By Melanie Petrucci, Senior Community Reporter
Region – The weather was perfect for the Sixth Annual Hannah Kane Charity Classic on Aug. 17 as $60,000 was raised for three local charities. The annual event, held once again at the Haven Country Club in Boylston, benefitted the Westborough Food Pantry, St. Anne’s Human Services and Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services.
Kane is the state representative for Shrewsbury as well as two precincts in Westborough.
“We know the need is higher than ever for access to supplemental healthy food and mental health services,” she said. “We were thrilled to see the tremendous support from sponsors, golfers and donors and very excited to award our three amazing beneficiaries with the same donation as last year, $20,000 each.”
“I am grateful to our Presenting Sponsor Howard Grossman of Grossman Development Group, tournament director Beth Casavant and the entire host committee for their hard work and The Haven for helping make sure that our tournament could be played,” she added.
“It’s a miracle,” remarked Elaine LeBlanc, director of St. Anne’s Human Services located in Shrewsbury.
LeBlanc was joined by Dot Greene from the Westborough Food Pantry and Christine Mowry, executive director of Shrewsbury Youth and Family Services.
Greene shared: “It’s been a challenge. One of the things that [the pantry was able] to do this year, was to give out gift cards weekly to the different families and the amounts varied depending on the size of the family….with Hannah’s help we were able to purchase beef and chicken.”
She said the pantry normally serves 140 families but they have picked up roughly 30 more during the pandemic.
“With last year’s funding we were so grateful that we were able to launch the state’s first vaping diversion program,” remarked Mowry. “Now we’ve had to pivot everything clearly into telehealth so we were able to pivot that program and all of our services.”
What’s going to be on their radar this fall, she added, will be the social emotional mental health challenges and anxiety of young people as well as teachers as they head back to school – driven in large part by COVID-19.
LeBlanc added that Kane’s donation has been instrumental in helping them distribute gift cards to their clients every month.
“There were certain things that we couldn’t get so we were able to buy them because of Hannah’s generosity,” she noted.
Photos/Melanie Petrucci
