Neighbors helping neighbors

By Kate Tobiasson, Contributing Writer Westborough - Each week, The Westborough Food Pantry quietly provides over 130 needy families with food, thanks to donations from...

Northborough - When Northborough resident Rebecca Putnam was approached by Kate Butler, founder of Dignity Matters, to join the board of the new nonprofit organization that collects feminine hygiene products and undergarments for women and teenage girls in need, she immediately stepped up and became treasurer, as well a volunteer at collection drives.

Northborough - Town Moderator Fred George and Selectman Jeff Amberson lend a hand with the cookout at Ellsworth-McAfee Park for volunteers of the annual...

Northborough/Southborough - For five local families, Lamaze class proved more than just a lesson in prepared childbirth. Following the birth of their babies at MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham in late 1993 and early 1994, the five families became fast friends sharing many developmental milestones, birthday celebrations and holidays. On June 3, the "Lamaze friends" will be celebrating yet another milestone together as the babies have grown up and will be graduating from Algonquin Regional High School. At the suggestion of Lamaze instructor Lynn Marks, the group began meeting after the birth of their children. The first gathering for the entire group was a Sunday brunch at the Polymeros" house in January of 1994. Soon afterward, the stay-at-home moms began meeting Thursday mornings for playgroups at each other's houses.

Franklin – A Bone Marrow Drive/Organ Donation Awareness event will be held Sunday, March 10 from 2 to 5 p.m. at Pour Richards, 14...

Shrewsbury - A Shrewsbury Library Supporters Ballot Question Committee has been formed by a group of Shrewsbury residents who are working together to achieve...

Hudson/Marlborough - The eighth annual Comedy Night Benefit will be held Friday, Feb. 16, at the Hudson Portuguese Club, 13 Port St. The event,...

Westborough – Westborough Boy Scout Troop 100’s 41st annual Pancake Breakfast will be held on Sunday, March 3 from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Knights of...

Shrewsbury - (l to r) Mike and Julie Rondinelli, and Jim and Nancy Coghlin Sr. place bids on items at the silent auction during...

Region - Researchers at UMASS Medical School are developing an innovative program for service members and veterans with alcohol related concerns. The program is called Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy for Military Families. Based on a similar program developed over the past 35 years called Alcohol Behavioral Couple Therapy (ABCT), the program is now being adapted for military personnel who are facing unique challenges at home after deployment; challenges that are often include alcohol, feeling down, pain, trauma, isolation, and anger that can get in the way of creating a “new normal” for service members and their families. The principal investigators of the project are Elizabeth E. Epstein, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School, and director, UMass National Center on Homelessness Among Veterans and David Smelson, Psy.D., professor of psychiatry, University of Massachusetts Medical School and research psychologist at the Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Mass.

Region - A special night to honor the late Trooper Thomas Clardy and raise money for the Clardy Children’s Fund will be held by the Lowell Spinners Sunday, July 17. Clardy, a resident of Hudson, was killed in the line of duty March 16 while conducting a routine traffic stop on the Massachusetts Turnpike in Charlton.

By Dakota Antelman, Contributing Writer Northborough - Over 50 area high school students took a week out of their summers last month to help less...

Westborough - Westborough resident James Coghlin, Sr. was honored June 10 by the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center for his leadership role in the fight against cancer. He was one of 100 honorees recognized at a ceremony held in Boston.

Marlborough - Many local residents have become acquainted with the Lions Club by attending the annual Labor Day Bed Race, the Amazing Race or the popular Father-Daughter Dance, events held successfully for many years.

By Liz Nolan, Contributing Writer Northborough - Most students celebrate when school ends on Friday afternoon, but some who receive free lunch on a school...

Northborough - Take three enthusiastic eighth-grade students with the idea of a community service project and the result is a successful project that brought awareness to homelessness in Northborough and a smile for recipients on Valentine’s Day.

Westborough - Tanya Walia recently received the Girl Scout Gold Award for her project “Express Yourself: Cards for the Community.” Tanya is a member of Westborough Troop 30633. Her project focused on teaching people in the community how to make homemade greeting cards and helping them to understand the sentimental value of a homemade card versus store-bought.

Westborough - In March, Sarah W. Gibbons Middle School eighth-grader Corinne Sciarappa, 14, was diagnosed with alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. A form of cancer which makes up about 3 percent of all childhood cancers, rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is a soft tissue cancer made up of cells that normally develop into skeletal muscles.

Northborough - The Friends of the Northborough Library, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has granted the first Library Service Award to Hayley...

Region - For a child, a situation such as an accident, fire, serious illness or domestic violence, can, of course, be extremely traumatic. And often times, when a police officer or firefighter responds to that situation, the child's level of fright and stress increases. But thanks to a nonprofit Hopedale-based group, Project Smile, many emergency responders across the state now have another comforting way to help those kids - a gently used stuffed animal. And sometimes that can make all the difference in how the child gets through the event.