International Nurse Day we will be donating 110 Milford Youth Center candles to the Milford Regional Medical Center! We cannot thank these individuals enough for their passion to help others and for their drive to get us all through this unprecedented time. We'd love your help to show your appreciation to! We would also like to show our gratitude because Milford Regional Medical Center supports some of our physcial fitness programs during the school year including POUND and Cardio Dance Jam!
Please help us create thank you cards and/or pictures to delivery to the hospital with our candles. If interested please contact our Program Coordinator Kathleen at
[email protected]
to coordinate a drop off time and/or just email a picture of it! We would like these by Wednesday, May 13th so we have time to print out and drop off on Friday, May 15th! Thank you all for your support!
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MYC Thanks Community for Donations:
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The Youth Center would like to extend a very appreciative thank you to the following list who donated items and/or their time this month to the Center:
- Ray & MyFM for putting together sound clip messages and playing them on the air to let the kids know how much we miss them. For some of the clips, click here;
- Ariea Bryan & Amazon for multiple deliveries of misc. pet food, non-perishables, toys, games, clothing and goods;
- Milford TV for sharing our virtual programming and training our Program Coordinator, Kathleen, to do some of our own editing of videos;
- Milford Special Ops Team for assisting in our birthday gift deliveries to the kids;
- Chairwoman, Amy Tamagni for donating additional fabric for mask making kits;
- Allison & the Curley Family for making masks for the community and donating the donations to the Milford Youth Center;
- Steven Darrah for your generous monetary donation through the Tufts Health Plan Matching Gifts Program;
- Carla & the Milford Food Service Department for donating a roll of plastic bags for us to put the mask kits in to be distributed;
- Sandie Conti for donating handmade masks for us to donate to community members in need;
- Laura Kidman for running by the Youth Center in a dinosaur costume to show her gratitude;
- Continued thank you to all volunteers submitting daily virtual programming for our kids!
The Youth Center relies on donations to help sustain our programs! Please contact the Center if you would like to donate or click here.
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 Although we would normally be opening up registrations for summer camp this month, we feel that it would be in the best interest of the community and the Youth Center to hold off until we feel it appropriate to collect registrations and deposits in person. We still hope to conduct our normal 6-week camp starting July 6 to August 14th for youth, ages 8-14, but we hope to share more information, after May 18th, in which the Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker has extended the non-essential employee order until. With that said, MYC staff is still working hard during this transition to plan fun in-town activities, while also booking trips including: Canobie Lake Park, Pinz, Water Wizz, Urban Air Trampoline & Adventure Park and more! Please check in next month and thank you for your patience and understanding!
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Volunteer Spotlight: Sarah Schneider Watson!
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 We are always looking for ways to thank our community and especially our volunteers. This month we would like to recognize the efforts of Sarah Schneider Watson!
Sarah has been volunteering with us since late September. We have been lucky enough to have her as a volunteer for our Quiet Zone program that gives students a place to sit quietly, use our computer lab, get homework completed and use a smaller space to decompress from the liveliness of our common gym, kitchen and game room spaces. Sarah has also reached out in several instances to assist us with different collection programs. She offered to bring donated items for our Thanksgiving meal and was the first volunteer to contact us at the beginning of the shelter in place order to ask if we needed anything. Having volunteers who are so dedicated and consistent even in inconsistent times deserve a shout out! Thank you again for everything you have done and are willing to do for the Milford Youth Center.
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Emergency Food for Milford
and Surrounding Community
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Due to the the amazing work and commitment from the Hockomock YMCA, Milford Public Schools Food Service team and the Milford Area Humanitarian Coalition, there is breakfast and lunch being served, Monday through Friday as a "grab and go" style!
This is for the whole community, not just Milford students. This is being offered daily at Memorial Elementary School, located at 12 Walnut Street in Milford. Breakfast will be served from 8 AM to 10 AM and lunch served 11 AM to 1 PM. No sign up or paperwork is required! If you have any questions, please contact [email protected]
- For the flier, in English, Spanish and Portuguese, click here.
- For updates about emergency meals through the efforts to the Hockomock Area YMCA, click here.
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Teachers Driving Academy (TDA) Update
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The Teacher's Driving Academy (TDA) would like to share the following update: The RMV has allowed for web-based classroom instruction TEMPORARILY during this time of the COVID-19 crisis. Many schools throughout the state may not be ready to support the web-based option at this time but here at TDA, we are ready to GO! We are offering the classroom instruction via web-cam for 5 weeks in a row. The only thing at this point that the RMV will not allow online is the FINAL EXAM. They are stating that this has to be done in person. We are CONFIDENT that this will change as this policy was just instituted a few days ago. The fee is only $119 and includes fee to RMV for your driver's education certificate. Click here to register for web-based virtual classroom. If you were already enrolled in for the standard classroom session, you can now switch to a virtual web-based format by clicking here.
Important Info:
- Virtual Web Based classes are Monday thru Friday, 10am-4pm
- On Tuesday of each week at 5pm, there will be a web-based parent class
- For all information visit the website here or email here.
The Milford Youth Center is pleased to partner with Teachers Driving Academy, who offers students a great program, at a reasonable price! We are very grateful for this partnership and the very appreciative of the estimated annual donation of over $25,000 each year!
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2020 Census: Easy, Safe and Important!
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 The results of the 2020 Census will help determine how hundreds of billions of dollars in federal funding flow into communities every year for the next decade. That funding shapes many different aspects of every community, no matter the size, no matter the location.
Think of your morning commute: Census results influence highway planning and construction, as well as grants for buses, subways, and other public transit systems.
Or think of your local schools: Census results help determine how money is allocated for the Head Start program and for grants that support teachers and special education.
The list goes on, including programs to support rural areas, to restore
wildlife, to prevent child abuse, to prepare for wildfires, and to provide housing assistance for older adults. Curious about what other programs are impacted by census data? Download this report to see a full list.
We would like to share the good news that the self-response rate percentage for the town of Milford is at 63.5% and increasing everyday! You can check the percentage changes on a daily basis on this link here. For more information on the Census, click here.
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Milford Youth Center
Newsletter
May 2020
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