The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

charity/volunteer

Hands-on philanthropy program invites middle-schoolers

Lincoln School students with representatives of Youth in Philanthropy. Left to right: board member Laurie Cote, Director of Programs and Marketing Jackie Walker, and students Emilie Auger, Esther Adetoye, Amelia Pillar, Zaynab Azzouz, Sarah Lammert, Sonya Carson, Andreas Muzila, and Will Levy.

The Foundation for MetroWest’s Youth in Philanthropy (YIP) program, which provides middle and high school students with educational and philanthropic opportunities, is currently recruiting 7th and 8th grade students who live or learn in Lincoln.

The program will begin on Wednesday, Nov. 29 and will be held in the Lincoln School every Wednesday from 4–5 p.m. (room location will be provded to accepted students). Applications will be accepted online at www.yipmetrowest.org until Monday, Nov. 27.

The YIP program helps participants learn about running a nonprofit, how donations are used, and what needs exist in their communities through a hands-on experience. In 2016, 10 Lincoln School students presented $5,000 grants to Save a Dog and Lucy’s Love Bus.

“As an organization, we take great pride in educating the next generation of philanthropists,” said Judith G. Salerno, executive director of the Foundation for MetroWest. “By continuing the YIP program in Lincoln, students will learn about local needs, how philanthropy affects where they live, and how they can make an impact at any age.”

One of the largest youth philanthropy education programs in the country, YIP is an experiential leadership development program designed for students interested in learning more about nonprofit organizations and the needs that exist in their own community. YIP students research local organizations and award $10,000 in grants, with no fees or tuition to participate. Over the past two decades, YIP has educated more than 1,250 teens who have granted more than $1 million to youth-serving organizations in the MetroWest area.

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FELS pie sale extended

The FELS Thanksgiving Pie Sale deadline has been extended to Tuesday, Nov. 14. Through the proceeds from this sale, FELS (the Foundation for Educators at Lincoln-Sudbury) can fund opportunities for L-S teachers to grow and refresh next summer and add to their teaching. Pies ordered will be available on Tuesday, Nov. 21.

Beware of phone scams

The Lincoln Police report that a Lincoln senior received a scam call saying that several arrest warrants had been issued for the senior and the senior needed to call the scammer’s number. Police want Lincoln seniors to know that this is a scam and they will not be coming to anyone’s home to arrest them. If you receive such a call or would like more information, please call the police at 781-259-8113.

Advent workshop for kids

Pictured making crafts at last year’s Advent Workshop are Atticus Borggaard and Peter Covino.

The First Parish in Lincoln will hold an advent workshop for children on Sunday, Nov. 26 from 10:15–11:30 a.m. in the Parish House at 14 Bedford Road. Children will make seasonal crafts at this event, and refreshments will be provided. Free and open to children of all ages in the community.

A capella music, book preview at library

The Lincoln Public Library presents the Mistletones in concert on Sunday, Dec. 3 at 2 p.m. and an adult and children’s gift book preview from 1–4 p.m. The Mistletones a capella group sings classic winter and holiday songs mixed with a modern twist and contemporary sound. All ages welcome. Before the concert, enjoy a holiday book preview where staff we can help you with suggestions for “just right” books for the children and adults on your gift list.

Minute Man trail reconstruction begins

Minute Man National Historical Park has announced that the Battle Road Trail, located in Lexington, Lincoln, and Concord will begin an extensive rehabilitation to improve the trail surface and drainage beginning Wednesday, Nov. 15. Sections of the trail at Hartwell Tavern will be closed. There will be a pedestrian trail detour, which is narrow and impassable to bicycles or strollers and is not suitable for running or jogging. The project runs from November 20 to December 31. Additional work at North Bridge will begin in April 2018.

Tour the Pierce House on Nov. 25

The Pierce House will offer free tours for the public on Saturday, Nov. 25 at 10 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m., 1 p.m., and 2 p.m. For more information, call 781-259-9757.

Fuel bill and financial assistance available

If you need help paying your winter fuel bill, the state’s Fuel Assistance Program may be able to help. The Fuel Assistance Program provides a cash benefit, payable to an authorized fuel provider, for both home owners and renters whose incomes are eligible. How much you receive depends on your household income, how many people you have in your household, and your heating costs. Those who receive fuel assistance may also be eligible for other benefits, such as weatherization services, heating system repairs, and discount utility rates. To apply for fuel assistance, residents of all ages should call Carolyn Bottum or Susan Isbell of the Lincoln Council on Aging at 781-259-8811 for an appointment. The Southern Middlesex Opportunity Council (SMOC) will review the application to determine whether you’re eligible Even if you’re not sure if you qualify, please call to find out.

When Lincoln residents have an unforeseen and extreme financial emergency that threatens their well-being, the Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund and the Small Necessities Project may be able to help. The Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund is supported entirely by the Ogden Codman Trust, First Parish, and donations. For more information or to ask for assistance from the Lincoln Emergency Assistance Fund, call Carolyn Bottum or Abby Butt at the COA, 781-259-8811.

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Five from Lincoln are National Merit Commended Students

Lincoln residents Maya Belge, Ruby Carmel, Catherine and Emily Chuang, and Alexander Tam were among the 29 Commended Students from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School in the 2018 National Merit Scholarship Program. Commended students place among the top 50,000 scorers of more than 1.6 million students who entered the 2018 competition by taking the 2016 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).

Musical performers at Paws for the Holidays

The Paws for the Holidays fundraiser at the Pierce House on Sunday, Nov. 12 from 11 a.m.– 4 p.m. will feature live performances from the following:

  • 11 a.m.–noon and 12:20–2 p.m. — Jaimee Joroff, a harpist trained in Classical and Celtic Music, and a Certified Therapeutic Harp Practitioner (CHTP), plays on the first floor.
  • Noon–12:30 p.m. — The Pitch Pipes, an 11-member a capella group from Lexington High School, will sing holiday tunes and other selections on the stairwell.
  • 2–4 p.m. — The Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band will play on the second floor.

Hedgerow to play at LOMA

Hedgerow

Hedgerow is the featured performer at the next LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mike Acoustic) night on Monday, Nov. 13 in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. The event runs from 7-10 p.m., and Hedgerow will perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30. Hedgerow is a contemporary bluegrass band from Berklee College of Music fronted by lead singer Madison Denbrock and featuring guitar, violin, mandolin, banjo, harmonica and bass. Their high energy and instrumental wizardry is evident in a live mash-up between a folk song and fiddle tune, Gentle On My Mind & Salt Spring.

Artists’ market coming to deCordova

On Thursday, Nov. 16, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum opens its 24th annual Artists’ Market with an opening reception from 6–9 p.m. featuring free sweets, music and complimentary gift wrapping. An expansion of the deCordova Store, the market features gift options including handmade ceramics, sculptures, jewelry, fiber arts, and more. The market is open daily from 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m., with extended hours until  7:30 p.m. from Monday–Thursday, Dec. 11–24. On Saturday, Dec. 9 from 1–3 p.m., the store will offer a 20 percent discount to new members who join that day as well as complimentary gift wrapping.

“The Secret Garden” takes the stage at L-S

The LSB players, the theater performance company of Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, will stage performances of The Secret Garden based on the classic children’s book by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The Secret Garden (directed and choreographed by Carly Evans, music directed by Michael Bunting, and conducted by Tom Grandprey) will be performed in the Kirshner Auditorium on Wednesday–Saturday, Nov. 15–18 at 7:30 p.m. Recommended for ages 8 and up. Click here to purchase tickets.

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“Lucy Vincent Beach, Cloudy Day” by Jim Wojno.

Artist’s reception for Wojno

There will be an artists’ reception on Sunday, Nov. 5 from 2–5 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Library for Lincoln resident Jim Wojno, who is having an art show in the library’s Main and Stay Put galleries from October 29–November 25.

Five-part opera series scheduled

“Opera for Everyone with Erika Reitshamer,” a five-part lecture series presented by Erika Reitshamer, will begin at the Lincoln Public Library on Sunday, Nov. 5. All sessions are from 2–3:30 p.m. in the Tarbell Room. Topics will be as follows:

Giuseppe Verdi

  • November 5—”The Life of Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901).” Verdi was the leading Italian composer of opera in the 19th century. He was not only a great operatic composer, but also a symbol of an entire country’s hopes & dreams.
  • November 19—”Otello.” Verdi’s greatest tragedy is a miraculous union of music and Shakespeare’s drama, a masterpiece. On DVD, Placido Domingo will sing his greatest role to Kiri Te Kanawa’s Desdemona.
  • December 17—”Falstaff.” Verdi’s last opera is a brilliant comedy based on Shakespeare’s “Merry Wives of Windsor.” It was written when the composer was nearly 80 years old. On DVD with Renato Bruson and Katia Ricciarelli.

Other dates in the lecture series are January 7 and 21, 2018.

“Nutcracker,” South Asian poetry at library

The Lincoln Public Library will host a reading of The Nutcracker geared to young children accompanied by dancers from the Commonwealth Ballet Company acting out some of the parts on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 11 a.m.–noon. All ages welcome; drop in. On Sunday, Nov. 12, there will be a program on “South Asian Poets of New England” at 2 p.m. For details, email B. Misra at misra.bijoy@gmail.com.

The Lincoln Public Library will be closed on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 10 and 11 in observance of Veterans Day. It will also close at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 22 and will be closed for Thanksgiving on Thursday, Nov. 23. The library will reopen on Friday, Nov. 24 at 9 a.m. and will be open regular hours for the remainder of the holiday weekend.

Movies at library in November

November is Alfred Hitchcock month for the Lincoln Library Film Society. All screenings start at 3 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. Refreshments served. To join the mailing list, email Lincolnlibraryfilmsociety@gmail.com.

  • November 6 — Rear Window (1954) with Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
  • November 13 — To Catch a Thief (1955) with Cary Grant with Grace Kelly. When a reformed jewel thief is suspected of returning to his former occupation, he must ferret out the real thief in order to prove his innocence.
  • November 20 — Vertigo (1958) with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend’s wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
  • November 27 — North by Northwest (1959) with Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint. A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive.

FELS offers Thanksgiving pies

FELS, the Foundation for Educators at L-S, announces its the annual Thanksgiving pie sale. Home-baked apple, pumpkin, pecan, and chocolate pies are available for $18 each; purchase for your own family or as a donation to a local charity (Lincoln or Sudbury fire/police, the Sudbury Food Pantry, the L-S Senior Citizen Thanksgiving dinner, or a specific L-S teacher). Proceeds help fund enrichment grants for L-S faculty and staff. Order online or download an order form from the website and mail it in. Pies must be ordered by Friday, Nov. 10; pie pickup is Tuesday, Nov. 21.

A historical comedy look at marriage and taxes

The Lincoln Historical Society will present Marriage is Taxing, a look into Britain’s imposition of the Stamp Act on the American colonies, on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 2 p.m. at The Commons (1 Harvest Circle). This one-act comedy by Lincoln attorney, author and humorist Martha Lufkin was inspired by the documented “stampede” to marry in the weeks before the Stamp Act took effect, as couples sought to avoid the impending tax on marriage certificates. The program also features Lincoln resident Walter Bossert as the Prime Minister of England, delivering a scathing rebuke to the rebellious colonies. Light refreshments will be served.

Lincoln kids stage one-act comedies

Lincoln middle school students will celebrate friendship, teamwork and great storytelling with performances of Gooney Bird Greene and Her True Life Adventures and Nate the Great on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 16 and 17 at 7 p.m. in the Brooks auditorium. Gooney Bird Greene is about the new kid in second grade and what happens when she bursts on the scene with a dazzling imagination and amazing stories. Nate the Great, from the book series by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, is about a kid detective, who solves the neighborhood’s most pressing mysteries along with his faithful dog Sludge and his band of friends. This family-friendly production runs 90 minutes plus one intermission. Tickets ($5 each) will be sold at the door.

Letter to the editor: kudos to Scarecrow 5K for reusable water bottles

letter

To the editor:

As a participant in Sunday’s Scarecrow 5K run and walk, I want to commend all involved in setting up, supporting, and implementing a wonderful morning of fun. I particularly want to thank the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Klean Kanteen, and the Rural Land Foundation for providing reusable water bottles to every participant in the race. This was a welcome change from plastic water bottles that are generally used in road races around the country.

Americans use 50 billion single-serve plastic water bottles a year. Only 29 percent get recycled, so most end up littering our land and our waterways, and pose a risk to our wildlife and marine life. Plastic does not biodegrade and remains in our environment for 1,000 years. Plastics leave behind and leach chemicals that are known to cause cancer and threaten our health — and the health of our ecosystems.

The long-term impacts on the planet and our health are not worth the price and convenience of cheap, convenient, single-use plastic water bottles. Thank you again to the sponsors of this race for your vision and commitment to a clean, green, sustainable Lincoln.

Sincerely,

Sheila Dennis
28 Weston Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

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Speakers to discuss Israel-Palestine conflict

The Lincoln-based GRALTA Foundation is hosting two talks by human rights activists in the Lincoln Public Library as part of its ongoing series exploring the Israel-Palestine conflict:

  • Wednesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. — Lubnah Shomali, Administrative and Financial Affairs Manager, BADIL Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights. Lubnah Shomali will discuss BADIL’s comprehensive, rights-based approach to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, and the applicability of international humanitarian and human rights law on forced population transfer, refugees, and internally displaced persons.
  • Tuesday, Oct. 31 at 1:30 p.m. — Haggai Matar, Executive Director, +972 magazine and Local Call. He will speak about the role of media in the rise of populist regimes and its potential role in unifying the progressive camp to fight back.

On Sunday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. at Bemis Hall, GRALTA will reports on its recent micro-delegation to Israel and Palestine with reports from Bill Stason, Janet Simmon, and Steve Low. For more information, contact Low at 781-259-1300 or steve.low@gordianconcepts.com.

Durant to give Rappaport Prize Lecture at deCordova

Sam Durant.

Sam Durant will give the annual Rappaport Prize Lecture at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum on Thursday, Oct. 26 at 6:30 p.m. (doors open at 6 p.m.) Durant is the 18th recipient of the prestigious Rappaport Prize, an annual award of $25,000 given to a contemporary artist with strong connections to New England. This program is FREE, but registration is requested. Free tickets are available on Eventbrite.

Free concert with Toni Lynn Washington

Sax Gordon and Toni Lynn Washington.

All ages are invited to a free concert by renowned Boston-area blues vocalist Toni Lynn Washington and acclaimed saxophonist Sax Gordon Beadle on Sunday, Nov. 5 at 2 p.m. at Bemis Hall. The performance—a gift from Margo Cooper in celebration of her mother’s life—is the first annual Ronna Cooper Memorial Concert and is sponsored by the Friends of the Lincoln Council on Aging.

Washington, who has starred for decades as both a singer and songwriter, has received the Boston Blues Festival Lifetime Achievement Award and seven Blues Music Award nominations. Gordon Beadle, known for his “hard-blowing, exciting, gutsy” signature style, has performed around the world and won numerous awards. The Duke Robillard rhythm section (Bruce Bears on keyboard, Jesse Williams on bass, and Mark Teixeira on drums) will back up Toni Lynn and Sax Gordon. For more information, call the Council on Aging at 781-259-8811.

Talk on gardening with native plants

Claudia Thompson, founder and president  of Grow Native Massachusetts, will speak on “Gardening with Native Plants” on Monday, Nov. 6 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall. She will explain the differences among native, naturalized and invasive plants and explore the food web that links plants to insects, birds, wildlife, and humans. Open to all Lincoln residents; sponsored by the Lincoln Garden Club.

Paws for the Holidays on Nov. 12

The Pierce House Mansion in Lincoln will open its doors on Sunday, Nov. 12 from 11 a.m.–4 p.m., decorated for the holidays and filled with hot chocolate, cookies, popcorn, live music, holiday baskets, arts and crafts, silent auction items and pet supplies.

The event benefits Phinney’s Friends, a Lincoln-based nonprofit that helps low-income people keep their pets in times of hardship. The mansion is dog-friendly, and there will be a room with activities for children. Santa will be available for pictures with families and their dogs. The festival will also offer items handmade by Phinney’s Friends volunteers. For more information, leave a message at 617-979-8705 or email phinneysfriends@gmail.com.

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Build a scarecrow for good causes

The Lincoln PTO and the METCO Coordinating Committee, sponsored by Stonegate Gardens, are offering a second opportunity to build scarecrows in preparation for the annual Lincoln Land Conservation Trust Scarecrow Classic 5K on October 15. Visit Stonegate Gardens on Saturday, Oct. 14 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. for a PTO fundraiser to build a scarecrow for $15. Bring a pillowcase for the head, old clothes (smaller sizes work best) and accessories. Stonegate Gardens will supply stakes, hay, twine and decorations. You can keep your scarecrow or display it in the parade on Ballfield Road. (NOTE: caregiver supervision is required; this is not a drop-off event.)

In preparation for this event, please consider donating colorful clothes (shirts and pants, smaller sizes preferred) and accessories (hats, sunglasses, old costumes) to the community-building scarecrow workshop that will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 11 at the Lincoln School. Please make your clothing donations by Tuesday, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. Look for the Scarecrow-Building Donation Box at Stonegate Gardens. Your donation will provide kids who have registered for this event with a fun selection of clothing as they build their scarecrows.

Water bottles at Scarecrow Classic

Leading the push for reusable water containers, the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust and the Rural Land Foundation are giving out to the first 500 registrants at the Scarecrow Classic 5K an environmentally friendly Klean Kanteen water bottle with the Scarecrow Classic 5K and LLCT logos. Organizers aim to set a precedent for the use of reusable water containers by asking participants to bring their Scarecrow Classic 5K/Klean Kanteen water bottles to future races, and they will provide the hydration stations. Students in the Environmental Club at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will be filling and helping distribute the bottles for the race. At Lincoln’s 2017 Annual Town Meeting, the students presented a plastic water bottle ban initiative. A vote was not taken, but residents recommended that the students continue to research and draft a proposal to be revisited at the fall State of the Town meeting.

“Courageous women” to speak at GRALTA event

The GRALTA Foundation is partnering with the Tree of Life Educational Fund to present “Courageous Women” at the Lincoln Public Library on Tuesday, Oct. 24 at 1:30 p.m. There is no charge, and light refreshments will be served. Speakers are Fayrouz Sharqawi, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, and Madonna Thunder Hawk, a member of the Oohenumpa band of the Cheyenne River Sioux tribe. Sharqawi is the advocacy coordinator at Grassroots Jerusalem, a platform for Palestinian community-based mobilization, leadership, and advocacy in occupied Jerusalem. Thunder Hawk has a long history of grassroots activism prior to her formative work for Lakota People’s Law Project as a tribal liaison. She is co-founder of Women of All Red Nations as well as the Black Hills Alliance, which prevented uranium mining in the Black Hills.

More solar open houses on Oct. 22

Lincoln Green Energy will sponsor a second day of Lincoln open houses to see fellow Lincolnites’ solar PV and hot water heaters on Sunday, Oct. 22 from 1–3 p.m. Visit the Lincoln Green Energy website to see locations of open houses. Solarize Mass. Lincoln-Wayland-Sudbury, is also hosting solar open houses at two locations in Wayland on Sunday, Oct. 15. Click here for details on location and time.

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Garden Club party for prospective members

The Lincoln Garden Club is hosting a wine and hors d’oeuvre party for prospective members on Sunday, Oct. 1 at 5 p.m. To RSVP, call Susan Seeley (781-259-0841) or Ann Parke (781-259-0276) or email membership@lincolngardenclub.org. The club maintain an active yearly schedule of speakers, workshops, and field trips on a range of gardening and nature topics. Members contribute to the community by designing, planting and maintaining various public planters and garden sites, such as Station Park across from the mall. Members also create flower arrangements for the library, Council on Aging events and delivery to local shut-ins at various holidays. No level of skill or expertise is required, just an interest in gardening.

Minuteman offers after-school program for middle schoolers

Registration is open for Minuteman High School’s fall after-school program for area middle school students that starts on Tuesday, Oct. 3. Now in its second year, Minuteman’s Career Pathways After-school Program is an opportunity for students in grades 6–8 to choose from 19 project-based classes including “Build a Steam Powered Putt-Putt Boat,” “Create an Android App,” “Intro to Graphic Design, “The Celebrity Look” (cosmetology), The Importance of Plumbing” and “Basic Plant Science.” The sessions will be taught by Minuteman faculty at Minuteman High School in Lexington.

There will be two, four-day sessions running from 4:15–6:15 p.m. Session A will run October 3, 5, 10, and 12. Session B will run October 17, 19, 24, and 26. Students must register for the program and will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Priority will be given to students from Minuteman’s member towns. Students from non-member communities including Lincoln will be accepted if space is available. Tuition for students from member communities is $100 per session, or $500 per session for those from non-member communities. Click here to see a complete list of course titles or to register for one or both sessions.

Scarecrow Classic steps off Oct. 15

The 5th annual Scarecrow Classic 5K Run/Walk takes place on Sunday, Oct. 15. Registration begins at 8 a.m. and the race starts at 9:30 a.m. (start and finish are both at the Mall at Lincoln Station). Registration is $30 in advance or $35 on race day. The event supports the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, which helps manage over 2000 acres of land and nearly 80 miles of public trails as a regional recreational resource for the greater Boston area. Click here to register.

South Sudanese organization offering programs in Lincoln

Susan Winship (right), head of the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families, with administrative assistant Carolyn Montie. Behind them is a painting by Sudanese refugee Jacob Lueth Achol titled “Drumming and Dancing” (click to enlarge).

Lincoln has a long track record of helping South Sudanese refugees, and this fall, that tradition will continue when the town hosts the Saturday Bridges Program run by the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families (SSEF).

The Saturday program, which previously has been held in Arlington and Malden, has several components. There will be workshops for adults on writing and financial literacy, as well as an infant/preschool babysitting program. At the same time, older children can participate in a program at Drumlin Farm (or in the Brooks gym in case of rain). The workshops and babysitting take place in Pods A and B on the Hartwell campus on October 14, 21 and 28, November 4 and 18, and December 2 from 1:30–5:30 p.m.

Adult and teenage volunteers are needed to help with the infant/preschool babysitting and the Drumlin Farm program under the supervision of program adults. The training will be on Wednesday, Oct. 4 at the home of SSEF executive director and president Susan Winship at 10 Meadowdam Rd. in Lincoln. Anyone interested in learning more or helping out should contact her at 781-424-8774 or SusanWinship@comcast.net.

Winship is one of those who helped resettle 150 “lost boys” in the Boston area starting in 2000 in the wake of the 22-year civil war in Sudan. Boys who were several miles away from their villages during the day returned to find their homes under attack or destroyed. Groups of homeless and often orphaned children (mostly boys) walked hundreds of miles to arrive in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, where they lived for several years before emigrating to the United States.

Lincoln has many connections to the “lost boys.” For a time, three of them lived at Codman Community Farms and attended Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. There are currently two Sudanese families living in Lincoln, including the family of Akuot Deng Leek, the SSEF’s community liaison who matches clients with agencies and services in the Boston area. Carolyn Montie of Lincoln is SSEF’s administrative assistant, and her daughter Eve (now a college sophomore) was a long-time volunteer in the Saturday Bridges Program.

For 12 years, Winship headed the Sudanese Education Fund, which helped pay education costs for the “lost boys.” Those boys grew up, and many returned to Sudan to marry and then and came back to the U.S. The organization was consequently renamed the South Sudanese Enrichment for Families to reflect its expanded mission to assist South Sudanese women and their children.

Most of these women got less education in Africa than the men, and taking classes here is harder since they care for their children while their husbands work. In addition to workshops and tutoring and acting as a social hub for the community, the SSEF offers help with housing, preschool scholarships and summer camp opportunities.

“When you resettle refugees, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Their needs go on and on as they assimilate to a new culture and raise their children,” Winship said. “We really feel strongly that part of our mission is to have the current and next generation as self-sufficient as possible.”

Students holding yard sale to benefit hurricane victims

Three Lincoln students are holding a yard sale on Saturday, Sept. 16 to raise money for victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. The sale will be held from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. at 22 Tabor Hill Rd. in Lincoln.

Organizing the sale of household items, toys, clothing, and books are seventh-grader Calum Stein, eighth-grader Liam O’Leary, and ninth-grader Caroline Hodge. Caroline attends Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School and Liam and Calum are at the Meadowbrook School in Weston.
The charities they’ve chosen are:
  • The American Red Cross, which is using donor dollars to provide shelter, food, and emergency support for individuals and families affected by the hurricanes.
  • Catholic Charities USA Hurricane Relief, the official domestic relief agency of the U.S. Catholic Church. Donations will support disaster response and recovery efforts including direct assistance, rebuilding, and health care services.
  • Focus on the Family is partnering with Convoy of Hope, whose on-the-ground in the disaster area providing displaced families with basic needs including food, water, hygiene supplies, and other essential items.