Page 8 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, January 15, 2021 North Shore Black Women’s Annual MLK Luncheon canceled due to COVID-19 Scholarships will still be granted; donations are welcome By Steve Freker I t is the most well-known event in this region that honors the most familiar icon of the civil rights movement. But this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 28th Annual North Shore Black Women’s Association, Inc. (NSBWA) Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon has been cancelled. Every year on about the second Saturday in January, two days before the national Martin Luther King Day holiday, the NSBWA holds its annual luncheon, the first coming in 1993. For many years, the luncheon, which customarily draws a packed house at Anthony’s in Malden, has been the premier MLK event in the region. Despite the cancellation of the luncheon, the North Shore Black Women’s Association is still accepting donations and will be awarding scholarships to students locally and in the region who are enrolled as college students. The deadline for applications passed in December, but more information on the scholarship program can be obtained on the website at www.nsbwa.org. The North Shore Black Women’s Association was formed in West Medford in the late 1980s by Iodiah Henry and Johnnie Knight-Wilder with a mission of promoting the values, character and accomplishments of the Black community in this area, as well as committing to provide scholarship support to students who were bettering themselves through the pursuit of a college education. The first Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. luncheon was held in January 1993, and it has become a much-anticipated tradition in Malden and around the region. Many Malden residents and those in public service have been honored through the years at these events. The keynote speaker for the 2019 luncheon, Malden Judge Benjamin Barnes, expressed well what Dr. King was about, why he is honored each year and how Dr. King’s work laid the foundation for social change today. “It’s not only about the struggle. Keep going forward and keep moving forward. We stand on the shoulders of great individuals,” Judge Barnes said. “We have to teach our children to think like King. Don’t put any limits on how you think, or what people can say, or what you can do. We have the ability in us to do anything we want and travel down any roads we want.” Shannon Anderson serves as NSBWA Board President this year. The other officers include Vice President Joy Bailey, Secretary Gladys Rivera Rogers, Treasurer Barbara Kahn, Assistant Treasurer Jeanette Corbin and additional Board members Marion Desmond, Sheila Kipnis and Joanne Stroud-Lebeau. Other NSBWA members are Tana Tselpis, Mickey Levine and Robin Lewis. Malden City Council President Neal Anderson (Ward 7) has served as Master of Ceremonies at the event for many years. In a message posted on its website, NSBWA President Anderson stated, “We will continue to grant scholarships and at a later date we will post the scholarship recipients. The NSBWA, Inc. has been immensely proud to provide students who want to continue with their education an opportunity to obtain additional funding…We hope to have fundraising events in 2021. As always, any donations would be greatly appreciated in any denomination to help assist in this endeavor.” Donations can be made to: NSBWA, Inc., PO Box 631, Malden, MA 02148. Also, the NSBWA can be contacted via email at nsbwainc@gmail.com. “We look forward to celebrating the life and legacy of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., in 2022 at our annual MLK Jr. Luncheon. Please join us in keeping the North Shore Black Women’s Association Inc. going by viewing us on Facebook and of course our website at www.nsbwa.org,” the NSBWA Board states on its website. Joan Lepore, co-owner of ABC Home Healthcare Professionals, the Bellyful of Laughs event’s lead sponsor, got a good laugh from the comedians at last year’s presentation of Bellyful of Laughs with her husband Gregory. (Photo Courtesy of Mystic Valley Elder Services) F or the 11th year in row, ABC Home Healthcare Professionals, a Wakefield-based private home care agency, is the lead sponsor for the January “Un-Event” of Mystic Valley Elder Services (MVES) – Bellyful of Laughs. Typically, this event sells out each year and raises tens of thousands of dollars for older adults and those living with disabilities, but due to COVID-19 protocols, there will be no show. But despite the pandemic, ABC Home Healthcare Professionals feel that it is still important, if not more important during these trying times, to support our neighbors in need. Jeannette Sheehan and Joan Lepore, her daughter, founders and owners of ABC Home Healthcare Professionals, see the ability to live independently as critical to many older adults’ well-being. With seniors being most vulnerable to COVID-19, they want to make sure they are being taken care of. “Everyone should have the opportunity to live in their communities for as long as possible in a safe and supportive environment,” they said. “That’s just one of the many reasons we’re so proud to continue to be connected with Bellyful of Laughs and with Mystic Valley Elder Services, even during the COVID-19 pandemic.” ABC Home Healthcare Professionals is a full-service home healthcare organization, family owned and operated by Nurse Practitioners and Certified Geriatric Care Managers. Their home health aides, homemakers, companions, caregivers, nurses, and hospice professionals are dedicated to providing the highest quality and most comprehensive private home care services in northeastern Massachusetts. In collaboration with MVES and other community organizations, ABC assists older adults in maintaining their independence within the comfort of their own homes. “Sadly, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot gather as usual for our January Bellyful of Laughs comedy night fundraiser, which typically attracts more than 400 donors and friends of Mystic Valley Elder Services who gather for a night of comedy, raffles, buffet dinner and good times in support of critical programs and services for people in need who live in our 11-community region,” said MVES CEO Daniel O’Leary. “But it is wonderful to see ABC Home Healthcare Professionals join together this year with us to support such an important cause. Mystic Valley is lucky to have fantastic, supportive friends.” Special thanks to ABC Home Healthcare Professionals for their lead sponsorship of this Un-Event, as well as supporting sponsors, including Brookline Bank, TRIO Community Meals and Melrose Cooperative Bank Foundation as well as Natale Company & SafetyCare. While we will miss gathering together this January to laugh for a good cause, there are still opportunities to help older adults and adults living with disabilities to stay independent! To support the Bellyful of Laughs Un-Event, please visit www.mves.org and click on Donate Now to make an online donation. ABC Home Healthcare Professionals is lead sponsor for Mystic Valley Elder Services’ Bellyful of Laughs
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