Dear Friend,
We hope you are all well and enjoying the longer, warmer days. At Wily, we continue to manage the demands brought on by the COVID crisis. Staff are working with students to help them secure summer housing and to assist them as they search for summer jobs. Our Emergency Fund Campaign continues to be one of our top priorities, so we can help with the cost of housing and food security through the summer.
We have two announcements to share with you. These milestones help to remind us that even during difficult times, gratitude and optimism are still possible! This quote sums up our feelings perfectly:
“Can you make the shift to focus on gratitude? That's what optimism is all about. It's not that everything's always great, life is not easy. Life is not perfect, but life is good.”
Stay well,
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Judi Alperin King
Founder and Executive Director
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This year, 14 Wily Scholars are graduating from college, and our admiration for these young people, who have accomplished so much under these unimaginable and unprecedented circumstances, knows no bounds. On Tuesday, May 26th, Wily held a virtual graduation celebration for the 2020 graduates, their Wily coaches, and our staff. Though we were unable to celebrate in person, we made sure that graduating Wily Scholars received special packages that included a graduation cap and tassel, decorations and generous gifts from Wily donors and volunteers. Life is Good also gave 2020 graduation t-shirts and baseball hats to all the graduating Scholars.
We were thrilled to have Bert Jacobs, Co-Founder of Life is Good, join us as our inaugural Wily commencement speaker. Bert spoke about his childhood experiences growing up the youngest of six children in a challenging family situation. He also shared his positive outlook on life, which led him to create Life is Good and the Life is Good Kids Foundation with his brother, John. He gave the Scholars three pieces of advice:
1. Be an optimist
- Believe in yourself, the world and humanity
2. Paint a beautiful picture
- Visualize your future and let it guide you
3. Commit to it
- Bert shared a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:
“At the moment of commitment, the entire universe conspires to assist you.”
Thank you to Bert for imparting his words of wisdom to our Wily graduates. Congratulations to all of the 2020 Wily Scholars: Cameron, Chantel, Christina, Harley and Isiah (NEU); Eric (UMass Dartmouth); Jilly, Jordan and Rachel (Middlebury); Jonathon, Rene and Saffron (MIT); Taylor (BU); and Taylor (Wellesley).
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Thank you to the Cummings Foundation!
The Wily Network is one of 130 local nonprofits to receive grants through the Cummings Foundation’s $20 Million Grant Program. The Boston-based organization was chosen from a total of 738 applicants during a competitive review process.
The Cummings $20 Million Grant Program supports Massachusetts nonprofits that are based in and primarily serve Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties. Through this initiative, Cummings Foundation aims to give back to the area where it owns commercial buildings. Founded in 1970 by Bill Cummings, the Woburn-based commercial real estate firm leases and manages 10 million square feet of debt-free space, the majority of which exclusively benefits the Foundation.
This year’s diverse group of grant recipients represents a wide variety of causes, including homelessness prevention, affordable housing, education, violence prevention, and food insecurity. The nonprofits are spread across 40 different cities and towns, and most will receive their grants over two to five years. The complete list of 130 grant winners is available at
www.CummingsFoundation.org
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We rely on the strength of our Wily Network pack.
Please consider making a gift.
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Help us grow our network - Please SHARE our story!
#theWilyNetwork
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Boston College, Boston University, Bridgewater State University, Harvard University, Massachusetts College of Art and Design, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Middlebury College, Northeastern University, UMass Boston, UMass Dartmouth, and Wellesley College (as of 1/2020)
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