Page 12 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, February 22, 2019 For healthier kids Saugus YMCA launches free “Healthy Weight and Your Child” program next month; applicants sought T he Saugus YMCA has been awarded a $20,000 grant from YUSA for the “Healthy Weight and Your Child” program. This free, 15-week pilot program incorporates three components: healthy eating, physical activity and family. It has been discovered that family dynamics play a critical role in the choices youngsters make regarding diet and nutrition. “We are excited to be one of the few nationwide YMCA’s to be awarded this grant. We look forward to positively impacting the health of youth through nutrition education and activity,” said Saugus YMCA Health & Wellness Director Olga Arnold in a press release announcing the program. “Impacting the whole family is our ultimate goal,” she said. The “Healthy Weight and Your Child” physical activity and nutrition program will begin in late March. The program creates an environment for children and their families to explore and adopt proven methods of living a healthier lifestyle. This is an evidence-based model developed by leading child health and weight management specialists using the best available research as well as clinical and government guidelines. This low-cost program is open to members and nonmembers and is designed for youngsters ages seven to 13. A family information session will take place on Sunday, March 9 at 10:30 a.m. To sign up for the information session or learn more, please reach out to Olga Arnold at oarnold@metronorthymca.org. Sen. Crighton will chair Joint Committee on Housing and serve on several other key committees (Editor’s Note: The following story is based on a press release issued by State Senator Brendan P. Crighton’s Office) S enate President Karen E. Spilka (D-Ashland) recently announced the appointment of Senator Brendan P. Crighton (DLynn) as Chairman of the Joint Committee on Housing. He was also named Vice Chairman of the Joint Committee on Economic Development and Emerging Technologies. Additionally, he will serve as a member of the Joint Committee on Election Laws, the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, the Joint Committee on Public Health and the SNOW ANGELS | from page 1 Olsen – to find out whether there was a need for the program he envisaged. “She [Olsen] told me that ‘Yes, people do need help,’” Babrak said, “so I learned that Saugus doesn’t have a program to help seniors shovel out their own walkways and driveways. And the idea snowballed from there, no pun intended,” he said. He settled on the name of the group, reasoning that “Angels come to watch over people” and that snow made life hell for people too old or infirm to move it out of their way. So, over the past few months, Babrak created his own logo, his own website (https://www.facebook. com/Saugus-Snow-Angels310622642885470/?ref=py_c) and calling card with a mission “Dedicated To Helping Our Seniors.” Saugus Snow Angels currently consists of three people: Babrak, his sister Tamana Babrak and his girlfriend – Leah Wheaton of Waltham, a nurse at Beth Israel. Between the distribution of his calling card and his Facebook page, Babrak hopes to recruit other volunteers for snow-shoveling duty. This past Monday, Babrak went out and shoveled out a driveway, walkway and stairway for an elderly lady who lives on Walden Pond Road. It took about 30 minutes. A waiting list that demands more volunteers Babrak started getting calls from people who need help and has gone to three homes so far. He’s treating this winter as a pilot project to determine how many people need help. “This winter, we wanted to see the need for it and work out the kinks. And I learned that there is a huge need for it,” Babrak said. “There are people who don’t have anyone in their lives. If we can take away one hardship by helping people who need the help, that would be great. We have people on the waiting list already – four more people who want to join our program,” he said. “By next winter, I hope we can involve more volunteers – like students at Saugus High School,” he said. Babrak is hoping that Saugus Public School officials will see the value of his project and encourage students to participate as a way to get community service credit. At least one elder Saugus native and community leader has embraced Babrak and his project. “He’s a fine, young gentleman that I just brought into the Lions Club,” Eugene Decareau told The Saugus Advocate. “It’s a wonderful project that he’s started. They have calling cards and will go out to help the elderly and the disabled by shoveling out the snow at no charge,” he said. Babrak got to meet Decareau – a longtime Saugus Lions Club member and former Town Meeting member – while volunteering at the Saugus United Parish Food Pantry in the basement of Cliftondale Congregational Church at 50 Essex St. Senate Committee on Personnel and Administration. “I am very excited about the opportunities that these appointments will provide for me to advance priorities that are important to residents in my district and across the Commonwealth,” Senator Crighton said. He continued, “Massachusetts is currently facing an extreme housing crisis affecting many residents, especially families with children and the elderly … With an estimated 248,000 households spending more than half of their income on housing, I am eager to work with Senate President Spilka and my colleagues to find solutions for the housing crisis, and on the many other important matters we will deliberate this legislative session.” Senator Crighton represents the 3rd Essex Senate District, which includes Saugus, Lynn, Lynnfield, Marblehead, Nahant and Swampscott. High School graduate. He received his bachelor of science degree in facilities engineering from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. He currently works as an assistant program manager in the construction administration office at the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA). He moved to Saugus with his mother and siblings about two years ago. He’s winning a lot of friends through current efforts to help the town’s elderly and disabled citizens. “I guess you could say that Mother Nature inspired me to go out and make a difference in people’s lives,” Babrak said. “We go out when we get MAN ON A MISSION: Harris Babrak says the tiring task of shoveling his own driveway last winter motivated him to set up a volunteer group for Saugus elderly and disabled people who have trouble clearing snow from their sidewalks and driveways. “From my experience as a volunteer at the Food Pantry, I learned that Saugus is a community where a lot of people want to help out,” Babrak said. “Working at the Food Pantry inspired me to reach out and engage with the local community. When people come together, they can make a huge difference. That’s something I learned from there,” he said. “An affinity for helping others” A challenging childhood may have also influenced Babrak’s charitable and giving nature. He was born in Afghanistan and moved with his family to Moscow when he was six months old. His family – mother, two brothers, two sisters and him – lived there for about seven years before moving to Massachusetts in 2000. “I came here with my mom and four siblings and ended up being the caretaker of the family,” Babrak said. “Growing up, I always had an affinity for helping others. That stems from my upbringing. It was also instilled in me at Mass. Maritime. They taught us the value of self-sacrifice, leadership and leading by example,” he said. Babrak is a 2012 Quincy three or more inches of snow. If people call us when it’s less, we’ll still go out when people need us. We’ll take our own salt, too … Sometimes they offer to pay us, but we do not accept donations” he said. He says the response he gets from the people for an act of kindness is the greatest reward he can get. “They say they appreciate our help and are fortunate to be able to receive, when in the past, they didn’t have anybody to take care of it. To hear people say things like that is really heartwarming,” he said. Want to help the Saugus Snow Angels? If you know an elderly or disabled person who needs help getting their driveway or sidewalk shoveled, or if you want to volunteer, contact Harris Babrak: Call him at 781336-9529; email him at harris. babrak1@gmail.com or go to his Facebook page.
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