Page 18 THE EVERETT ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2021 ~ LETTER-TO-THE-EDITOR ~ FKO Thanks Mayor Carlo DeMaria for his Longtime Support Dear Editor, I am the Executive Director of For Kids Only Afterschool (FKO) and I am writing to thank the City of Everett and Mayor Carlo DeMaria for the longtime support of children and families enrolled in our afterschool programs. I first came to Everett in a professional capacity in 2007. I worked with Mayor DeMaria as part of the Everett After School Team (EAST) which convened city and legislative leaders, school officials, community partners, parents and other stakeholders. EAST led a broad community needs assessment process that identified afterschool services as a top community need, and in response the City of Everett and Everett Public Schools invited FKO to become the contracted afterschool provider for the community. With support of Mayor DeMaria and the backing of EAST, FKO opened programs at six different elementary schools which operated year-round until the COVID-19 pandemic closed school buildings in March 2020. Since schools were closed at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, FKO has been unable to continue services in shared space at Everett Public School buildings. However, with the commitment of the City of Everett and Mayor DeMaria to continue in-person programming for Everett families, FKO secured safe classroom space at the former Pope John Academy in July 2020, where we continue to operate to this day. Since FKO’s Everett Afterschool Program began, Mayor DeMaria has been a vocal advocate for dedicated funding to award afterschool scholarships to students in need and always made sure the city focused on providing struggling working families with access to these important services. Further, the commitment of city resources to transport homeless children back to their families every day meant that they could attend afterschool programming with their peers; without the Mayor’s commitment they would not have been able to do so. I have enjoyed Mayor DeMaria’s frequent visits to our programs, joining the children at Showcase Nights and end-ofyear celebrations. I fondly recall the time children at the Keverian School got the Mayor directly involved in a special project they launched. They created a “Kids Youth Council” hoping to make an impact on their community and began advocating to update their school’s playground. They wrote to the Mayor, explained the need for mulch to be added under the playground equipment for safety and invited him to come for a visit so they could make their case. The children were thrilled and so proud when, just a few weeks after they reached out, they looked out the window to see mulch being dropped off. It’s moments like these that show just how big of a heart print Mayor DeMaria has left on the children of FKO and the community. The support from Mayor DeMaria and the City of Everett over the years has led to tremendous opportunities for children and families in our community, including: • Access to year-round afterschool and full-day summer learning programs for thousands of Everett children and youth; • Transportation services to and from afterschool programming; • Innovative remote learning support services for students needing care and supervision during remote school days; • High-quality learning recovery and enrichment through programs like the United Way’s Summer Step Up grant; • Access to resources, such as translation services, nutritious meals and holiday gifts; • And much more! FKO will continue to collaborate with our partners in Everett to provide public and private financial assistance to eligible families who need and want fun and engaging afterschool and summer enrichment experiences for their children. We are forever grateful for the collaborations and friendships that have been made with Mayor DeMaria and the City of Everett over the past 14 years and we look forward to continuing our work together. I would be remis not to share a special thank you to School Committee member Millie Cardello and City Councilor Michael McLaughlin who, along with so many other public officials and community leaders, have gone above and beyond to promote access for all to quality out-of-school time programming in the City of Everett. Warm Regards, Deborah Kneeland Keegan Executive Director DiDomenico votes to pass landmark voting reform legislation O n Oct. 6, State Senator Sal DiDomenico and his colleagues in the Massachusetts Senate passed S.2545, An Act fostering voter opportunities, trust, equity and security, which is also known as the VOTES Act. This vote follows previous action by the Legislature to temporarily extend vote-by-mail and early voting options through December 15. This comprehensive voting reform bill permanently codifies the popular mail-in and early voting options used in Massachusetts in 2020. The bill would also enact same-day voter registration, increase ballot access for service members serving overseas and make a series of other improvements to the Commonwealth’s election administration process. “As one of the very first co-sponsors of this legislation, I am very proud of the Senate’s recent action to pass the VOTES Act,” said DiDomenico, who is assistant majority leader of the Massachusetts Senate. “This bill will prove to be critical in expanding voting access across the Commonwealth by making several COVID-era voting provisions permanent, including expansions to early voting, voteby-mail, and absentee ballot access. Additionally, the legislation takes a historic step to implement same-day voter registration and will ensure greater voting access to all eligible voters. These are all policies that I have long supported, and I am very pleased that the Senate has affirmed our commitment to making voting easier and more accessible for all.” On Oct. 14, 2021, the Massachusetts House of Representatives referred the VOTES Act to its Committee on Ways and Means. Responding to trends in voting and building off previous actions taken by the Legislature, the VOTES Act contains the folTHINKING IN-GROUND POOL FOR 2022? lowing key provisions: Same-day voter registration • Allows individuals to register to vote during early voting periods or on the day of a primary or election (20 other states and the District of Columbia already use same-day registration). Early voting in-person DIDOMENICO | SEE PAGE 26 Everett designated as Tree City USA since 2008 • Requires two weeks (including two weekends) of early voting in-person for biennial state elections and any municipal elections held on the same day. • Requires one week (including one weekend) of early voting 000 781-284-7549 Cell - 781-589-0499 John - 781-589-0505 SINCE 1970 Now’s the time to call! COSMO POOLS Liner replacement • Pool repairs • Open & close Pools M ayor Carlo DeMaria recently announced that Everett has been designated as a Tree City USA for the past 13 years. During the past week, we have planted 25 trees in neighborhoods, increasing our tree canopy. Some of the trees are located at 19 Waters Ave., 41 Gledhill Ave., 65 Adams Ave. and 108 High St. Another 50 trees will be planted in the coming weeks.
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