On behalf of the REAS Foundation and the generous residents and businesses of Sturbridge, I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to those Sturbridge seniors who have granted us the privilege of providing assistance to them.

We are honored that so many seniors have demonstrated such immense confidence in our organization and have entrusted us with the responsibility of protecting and respecting their personal information. It is a humbling experience to have so many individuals (donors and applicants alike) display such faith in the REAS Foundation.

Words are sufficiently inadequate to convey the level of gratitude and humility we have experienced in service to our community during the four short months that REAS has existed. The willingness of Sturbridge seniors – 30 thus far – to reach out to us with application requests is a great source of pride to each of us at the REAS Foundation. So too, is the incredible generosity demonstrated by residents and businesses whose support is undoubtedly the foundation behind the success of this endeavor. 

With every application and donation received, there comes a great sense of duty and honor within our organization. We are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to be of service.

Sincerely on behalf of the REAS Foundation

Thomas R. Creamer – Executive Director

Brownie Troop 30426 will be conducting a Food Drive on behalf of Sturbridge seniors, at Shaw’s Supermarket on Saturday November 22, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m., and at Stop & Shop on Sunday November 23, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Troop Leader Chris Ellithorpe indicated the troop’s desire to conduct a community-centered project that would benefit Sturbridge seniors, while cultivating the importance of compassion and empathy for our seniors among members of the troop.

The Brownies will be stationed at the entrance of the stores and will present flyers with suggested items that can be picked up by shoppers. As shoppers exit, they can deposit any food drive items into awaiting shopping carts, which will be manned by Brownies at the exits. Read the rest of this entry »

The REAS Foundation and the Publick House are teaming up to host a gala Wine & Beer tasting event to express our gratitude for the tremendous community support recieved, on behalf of Sturbridge seniors. We hope you will join us in this celebratory event to mark the four-month mark of our shared efforts and the conclusion of our 10K events.

We still have much to do as requests for assistance are arriving at a fast and furious pace, but we hope you will join us in thanking you for your generosity.

What: Sample from a host of Wines and Beers from around the corner, and around the world! Taste and array of fine food selections from the Public House Chef and Brian Treitman of BT’s Smokehouse, against the backdrop of beautiful music. Be on hand, as the drawing for the REAS Gift Baskets is conducted.

Baskets include:

1)    Pamper Yourself With Lotions from Crabtree & Evelyn

2)    Golf Foursome at Cyprian Keys with a $75.00 Gift Card for Pro Shop/Restaurant/Gift Shop.

3)    Star Wars Themed Basket

4)    Shaw’s Food Basket with $65.00 Worth of Snacks and a $100.00 Shaw’s Gift Card

5)    Spa & Jewelry Basket: Massage, Pedicure, & Facial, along with a $75.00 Gift Card for Garieri’ Jewelers.

Where: PUBLICK HOUSE TAP ROOM & PINEAPPLE ROOM
 
When: THURSDAY - NOVEMBER 20, 6:30 – 10:30 PM
 
Why: Please join us as we celebrate a successful fundraising drive in our first year of serving Sturbridge seniors. 100% of all proceeds go directly towards Sturbridge senior energy assistance. All event costs are being shared by individual members of the REAS Foundation with support from the Public House, Yankee Spirits, and others.

How Much: $35.00 per person  /  $50.00 per couple

RSVP: 508-434-4614
info@reasfoundation.org

Jennifer V. Morrison (left) - president and founding partner of Sterling Engineering – presented the REAS Foundation with a $1000 challenge check yesterday 910/30/08), signifying the success of the REAS 10K Circle of Businesses program.

On July 15th, the REAS Foundation announced two fundraising programs for senior energy assistance. One program, the 10K Circle of Businesses, hoped to raise $10,000 in donations from local businesses. Sterling Engineering kicked off the program with a 1K Challenge, whereby they would match donations from businesses up to $1,000.

“On behalf of Sterling Engineering, I am extremely proud to be presenting our check to the REAS Foundation, and we are honored by the overwhelming response from the business community in support of Sturbridge seniors”, Ms. Morrison said.

Ms. Morrison, who also serves as the Chief Administration Officer for the REAS Foundation, went on to say “…as a member of the Foundation, I am thrilled to be involved with such a meaningful, community-minded program, providing service and hope to our seniors”.

REAS Chairman of the Board - Scott Garieri (right), accepted the check on behalf of the foundation, expressing “deep appreciation to Ms. Morrison and those who answered Sterling’s call to action, in support of Sturbridge seniors”. Mr. Garieri added that, “…the residents and businesses of Sturbridge have created a grass roots approach to addressing the energy needs of our seniors”.

The Sterling donation brings the REAS Foundation and the Sturbridge community of donors to the 123% mark of its 2008 fundraising goal.

The REAS Foundation is pleased to announce that Southbridge Credit Union has joined the REAS Foundation as a member of our Associate Board of Directors. Citing the “need to expand our capability, in order to provide additional energy assistance resources to seniors, Thomas J. Smalarz - President and Chief Executive Officer of Southbridge Credit Union – acknowledged that Daniel Matte, an SCU Board member “would serve as SCU’s representative”.

Demonstrating their commitment to be a part of the solution, Mr. Smalarz (far left in photo) and Dan Matte (far right in photo) presented REAS Board Chairman Scott Garieri, (2nd from right in photo) and Vice-Chairman Jim Malloy (2nd from left in photo) with a $1250.00 donation on behalf of Southbridge Credit Union.

REAS Board Chairman Scott Garieri “welcomed the partnership between SCU and the REAS Foundation” and expressed his “gratitude on behalf of the organization for SCU’s willingness to play such a meaningful role in addressing the needs of our seniors”.

Vice-Chairman Jim Malloy, thanked SCU for its “generous commitment to our senior community and its willingness to maintain on ongoing role as a member of our Board. This strengthens our ability to provide meaningful assistance to Sturbridge seniors in need of energy assistance”, Mr. Malloy added.

“We are honored to be partnering with SCU, and are grateful for their commitment to this endeavor. They have expanded our ability to serve Sturbridge seniors in need, and have surely demonstrated their dedication to our community”, said Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director of the REAS Foundation.

Mr. Matte expressed his “excitement to be a part of such a meaningful grassroots effort that is already providing very real solutions to the very real challenges faced by seniors. Mr. Matte went on to say that he “is proud to be representing SCU as part of the REAS team”.

The donation from Southbridge Credit Union pushes the REAS Foundation up to 118% of its fundraising goal for 2008.

The following article was published in today’s (10/28/08) Southbridge Evening News.

BY CHRISTOPHER TANGUAY
NEWS STAFF WRITER

STURBRIDGE — The Residential Energy Assistance for Seniors (REAS) Foundation has reached its goal, and then some. That may not be enough however.

In a letter to the Southbridge Evening News Monday, Executive Director of the REAS Foundation, Thomas Creamer wrote, “Three weeks shy of our Nov. 15 fundraising deadline, the community of Sturbridge residents and businesses have passed the $20,000 goal by three percent, with donations still coming in and yet to be tabulated.”

On Saturday Oct. 18, at the annual Sturbridge Harvest Festival, Creamer said that whereas the organization has received an overwhelming amount of support from members in the community, the need for additional support is becoming apparent. “We’re going to have to make every effort to increase our amount,” Creamer said. Read the rest of this entry »

And just like that, its happened. Four months ago a group of Sturbridge residents got together and decided to do something. A little something based upon a simple premise; local problems are often best addressed with local solutions. Certainly not a ground breaking thought process, yet one that can be lost to even the most community-minded folks during such turbulent economic times, where everyone is struggling to adjust.

These individuals came from all walks of life, (lawyers, business owners, bankers, teachers, professional administrators, police officers, CPA’s, moms, dads, retirees, etc.); yet, they all came with a common theme - the overwhelming desire to do something meaningful for the most vulnerable members of our community, our seniors.

Thus, with little more than high hopes, dedication, and faith in the community, this group of residents set out upon uncharted waters to raise awareness, support, and money. On July 16, 2008, a press conference was held to formerly introduce the Residential Energy Assistance for Seniors (REAS) Foundation. At that time, they had $75.00 in a checking account and a goal to raise $20,000 by November 15th.

By way of two programs, the 10K Circle of Friends – $10,000 raised by $10.00 donations from 1000 residents, and the 10K Circle of Business - $10,000 raised from business donors, the group was confident that Sturbridge would answer the call to care for its own.

And answer that call – you - the residents and businesses of Sturbridge certainly have. As of yesterday, October 24, three weeks shy of our November 15th fundraising deadline, the community of Sturbridge residents and businesses have surpassed the $20,000 goal by 3% with donations still coming in and yet to be tabulated.

This is nothing short of amazing on the one hand, yet predictable on the other. Amazing, in that a group of residents with little experience in a project of this undertaking were able to so quickly and efficiently establish an organization to address the issue of energy assistance for seniors. Predictable in that the amazing community we live in is one in which fellowship is the foundation of our daily lives. Yes, the principles of fellowship, compassion, and empathy are the very things that ultimately bind this community together, despite any differences we may share on other matters.

Each of YOU, who have joined the REAS family, understands well the importance and necessity of reaching out to those in need and rallying around them in common support. This endeavor has certainly galvanized members of our community, and has demonstrated the power of change that love and compassion can achieve in such a short period. 

We are honored to serve as a vehicle of your love, your generosity, and your selflessness, and we thank you for allowing us to partner with you. We still have much to do as the need is growing weekly; yet we are ever more motivated to continue this great work on YOUR behalf.

Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director
REAS Foundation

A second anonymous donor has stepped forward to issue yet another 1K Challenge. Citing the desire to “do as much as we can”, this new challenge will make it possible for the REAS Foundation (on your behalf), to help an additional five qualifying Sturbridge seniors with energy costs.

For every donation received (regardless of size), in direct response to this additional 1K Challenge, the sponsor of this challenge will match it dollar for dollar, up to a grand total of one thousand dollars. As was our practice with the previous 1K Challenge, the REAS Foundation will only count those donations specifically designated as 1K donations towards this new challenge. This enables us to maintain the spirit of the 1K Challenge. 

In response to this challenge, we will be implementing a new graph on the front page of our website, which will display a figure representing a senior for each $400 received in combined donations. This amount represents the mid-range grant award issued by the REAS Foundation on your behalf.

So, let the challenge begin and let’s see just how quickly we can get those figures up on our front page.

Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director

The recent 1K Anonymous Challenge featured in the October Sturbridge Times Magazine has been matched as donors quickly flooded the REAS Foundation with 1K Challenge checks.

Donations ranging from the challenge minimum of $25 up to $250 have been streaming in quickly matching the 1K Challenge. In order to ensure that checks received were in fact “challenge” inspired, only those checks that specifically stated 1K in the memo line or were verbally qualified by the donor as a 1K Challenge donation, were credited against the challenge.

It was an incredibly inspiring experience to witness donations being generated so quickly in response to the 1K Challenge and surely, the anonymous challenger must be excited and quite grateful about the response.

We at the REAS Foundation would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the 1K donor who issued this challenge, and certainly to each of you who stepped up to meet that challenge.

The most exciting aspect of this challenge is that once received, the 1K Challenge Check will bring us just over the top of our goal, which will equate to enough funds to provide meaningful energy assistance to approximately 45 seniors right here in Sturbridge. That’s 45 of our neighbors, 45 of our friends, 45 members of our community who have sacrificed so much during their lives and now find themselves teetering on the edge.

You have thrown them a lifeline, and one that is surely a difference-maker in their lives.

Thomas R. Creamer - Executive Director

There is much that could be said about the immense compassion Sturbridge residents have exhibited in support of its seniors. Great stories could be written about the amazing fellowship we’ve all been witness to here in town. No doubt, one could easily exhaust a thesaurus, detailing the unparalleled generosity demonstrated these past months.

Yet nothing is as poignant, nor as telling, as the sentiments and words expressed by those you’ve helped. Nothing better conveys the overwhelming sense of desperation replaced now with hope, due solely to the compassion of Sturbridge residents helping their own. At the very moment you settle to read this, there is the quickened beat of grateful hearts that rumbles throughout Sturbridge. It is a sound that grows louder each day, as those seniors whose burden you’ve lightened, breathe a sigh of relief. Read the rest of this entry »