In today’s daily 5 Things You Need to Know feature, ThisWeekinWorcester.com explores five important items and stories that Worcester and Central Massachusetts residents should keep a close eye on.
These five things can cover a whole range of subjects and issues that we feel are pertinent to understanding what’s going on in the city and the cities and towns surrounding Worcester.
In today’s edition – Thursday, December 16 – the Worcester Police Department leads a parade and present delivery to Why Me & Sherry’s House, the Hanover Insurance Group annual employee giving campaign raises $1.5 million, Worcester County District Attorney community program has reached over 600,000 people, Holy Cross is at the top of the nation in student-athlete graduation rate and friends of Newton Hill are working on a free, Nordic Ski park.
Worcester Police Department Leads Parade and Present Delivery to Why Me & Sherry’s House
The Worcester Police Department led a drive thru parade and present delivery at Why Me & Sherry’s House on Tuesday, December 14. Video of the parade is available below.
In 1985, 13-year-old Sherry Shepherd founded the non-profit organization, with the help of her father, during her four-year battle with cancer. Why Me stands for Worcester Help for Youth, Memories Everlasting,
Over 36 years later, Why Me provides comprehensive support to the entire family through a pediatric cancer diagnosis.
To learn more and for donation information visit the Why Me website.
Hanover Insurance Raises $1.5 Million for Charity
The Hanover Insurance Group announced its annual employee giving campaign raised $1.5 million for the United Way and other nonprofit organizations.
Over 3,500 employees, representing 82% of the company’s workforce, took part in the campaign, raising more than $1 million. The campaign raised $1.5 million, including a matching contribution from The Hanover Insurance Group Foundation.
Throughout 2022, donations will be paid out to 111 United Way chapters and more than 1,500 nonprofits.
The Hanover has held this annual campaign to solicit pledges for United Way agencies and nonprofits across the country for more than 70 years.
DA’s Outreach Team Reached Over 600,000 People
Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr.’s office says its crime prevention and community safety program recently exceeded reaching 600,000 people.
Early’s Community Outreach Team, a team of 10, presents programming to schools and groups of all sizes by request. These presentations are always free and can be tailored to the specific age range or audience. The Team also runs our intern program and manages grant implementations.
The team’s most popular program is bullying and cyber bullying prevention. This program also helps kids understand the importance of protecting their digital footprint and imparts the knowledge that nothing on the internet is ever deleted.
“We are at schools, senior centers and community events across Worcester County nearly every day, presenting on topics such as bullying and cyber bullying, scams and fraud, drugs and alcohol, and texting and driving,” Early said. “I’ve always said I’d rather prevent a crime than have to solve one. I’m proud to say we’ve officially reached 600,000 residents with this programming, many of them youth.”
Holy Cross Top of the Nation for Athlete Graduation Rate
The NCAA released its Graduation Success Rate Report this week, which rates schools for the graduation rates of its student athletes.
Holy Cross and seven other schools tied to be ranked first in the nation with a 99% graduation rate for its student-athletes.
The seven schools to match the Crusaders at 99 percent were Columbia, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, La Salle, Lafayette and Yale.
Twenty-three of a possible 26 Holy Cross athletic teams achieved a perfect 100 percent graduation rate:
- baseball
- men’s and women’s basketball
- men’s and women’s cross country
- men’s and women’s golf
- men’s and women’s ice hockey
- men’s and women’s lacrosse
- women’s rowing
- women’s soccer
- softball
- men’s and women’s swimming and diving
- men’s and women’s tennis
- men’s and women’s indoor track and field
- men’s and women’s outdoor track and field
- volleyball
Access to the NCAA’s searchable Graduation Success database for more information.
Skiing, Winter Walking Trails in Worcester
The Friends of Newton Hill announced its newest project, bringing a free, Nordic Ski park with groomed trails to Newton Hill and Elm Park.
The trails will be suitable for cross-country skiing, fat tire biking and winter walking.
Visit the Friends of New Hill Facebook page for more information.
