To my Friends, the Citizens of Revere:
Well it’s that time of year again. The kids are settled into school, vacation is over, nose to the grindstone. For some, especially in these tough times this is a very stressful time. The holidays are coming, a time for joy, family and feast. It’s hard to believe but in this country, this city, our friends and neighbors are homeless and hungry. Single mothers with small babies are on the street looking for shelter and a new start. Parents working two and three jobs just trying to pay rent and feed their children. I realize all of us are in a bind, but believe me things could be worse. Last year during my campaign for city council I had an opportunity to meet a wonderful woman, Sylvia Anthony. She and a small staff run Sylvia’s Haven a shelter for women in Revere. Meeting her and the families she helps inspired me to organize “Helping for the Holidays”. Besides the obvious, this shelter promotes the young women living there to push forward, get an education, get a job, get back into the mainstream and stand on their own two feet. Six families live in this facility and deserve a helping hand. My committee without blinking an eye, jumped in and got things started. My daughter Jennifer heads up the main flow of donations and organizes the shopping lists and who gets what, I’d be lost without her support. I would like to use this time to publicly thank her and everyone that stands with me on my campaign platform and all that I do as a concerned citizen. I am very proud to say that Helping for the Holidays is a success, not in a big way in terms of outreach but in what it really was designed to do; help people in Revere who need it. We collected food, clothing and toys in a few short weeks to make Thanksgiving and Christmas a little better for our neighbors across the city. Thanksgiving baskets were given to over 20 families complete with turkeys. Clothes and toys for more than 40 families were collected for the Christmas holiday. Local schools were contacted and gloves, hats, scarves, toys were distributed to families that applied to the principal’s office. You cannot imagine how happy this made us (the committee) to see our families, friends, neighbors and even strangers make donations to help people they didn’t even know. There is another group of people I want to thank for stepping up when it counts, the knitting club at the Rossetti Cowan Senior Center. Those wonderful ladies knitted afghans, gloves, scarves and much more. Not only were these made for some needy families but for our young men and women serving in the armed forces over seas and our veterans living at the Soldiers Home in Chelsea. Ladies thank you for all you have done and continue to do unselfishly for others. I honestly believe in charity and goodwill but I also believe it belongs and starts at home, our beloved City of Revere.
Now for the main the purpose of this letter. Helping for the Holidays is under way again, and I am happy to announce and pleased to report we are well on the way to doubling what we did last season. Thanks once again to the generosity of our citizens and elected officials. I/we the committee are looking for donations, money to be used to purchase Thanksgiving dinner baskets, or non-perishable goods for the baskets. Families get a gift card to purchase a turkey; the rest of the dinner comes in a basket. New clothing, hats, mittens, gloves, scarves and the like will be used towards the Christmas holiday run. Then there are the toys, new unwrapped and for all ages will work just fine. Checks can be made out to Helping for the Holidays/ FYI the account is at the Citizens Bank in Revere and questions can be directed to Branch Manager Jeff Howe. Any questions or if you need items picked up (we do that too) please don’t hesitate to call my cell (any time) 781-244-7430 or drop off at 21 Eastern Ave (behind the old Dairy Queen off Broadway) but please call first for date and time. The deadline for Thanksgiving is November 19th, food to be delivered on or about the 23rd. We are looking at a cutoff for Christmas about the 20th. Please don’t hesitate too long to help out.
I want to take this time in advance to thank all who will donate to this great cause and my heart felt thanks to all who have already done so. Help make the holiday season a little nicer for those who truly need the help, all donations go 100 percent to Revere residents and their children with no exceptions, charity begins at home, here in Revere. I hope all of you have a great holiday season and thanks again for making “Helping for the Holidays” a success.
Thanks from all of us at the Committee to Elect Al Terminiello Jr., and Helping for the Holidays;
Al Terminiello Jr.
