***UPDATE***

Yesterday was Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger and the Harbor Walks Team raised over $2,000 for the cause! Thank you to everyone that sponsored us, donated and volunteered. The event started at Boston Common and was a 20 mile loop around that city. Checkpoints offered water, snacks, first aid and shuttles back to the starting point. The weather was great and the feeling of comradery among walkers was inspiring. We can’t wait to participate in next year’s event and hope you will too!

What is the Walk for Hunger?

Can you imagine going to bed hungry every night? For individuals and families across America, this is a harsh reality that could be happening  next door. Help keep your neighbors and community well fed by walking, volunteering or donating to The Walk for Hunger 2012!

Harbor Health Services, Inc. is proud be participating in this year’s event and we would love to see you there too! If the 20 mile trek seems daunting, don’t worry, you can choose how far you walk and there is no registration fee or fundraising minimum. However every contribution, whether big or small, makes a difference, so Walkers and Volunteers are encouraged to help raise as much money as they can.

Proceeds from the event assist area shelters and hunger prevention programs and the success of the event has helped provide millions of meals to hungry people.

To register to walk, volunteer, donate, or learn more about the event,  please visit Project Bread’s Walk for Hunger site here.

If you would like to donate to the Harbor Walks Team, please click here.

We’ll see you at the finish line!

The Massachuestts League of Community Health Centers will be presenting Nancy Bucken with the Outstanding Massachusetts Community Health Center Executive Director Award at its annual awards ceremony. The honor is bestowed upon one leader across Massachusetts that has shown “ the courage and determination in moving the health center forward and on track.”

Ms. Bucken joined Harbor Health Services, Inc. in 2007 as the Vice President and Executive Director of the Neponset Health Center and is responsible for the Harbor WIC program and Harbor Community Programs Department.

On Friday, June 15th, at the Westin Copley Place in Boston, the League will recognize Ms. Bucken along with other exceptional members of the community health center movement that have helped shape and progress our cause.

Congratulations to Nancy for all of her hard work and receiving this deserved recognition!

On May 19^th & 20^th, Harbor Health Services, Inc. will be volunteering and participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Boston! This two day event will start at UMass Boston and travel to the Reebok World Headquarters and back again. With a route that travels through historical Boston landmarks and along the picturesque harbor, the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer promises that participants will have a wonderful time supporting an equally wonderful cause.

If you’d like to register as a walker, donate, or volunteer, visit the event’s official website at: http://www.avonwalk.org/join/join-us.html

For specific details on the route, start times and parking visit:
http://www.avonwalk.org/boston/event-information.html

Education and fun for the whole family at Randolph High School! Come by for cooking demonstrations, water aerobics, zumba, health screenings, and much more!

Date: April 21, 2012

Time: 10:00AM – 2:00PM

Place: Randolph High School
70 Memorial Parkway, Randolph, Massachusetts

Come join us at Quincy College for a day of healthcare education, giveaways and much more! Learn about important health topics, ask questions and get information about local providers and services!

Date: Thursday, April 19th
Time: 10:00AM – 2:00PM
Place: 1250 Hancock Street, Quincy Center, Massachusetts

A very special thank you to Dr. Ralph Vetters, MD, MPH, and Medical Director at the Sidney Borum Junior Health Center for his educational presentation today on LGBT youth and the issues they face in their communities.

The event took place at Geiger-Gibson Community Health Center and was hosted by the New England HIV Education Consortium. Harbor Health Services, Inc. is always looking for ways to provide both an accessible and friendly environment for the LGBT community and Dr. Vetters’s presentation delivered valuable insight into LGBT culture, appropriate terminology, and surveys of what patients want to see in community health centers.

We value these chances to share knowledge with other health centers and are grateful that Dr. Vetters took time out of his schedule to meet with our staff!

Join other community members just like you invested in creating the Dorchester we want our kids to grow up in and building on the strengths of our community to improve the lives of all people. Come to our March community meeting and learn how to be the change that you want to see in Dorchester.

DSAC Community Meeting

Tuesday, March 20, 2012

6:00 PM-7:30 PM

Leahy-Holloran Community Center

1 Worrell Street, Dorchester, MA 02122

Click here for full event details.

During this meeting, we will be addressing the ongoing problems of prescription drug abuse in the community. We have invited a special guest:

Helen Connolly, RN, BSN
Program Manager, Allston-Brighton Substance Abuse Task Force

Presenting: Teen Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention
“Maximizing Your Role as a Teen Influencer-What you can do to help prevent prescription drug abuse”.

Our meetings are open to all in the community. Please come and bring a friend! Change is only possible with your contribution. Let’s all be the change that we want to see in Dorchester.

Thank you for all your support!

The DSAC Team
For more information, please contact:
Adelia Rocha, Coalition Coordinator: 617 533 3274

The 17th Annual Outreach & Information Day at the State House was exciting, engaging and a breath of fresh air!

The event provided a chance for community health centers across Massachusetts to meet with legislators and inform them about current healthcare programs and financial strategies. It also served as a great way to network with other centers and share ideas. Harbor Health Services, Inc. staff manned three tables that represented all of our programs and helped answer questions and distribute brochures, informational packets and the all-important give-aways. Our own Vice President, Paulette Shaw Querner, gave a speech at the Legislative briefing attended by other Massachusetts community health center leaders.

Speakers during the day included Governor Deval Patrick, EOHHS Secretary JudyAnn Bigby, as well as a number of House and Senate members.