VOLUME 09 | APRIL 2020
Dear Members,

Each of us handles physical distancing in our own way. For some of us, it's business as usual. For others, it has been a time to turn inward. For all of us, it has been a change.

As we wade through this experience together, yet separately, there is no better time to draw on our greatest strength: you, our members. As such, we are working to provide you with avenues to mobilize our collective influence and support our members and our members' organizations that have been most greatly impacted by this crisis.

I am pleased that we have found an avenue for connection during this time of uncertainty. Over the next three weeks, we will host additional conversations with leaders of some of the hardest hit sectors. We hope that these conversations shine light on opportunities to support our fellow members.

Yesterday we held the first of our Virtual Roundtable Series and by all accounts it was a success. Thank you to Congressman Joe Kennedy and Rachel Kaprielian and the over 50 members who joined us for the call. It was an informative conversation and several of us were able to bring important issues to the Congressman's attention.

The Virtual Roundtables will continue to take place at 1:30 pm on Thursdays. We currently have three topics scheduled and we plan to add more. Continue to send us your suggestions. We will announce the new events as they are planned.


  • Beth Chandler,President & CEO of YWBoston
  • Wendy Foster, President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern MA
  • Mary Jo Meisner, Founder and CEO of MJM Advisory Services as moderator


  • Sandi Fenwick, President & CEO of Boston Children's Hospital
  • Geri Denterlein, President of Denterlein as moderator


  • Carole Charnow, President & CEO of the Boston Children's Museum
  • Vikki Spruill, President & CEO of the New England Aquarium

I look forward to seeing you and, as always, welcome your thoughts.

Recently I received a video of Alvin Ailey's performance of Revelations. I found it very inspirational so I am sharing it with you here .

Take care,
Jackie Jenkins-Scott
MWF, President
OPPORTUNITIES TO SUPPORT OUR NONPROFIT MEMBERS
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern Massachusetts Needs Volunteer Adult Mentors Right Now & More Than Ever!

COVID-19 has upended life as we knew it, but while so much has changed over these past weeks, the Big Brothers Big Sisters mission has not – youth mentoring is more important than ever right now. Thousands of under-resourced children across Eastern Massachusetts are isolated at home away from the support of friends, schools and community resources. Parents who were living on the edge before the pandemic are under untold pressures. The need for mentors is urgent as the kids we serve need a positive adult friend and role model more than ever.

During this unprecedented time, we’re looking for volunteer ‘Bigs’ to connect with a child and provide friendship and support. While we are all isolated physically from each other, we don’t have to be socially isolated. You can make a huge difference in the life of a child during this unprecedented time and make a new connection in our community. We’re currently offering a completely virtual enrollment and matching process so you can get started right away. We’re asking volunteers to share themselves with a child for half an hour to an hour a week on Zoom, Skype, Facetime, Google Hangout etc. We’ll provide all sorts of fun ideas for you to connect and have fun with your ‘Little’ online.   Find out more here and thank you for considering volunteering with us.
The Exhibit Halls at the Museum of Science may be closed, but science never stops, and neither do we. The Museum has launched a new, online experience, #MOSatHome . With multiple live presentations throughout the day, at-home engineering projects, podcasts, and more, the Museum is inviting the community to visit remotely via this link for new content every day. Our educators are excited to continue the Museum experience online, engaging with audiences, and providing STEM access to all. MOS at Home content includes STEM Beyond School webinars from EiE, designed to give educators and families valuable tips on how to support STEM learning at home. Additionally, Museum Educators interact with live audiences in our "Ask A Scientist" live presentations, on topics such as space, reptiles, and more. Those interested in the week’s schedule of events and resources available can visit  MOS at Home . Anyone who wishes to support our work while the Museum is closed can donate through our  Science Matters campaign .
Boston Children’s Museum is providing ongoing support to families via daily activity posts, online story times, support for parents and teachers, contests for kids to make and share their inventions, online curricula and more.

Click here for more information about the Learning Resources .

For more information contact Jo-Anne Baxter at Boston Children’s Museum: . Please spread the word! 
The families we serve are among the hardest hit in this COVID-19 crisis and they need our help more than ever to meet their basic needs. Our community partners are turning to Cradles to Crayons with urgent needs for new diapers, school and art supplies, hygiene items and other essentials.

We’ve been filling orders as fast as we can, distributing through our partners at Boston Children’s Hospital, MGH, Brigham and Women’s OB-GYN, and city/school relief efforts across the state. We’ve established the Emergency Essentials Fund to provide these items to the children who need them to survive this crisis—while also knowing that vulnerable families are going to need our services more than ever in the coming months.
Physical distancing policies established to help flatten the curve related to COVID-19 are important, but have unearthed the disparate impact that COVID-19 has on employees within the same organization. Some staff, especially administrative or janitorial staff, cannot work from home. Many parents, especially women, are juggling the lion’s share of childcare responsibilities while still putting in a full day’s work.

We at YW Boston have the opportunity to provide organizations with digital workshops and resources to help them better understand the challenges faced by their employees and help them implement strategies to allow people to be socially connected yet physically distant. The YW Boston team is working hard to develop resources and tools to meet this need, including delivering our workshops remotely. To make this happen, operating support is critical and can be made online at
Like so many nonprofits, the New England Aquarium is working to mitigate the financial impact of the pandemic on our organization and looking ahead to when we will emerge from these uncertain times.
 
We have created the  Mission Forward Fund  to help the Aquarium continue our essential work while we are closed to the public, including the significant costs of caring for our 20,000 animals on-site. Even with this unavoidable strain on our resources, the Aquarium remains steadfast in our conservation mission and committed to our leading work around animal care, scientific exploration, and innovative education.
Whittier Street Health Center, a large urban community health care serving more than 30,000 of Boston’s most vulnerable residents and all Massachusetts community health care centers are in current financial peril and require financial support in order to avoid a partial or complete collapse of the state’s largest primary care network and, most urgently, a vitally important part of the Commonwealth’s response to this public health crisis. At Whittier Street Health Center, we have transitioned our organization to rapidly respond to the need for screening and testing of COVID-19 patients at both of our clinic sites (1290 Tremont Street and 279 Blue Hill Ave in Roxbury) and on our Mobile Health Van, while also continuing to address the urgent non-COVID-19 related medical needs of the vulnerable communities we serve. We have expanded our social services programs to meet the needs of our vulnerable patients, including adding an Emergency Daycare Program to provide care to the children of our brave essential staff in the city, expanding our Food Pantry, Medication delivery, and transportation services. We are also in need of PPEs to protect our dedicated staff and patients. Donations can be made on our website at www.wshc.org
UPCOMING VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLES

Beth Chandler , CEO of YWBoston

Wendy Foster , President & CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Eastern MA

Sandi Fenwick , President & CEO of Boston Children's Hospital

Geri Denterlein , President of Denterlein as moderator

Carole Charnow , President & CEO of the Boston Children's Museum

Vikki Spruill, President & CEO of the New England Aquarium
VIRTUAL ROUNDTABLES
On Thursday, April 2nd, over 50 of our members participated in the inaugural Virtual Roundtable where we discussed the Coronavirus Stimulus Package and how it will affect Massachusetts. Thank you Congressman Joe Kennedy III and Rachel Kaprielian , US Government Relations for the McDonald's Corporation.
JOIN US IN THANKING OUR GENEROUS SPONSORS
HOW DO YOU ENGAGE?
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Check out the LinkedIn group here.
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For women leaders who are recognized as top achievers in their fields, the Massachusetts Women’s Forum (MWF) provides unparalleled access to a group of influential women who inspire and support each other to optimize each member’s impact in the world. We advocate for women’s leadership and provide an important voice on issues affecting women in the Commonwealth, and the world.

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