By Joan F. Simoneau, Community Reporter
Marlborough – The Mayor’s Charity Ball will be held this year Saturday, April 5 at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Suites, 265 Lakeside Ave, starting at 7 p.m. ?The event, which benefits the Mayor’s Charity Relief Fund, will include the presentation of the Humanitarian Award, which last year was awarded to local attorney Douglas Rowe.
The Mayor’s Charity Relief Fund was started in 1960 with proceeds from then-Mayor Kuson J. Haddad’s first inaugural ball. While a variety of charitable fundraising events and functions have been held throughout subsequent years, the Mayor’s Charity Ball, held every inaugural year, is the prime source of funding to help the city’s residents in need. It is one of the most valuable resources for the Human Services Department, which faces ever-increasing demand.? Recipients must be residents of the city and must initiate a request for help through the Human Services Department, which conducts interviews to determine qualification.? Recommendations are then forwarded to the mayor’s office for final approval.? Applicants can be serviced only once per year with accurate records kept to ensure proper procedures.
Money from the fund has been used in the past towards such things as rent or utility bills; to help a family who has lost their possessions in a home fire or who are threatened with eviction; for senior citizens whose fuel or light and power are to be terminated; “extreme” family circumstances, and other help-oriented organizations such as the Food Pantry.
Tickets to the event, which will feature a variety of food stations provided by local restaurants and hotels, are $40 per person and may be purchased by contacting Linda Ossing at 508-481-6189.
Other past recipients of the Humanitarian Award include: Louise Thiesing, Margaret? Moriarty, Evelyn Lincoln, Mary Dalpe, Roland Simoneau, Robert Kays, Dennis Kennedy, Sylvester Ruggiero, Gerald Spratt, Flora Jolie, George Whapham, Madeline and Robert? Dupuis, Linda Ossing, Peggy Schwarz Ayres, and Lynn Faust.
Kays and ?Ossing are co-chairs for this year’s event.? Committee members include:? Christine Bastien, Mike Berry, Wendy Butler, Jim Hickey, Penny Kahn, Pam Narahara, Christine Seymour, Dave Walton, Donna Barberio, Trish Bernard, Dave Bouvier, Scott Duplisea, Mary Ann Giroux, Gretta Holland, Ann Marie Kelley, Ivette Mesmar, Greg Mitrakas, Doug Rowe, Ken Skehill, and Susan Vigeant.
