Final update from October 04-2019: SGF’s 2019 camp scholarship program broke through almost all of our previous records (all except the number of different camps attended by campers). In total, SGF approved $135,722.50 in summer camp scholarships for 83 children who attended 406.5 weeks of summer camp (132.5 of which were in overnight camp) at 19 different camps. The youngest camper we funded this year was just 3 years old, and the oldest was 18 (in a CIT leadership program). The exact age of one camper, who is a refugee, is unknown, but she appears to be a young teenager. Thanks for supporting our all-volunteer efforts, which, to date, have provided more than $1.25 million in summer camp scholarship funding!

Saturday April 27, 2019 marked the 18th anniversary of the bus tragedy that took the lives of four Oak Hill Middle School students: Greg Chan, Kayla Rosenberg, Melissa Leung, and Steve Glidden.  As we have done each year, a Circle of Remembrance took place on April 27 at 6 pm, in front of Oak Hill Middle School. Despite the cold and windy weather, about 50 community members attended, including Mayor Ruthanne Fuller and former Mayor David Cohen, both of whom offered touching, eloquent remarks. Also present were representatives of one of the summer camps SGF funds, several vibrant young adults who were friends with Steve, Melissa, Kayla, and Greg, and a number of former teachers, neighbors and other supporters from near and far.

In addition to remembrances offered for Steve, Kayla, Melissa and Greg, many others in Newton and beyond have lost family and friends at other times and in other tragedies. The “Circle of Remembrance” was a time to remember them as well, in the company of those who care. Special remembrances were made in memory of all victims of gun violence including those who perished in hate-based mass shootings in Sri Lanka, Christchurch NZ, Parkland FL, Pittsburgh PA, and only earlier that day, near San Diego CA.

We invite you to download and print your own personal copy of the We Remember booklet.

 

Leonora Chertoff, long-time SGF supporter and beloved friend of Trustee Lil Alpert, passed away on April 02, 2019, leaving a huge void in the lives of her many family members and friends. SGF was named by Leonora’s family as one of the charities selected for memorial donations. Although we wish it were made for a happier occasion, we at SGF are grateful for this designation, as many deserving children will benefit directly in the coming summer.

Thus far, memorial donations have been received from:

• Elaine Alpert and Bill Marsh
• Lillian Alpert
• Goldie and Eric Arrow
• Robert Baranoff
• Bill Gilman
• Barbara, Stan, Dan, and Matt Hopard
• Florence Rothstein
• Shirley Salshutz
• Molly Wilensky

You can make a memorial donation in Leonora’s memory by check, by credit card, or via the PayPal Giving Fund. Easy donate buttons are located on the SGF home page. To make sure we know your donation was made in memory of Leonora, either include that designation in the memo line of your check, or in the comments section on the PayPal site. There is no integrated way to denote the purpose of your donation through the PayPal Giving Fund, so if you choose to donate that way, just let us know by email at sgf@stevegliddenfoundation.org, or by phone or text at 617 283-5784, so we can acknowledge your generosity appropriately.

All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. Each and every donation will be acknowledged to the donor and to Leonora’s family.  In addition, an additional notation can be found in the Tributes section of the SGF website.

Leonora – your memory is already a blessing. Thank you for the privilege of your friendship.

SGF was a participating charity in the Amazon Smile program since the program began in mid-2014. Although not a huge contributor to SGF’s revenue, every penny raised helped provide summer camp scholarships for the wonderful kids we serve. Amazon made the decision to end the Smile program and has now made its final disbursement to SGF.

SGF $148.94  from Amazon Smile in June, 2023, growing the total and final amount raised since we joined this program to $3,212.21 (which made us and the kids we serve smile :)).

Please keep in mind that SGF never knew who shopped n Amazon, or what they purchased (so we were not able to thank anyone individually). SGF just received a transfer into its bank account on a quarterly basis and we have to trust Amazon that they handled Smile disbursements correctly.

Thank you to all who designated SGF as it’s target charity for Amazon purchases. It was good while it lasted!

As of April, 2019 SGF has disbursed $1,098,530.39 in summer camp scholarships (including a few early camp scholarship approvals for 2019). We are well on our way to granting our next million!

All we can say is WOW! None of this would be possible at all without the love, trust and generosity of SGF’s many donors. Thank you so much!

Holy guacamole, we’ve been busy – and we are FINALLY done for the 2018 season. We’ve set new records in each and every category, which has certainly stretched our budget to the max (but we’d do this again in a heartbeat).

Our trusted domestic violence, child protection, and homeless outreach partners have reached out rather extensively on behalf of children in their care for summer camp scholarships for the 2018 season.  For the 2018 camp season, SGF has approved $123,694.07 in scholarship funding (our highest number ever – by far), to enable 76 children to attend 364.5 weeks of camp (115.5 weeks of which will be to overnight camp), at 30 different camps.

To recap the summer of 2017, we awarded a total of $95,416 in camp scholarships, enabling 65 children to attend 333.5 weeks of camp at 14 different camps, 79 weeks of which are for overnight camp. THANK YOU to everyone who helped make this possible!

Francisco Tomas Lopez (aka “Fran”) is a super-talented web and app developer who just happens to be married to SGF Trustee Sarah Glidden. Fran donated his time and creativity to transform the original, ancient (yet still in some ways quite endearing) old SGF website into something fit for the 21st century.

Although Fran is employed full-time, he still finds time to do freelance app and web development work on the side for selected clients. Examples of his work can be found on his website. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Fran should you wish to create, enhance, or modernize your (or your company’s) electronic presence. Fran’s website is http://www.franlopez.info/ and his email is fran@www.stevegliddenfoundation.org.

Muchisimas gracias, Fran!

SGF Trustee Lil Alpert celebrated her 101st birthday on Dec. 17, 2018!

For her 100th birthday in 2017, Lil partied in style with family and friends during the “Party of the Century” in Great Neck, NY. In lieu of physical presents, Lil asked people to make a donation to SGF (or to a different charity if they prefer) in her honor. As a result, nearly $3,000 was raised to support summer camp scholarships for deserving children.

Her 101st birthday was a bit more low key, but several hundred more dollars were raised, bringing her 3-digit year total well over $3,000!

Thanks so much! Keep on keepin on, Lil!