The following post is an article found in the December 25, 2008 Tantasqua Town Common. It was written by Matthew Bernat, of Turley Publications.

During J.T. Mills tenth birthday celebration, all the things you’d find at a typical adolescent lazer tag party were there: Food, fun and 13 of J.T.’s closest friends. But the only gift in sight was – that’s the thing, there were no gifts in sight.All of J.T.’s birthday loot - $260 in checks and cash – went to the Residential Energy Assistance for Seniors Foundation (REAS).

For some local families, deciding to skip the traditional birthday ritual of accepting gifts is part generosity lesson and part first line of defense against an ever mounting pile of toys that threaten to overtake free space. It’s an experiment where guests are asked to donate money or items to a charity chosen by their child. But it’s not that different from adults (who are not wanting) whose only request is attendance at birthday parties,anniversaries and other celebrations. Read the rest of this entry »

Recognizing the severity of damage caused by the ice storm which descended upon us Thursday evening (12/11/08), coupled with the delays in restoring power to the Leadmine/Finlay Road sections of Sturbridge/Fiskdale, the REAS Foundation - in direct concert with and under the coordination of, the Sturbridge Police Department - took the following steps to provide assistance to local residents.

On Friday evening and throughout Saturday, we secured several rooms with our partners at the Publick House at significant discounts for area residents. The strong support we have enjoyed from this historic Sturbridge venue continues to evolve, and we are extremely fortunate for their contributions within our community. Since then we have negotiated reduced rates with others. This has allowed us to place 8 residents locally as hotels have experienced an overflow of people affected by the storm and have been booked as far away as Chicopee. The rooms are paid for by the residents themselves.

Saturday evening we began door-to-door checks on residents in the area. This continues through today (Tuesday) as we have canvassed the entire area 3 times. Calvin Montigny has been tireless in reaching out to residents via our door to door status checks.

Sunday morning we secured complimentary hot shower and respite facilities at the Sturbridge Host Hotel for those affected by the storm. The Host stepped right up in responding to our request for assistance. Read the rest of this entry »

REAS Foundation 2008 Preliminary Report

The REAS Foundation is honored to offer its first official public report on the amazing gift of love extended by Sturbridge residents and businesses on behalf of Sturbridge seniors.  As the fiduciary agents granted the privilege and honor of disbursing your gifts, we recognize the enormous responsibility we have to those who have entrusted us with this role. We welcome that responsibility.

Over the last several months - you, the residents and businesses of Sturbridge - have engineered an amazing community-centered approach in addressing the needs of Sturbridge seniors. You have created a source of hope and inspiration for our seniors and our youth. Your efforts, your generosity, and your compassion have filled the hearts of many with love, restored hope to numerous souls, and calmed the fears of our most vulnerable. Read the rest of this entry »

The Soul of a human being is an amazing and astonishing entity. It is defined in many ways; ancient Greeks believed that the soul manifested in our dreams and revealed “an award of joy or sorrow drawing near”. Socrates considered the soul to be, the “spirit or essence of a person” whose existence was “eternal”.

Psychologist Thomas Hillman believed the soul to be that “which makes meaning possible, deepens events into experiences” and “is communicated in love”. Many religions believe the soul to be “the innermost aspect of humans, that which is of greatest value in them, that by which they are most especially in God’s image”. The definitions surely do not end here, but one recognizes the esteem with which many view the soul.

Surely, this most mysterious and inanimate aspect of human existence has been an ongoing enigma as long as Homo Sapiens (thinking man) have walked the earth. Though the definitions of what the soul is, or is not, may vary slightly, the recognition of just exactly what it is when one is fortunate to witness it, is of little doubt.

Consider the soul of one young boy, 10 year old J.T. Mills of Sturbridge MA, whose actions embody the very “spirit or essence” of who this person is.  Young J.T. was about to celebrate his 10th birthday and as he contemplated his party and formulated the list of gifts he would like, his thoughts drew towards the struggles of Sturbridge seniors and the challenge they faced in staying warm this coming winter. Read the rest of this entry »

The REAS Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of a Chapter in Charlton, MA.

Concerned about the burden shouldered by seniors balancing the challenges of energy, food, and medical costs against the diminished purchasing power of fixed incomes, a group of Charlton residents began exploring options for assisting seniors.

Lead by Charlton Police Chief James Pervier and Charlton Council on Aging Director Elaine Kingston, the group examined various mechanisms over the last two months for providing energy assistance to qualifying Charlton seniors.Those efforts, more and more began to parallel the approach taken in Sturbridge through the REAS Foundation, and ultimately lead to discussions favoring the establishment of a REAS Chapter in Charlton. Read the rest of this entry »

The still young timid voices, tender hearts, and tremendous smiles of Girl Scout Brownies, coupled with the incredible generosity of caring adults resulted in an incredibly successful food drive in support of Sturbridge seniors this past weekend.

Stationed at Shaw’s Supermarket on Saturday and Stop & Shop on Sunday, Brownies from Troop 30426 greeted shoppers with disarming smiles; hope filled eyes, and their still small voices, while gently alerting them to their food drive on behalf of Sturbridge seniors.

And what an amazing job they did. After eight hours of hard work – 4 at each store – the Brownies amassed sixteen, yup16, jammed packed shopping carts loaded with food – 8 from each location – which will be distributed to 25 seniors who have thus far requested assistance from the REAS Foundation.

It was simply amazing to lay witness to the efforts of these young girls, lead by their scout leaders Chris Ellithorpe, Trish Westberg, and Kelly Rynearson, who have clearly done an incredible job in mentoring these children. Equally so, the generosity of the multitudes who stopped by with items for the Brownie’s Senior Food Drive was simply staggering. To witness such compassion, such concern, such commitment from children and adults alike, one could only be left with an overwhelming sense of warmth and teary-eyed joy.

This past weekend was an incredible opportunity to lay witness to an inspiring group of young girls who understood the value of their efforts and the importance of their cause. It was also a wonderful chance to experience the tremendous job our parents and scout leaders are doing in mentoring the future leaders of our community.

The REAS Foundation is honored to have been in service with Brownie Troop 30426.

Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director

(Click on the photos to enlarge them.)

It’s 9:00 a.m. on a Saturday morning. The temperature is 22 degrees Fahrenheit, with an 18 mile per hour wind, creating a wind chill of 4 degrees. Absolutely wonderful conditions to sit by the kitchen table sipping hot coffee and reading the morning news.

Yet, for a group of local boys, the freezing winds and bone chilling temperature was the setting for a can drive on behalf of Sturbridge seniors. This morning  - 11/22/08 - members of Boy Scout Troop 161, saddled up, bundled up, and stepped up to collect cans in an effort to assist qualifying Sturbridge seniors with their energy costs. The scout troop had dedicated the month of November to collect returnable cans and bottles in partnership with the REAS Foundation.

It was somewhat apropos, that on what turned out to be the coldest day by far of the early winter season (4 degrees with the wind chill), young boys were out braving the weather in support of those who have created this wonderful community. There exists no greater statement about a community’s true essence, than that found in the willingness of its youth to sacrifice for its most vulnerable citizens. Fewer are more vulnerable than our seniors.

Today was a challenging and difficult sacrifice for young boys who will soon become the young men leading our community and our nation. There is little doubt, that those today, who were fortunate enough to participate in this event, were provided a great opportunity for growth by their scout leaders. Our hats off to those adults who take the time to mentor these boys.

All of us within the community should be proud of the efforts of these boys and should feel a sense of pride in their call to duty and their compassion. Nevertheless, we bear in mind as well, that scouts or not, our community if filled with an abundance of incredibly selfless and wonderful youth.

On behalf of the REAS Foundation, I extend our gratitude to Boy Scout Troop 161 and the mentors who guide them.

Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director

REAS Foundation

The REAS Foundation (partial Board photo to right) would like to extend its deep gratitude to all who attended/supported our successful Gala Wine/Beer Tasting event this past Thursday. Weeks of hard work and planning by Board members and community supporters, resulted in an evening to remember.

It was a great night from beginning to end, accented with beautiful REAS Foundation embossed wine glasses created and donated by Mr. Bill Muir for our guests.

The attendance was perfect, the food wonderful, the wine & beer selections outstanding, the praise from attendees phenomenal, and the ambiance created by the Publick House simply spectacular.

Read the rest of this entry »