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April 3, 2008

Future sports columnist?

Caitlin Burke, a seventh-grader at Wood Hill Middle School, was chosen as a winner of the 2008 Will McDonough Writing Contest presented by The Sports Museum. The contest was open to students in grades 4 to 12 and received more than 1,800 entries. A winner was selected from each grade.

Burke's essay, "My Refuge" will be displayed in The Sports Museum's Will McDonough exhibit. Burke and other contest winners were expected to attend an award ceremony and Celtics game at the TD Banknorth Garden on April 2.

Student named in League contest

Melanie Zakin, an eighth-grade student at Doherty Middle School, has won Honorable Mention in the League of Women Voters' annual Online Student Essay Contest. Now in its ninth year, the contest had as its theme "Making Democracy Work: Vote 2008," focusing on issues related to the presidential election.

"It is evident from the overwhelming response to the League's online essay contest that young people in this state are paying serious attention to the upcoming presidential election. Their responses to questions about the significance of the election outcome on their lives and in their communities, the qualities required for presidential leadership, the role of money in the campaigns, as well as the impact of the media on the race, were thoughtful and creative," according to Diane L. Jeffery, president of the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts.

Melanie will be recognized for her achievement in Faneuil Hall in Boston at the League's Making Democracy Work Awards Ceremony, April 13, from 2 to 4 p.m.

Can Andover top $40,000 for hunger?

Project Bread is asking local towns to increase their fundraising efforts as it prepares for this year's special 40th Walk for Hunger on Sunday, May 4. With the Walk less than two months away now is time to show support for the event and all it does for the community. In 2007, walkers from Andover raised $40,000 of the total $3.4 million to help hungry families throughout Massachusetts. With 450,000 people struggling to put food on the table, the need for emergency food is still at an all-time high.

"I participated in the Walk for Hunger for the first time this year and raised nearly $1,200," said Jay Raghaven, a Heart & Sole Walker from Andover, in a release. "Despite the fact that there are a million worthy causes, I like how Project Bread distributes the money from The Walk for Hunger to many local food pantries and soup kitchens. I love seeing the results." Heart & Sole Walkers are participants who raise $500 or more for hungry people.

Project Bread's Walk for Hunger supports 400 emergency food programs across the state that serve 42.1 million meals a year. They include food pantries, meal programs, food banks, and food salvage programs.

In 2007, 43,000 walkers, 50,000 individual donors, and 2,000 volunteers participated in the 20-mile trek and raised $3.4 million to fund 400 emergency programs in 126 communities across the state.

To honor this year's 40th Walk for Hunger, Project Bread is carrying out a history project to record and preserve the stories of the people who have played instrumental roles through the Walk's history. Share your memories and tales online at www.projectbread.org/history or at Project Bread's history tent on Sunday, May 4.