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Community Work Services Celebrates the Work of 142 Years and Honors City Notables in Their Inaugural City of Champions Gala

Community Work Services Celebrates the Work of 142 Years and Honors City Notables in Their Inaugural City of Champions Gala

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On Thursday evening, May 9th, Community Work Services (CWS) held its inaugural City of Champions celebration gala. The event, which attracted a sold-out crowd, featured the lives and legacies of six distinguished honorees, including Boston’s mayor, Martin Walsh; TD Garden President and CEO, Amy Latimer; CWS Board Chair, Paul Davis; Boston Fire Commissioner Joseph Finn; best-selling author, Casey Sherman; and CWS participant Danielle McInnis who graduated from CWS hospitality training program to secure a job as a front desk supervisor for Boston’s renowned Boxer Hotel.

Erika Tarantal, Boston’s Channel 5 News reporter and anchor, emceed the evening. The musicians of Tunefoolery, a CWS partner that specializes in bringing together musicians in mental health recovery, offered a melodic backdrop to the evening.

“Building on our 143 years of helping the people of the city of Boston, this event recognized our new partners and celebrated the expanded role our agency is taking to help those with barriers to work.  The funds we raised will be reinvested in innovative programming and new opportunities in our community,” said Paul Davis, Chair of the CWS board of directors and an honoree.

The event included a silent and a live auction featuring one-of-a-kind special sports, arts, and entertainment items, including a Tom Brady signed football and Number 12 Jersey, a signed Leroy Neiman print featuring Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, and photos of entertainers ranging from Bruce Springsteen to Frank Sinatra and Aerosmith.

 “We are thrilled,” said Craig Stenning, Executive Director of CWS. “The attendees were very generous, and we surpassed our goals for the evening. And, we are already forging new partnerships with local businesses to hire our participants and underwrite our important work.”

The CWS family anticipates this to be the first of many years of celebrations honoring individuals who are making a difference in the city of Boston. 

Click here or on the image below to view our 2019 Program Journal.

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Community Work Services Honors Boston’s Brightest Champions Who Make a Difference

Community Work Services Honors Boston’s Brightest Champions Who Make a Difference

On Thursday, May 9, Community Work Services (CWS), one of Boston’s most venerable non-profit organizations dedicated to helping put people who face barriers to work, will be honoring five of Boston’s most accomplished champions who have contributed their extraordinary energy, resources, and talents to making the city—and the region—a place where lives and communities are forever transformed for the better.

“The City of Champions gala is the brightest spot of our year,” said Craig Stenning, Executive Director of CWS. “The individuals we honor that night live on the front lines of leadership, and their work and contributions have shaped the city in uniquely powerful and positive ways. These honorees stand with us at CWS as we work to fulfill our mission of creating opportunities for those who historically have not had access to competitive work.”

The gala will be held at the Marlowe Hotel in Cambridge. Hosted by Master of Ceremonies Erika Tarantal (Emmy Award Winning Journalist, WCVB Channel 5), CWS will honor:

  • Mayor Marty Walsh with the Helen Keller Award
  • Paul Davis, Chair of the CWS Board and co-founder of Marble Harbor Investments with the Annie Fields Founder’s Award
  • Amy Latimer, President of TD Garden with the President’s Lifetime Award
  • Best-selling author Casey Sherman with the Civil Responsibility Award
  • Joseph Finn, Boston’s Fire Commissioner with the Public Service Award

“As a writer, I am drawn to stories about empowerment and inspiration,” said honoree Casey Sherman. “Community Work Services’ mission to educate, elevate and train others is one that not only inspires me, but gives me hope that everyone regardless of their background will have an opportunity to succeed and excel.”

Our relationship with Community Works Services highlights the unique, real life work place experiences that they provide,” said honoree Amy Latimer, president of TD Garden. “These experiences not only impact the lives of the people that CWS serves, but enriches the lives of TD Garden associates working alongside them by fostering inclusion, mentorship, and the importance of supporting our community.”

“No one will leave this evening unchanged,” said Mr. Stenning. “They will leave inspired and moved by the achievements and stories of our honorees and of the individuals we serve here at CWS. Each one of our honorees has a biography that reflects their dedication and commitment to innovation and to creating a thriving, healthy city where equality and opportunity are part of an overall vision for every single citizen. I look forward to highlighting the accomplishments of each one of our champions. It will be a night to remember, that’s for sure.”

The City of Champions gala will include a cocktail reception beginning at 6 p.m. before the awards dinner, which begins at 7 p.m. The leading underwriters of the event include Bank of America, Appleton Partners, Marble Harbor Investments, Star Market, and Imprint Marketing.

For more information on sponsorships and tickets, please visit our website at cwsnewengland.org/city-of-champions-gala or write to Jane Forestall at jforrestall@cwsne.org.

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Mightier and Community Work Services Join Forces for a Game-Changing Partnership

Mightier and Community Work Services Join Forces for a Game-Changing Partnership

Mightier, an innovative organization that has developed a program of bioresponsive video games to help kids learn emotional regulation and deep breathing skills is teaming with Community Work Services (CWS), one of Boston’s most venerable agencies supporting those with barriers to employment learn skills for work and career readiness. Mightier will be employing those learning skills through CWS to help assemble, package, and ship their program kits.

“This partnership is what our work is all about,” said Craig Stenning, Executive Director of Community Work Services, a company housed within The Fedcap Group, a national non-profit dedicated to providing opportunities for those with barriers to improved economic well-being. “Mightier is our urban neighbor, and they are doing extraordinary work helping kids to build skills and confidence. Here at CWS, we prepare those with barriers for competitive work, and in us, Mightier has found a ready, willing, and able workforce.”

Mightier was developed and tested at Boston Children’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School. The company’s innovative work involves creating video games that help kids ages 6-14—especially those with behavioral challenges—build skills that help them practice emotional regulation, develop coping skills, and build emotional muscle memory to regulate emotional outbursts and respond to life’s challenges. The program includes a library of games accessed through the Mightier app, compatible with both Android and Apple products, a “Mighty Band,” which is worn as a heart rate monitor, coaching sessions with a licensed clinician, an online hub to track your child’s process and access to a private community of Mightier parents. As a player’s heart rate goes up, the games become harder to play. The more the players learn to regulate their responses, the more successful they are. After just ten weeks of use, the average family sees a marked reduction in outbursts, decreased oppositional behaviors, and diminished parental stress.

“We created Mightier to empower kids to overcome the challenges they are facing in life,” said Craig Lund, Mightier’s co-founder and CEO. “We’re excited to partner with CWS in our shared mission of giving people tools to help improve their lives.” Community Work Services has been working for over 140 years helping individuals with diverse types of disabilities obtain employment and self-sufficiency through innovative, on-the-job training, job placements according to the interests and needs of their participants, and ongoing support services. CWS is widely known as a model for ways to empower individuals with disabilities and to help them thrive in their community.

“Our partnership is a great tribute to our mutual commitment to those with different types of barriers,” said Craig Stenning. “We are excited to see the power of our mutual efforts. Stay tuned!”

For more information, visit Mightier at www.mightier.com and Community Work Services at http://cwsnewengland.org/.

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CWS visit Boston Museum of Science

Recent Event: Trip to Boston Museum of Science

On the recent trip to the Boston Museum of Science, all participants were from CWS’ funding source, the Department of Developmental Services (DDS). Within this group, there is a range of developmental disabilities that require a higher level of care and attention than many of the organization’s other participants. Most of the participants who are funded by DDS have an hour/week requirement for Community Based Day Supports, which helps ensure that they get out into the community. It also helps to ensure that they are learning and having fun (because fun is important, too!). At the museum, participants visited a new “Numbers in Nature” exhibit. At the end of the trip, participants were asked what they liked/remembered from the visit:    

-Rafaela: “I like how the mirror maze showed more than one me”

-Lloyd: “I liked walking through the mirror maze and using the body scanner”

-Bob “I liked the square game on the computer, where squares added up (Fibonacci number sequence). It was groovy”.

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