The West Suburban YMCA is participating in the Five Days of Action, a week designed to raise awareness and inspire adults to take action to protect children from sexual abuse.

The West Suburban YMCA encourages adults and organizations in the community to play a vital role in making Newton and the surrounding towns a safer place for children, especially during this ever-changing environment. As our communities continue to press pause and participate in social distancing, we all know that protecting kids looks different this year. Not only is our community dealing with a pandemic that is separating kids in need from the safe adults in their lives, but there are spikes in domestic violence, cries for social justice for Black lives, and more concerns about the mental health of youth and adults.

Five Days of Action will help communities and parents/caregivers take it One Day at a Time and will offer tips, tools, activities, and resources that are relevant to the current environment.

When adults know how abuse happens, see the warning signs, and respond quickly to prevent abuse, they foster a culture of child abuse prevention. Together, we can bring awareness to the issue of child sexual abuse in our communities and have important conversations around how we can all work together to prevent it from happening. Continue reading →

Newton Schools Foundation transforms Newton Inspires into a Virtual Speaker Series

Newton native Jason Hehir, the director of the 2020 Emmy award-winning Michael Jordan documentary The Last Dance, will kick off Newton Schools Foundation’s 10th annual Newton Inspires: A Celebration of Ideas and Community. The live talks and presentations in which notable Newtonians share their interests and passions will be
delivered via Zoom — once a month through October 2021.

November 10th, 7:00 pm

Other monthly presenters include:

• Denise Drower Swidey , PBS producer, food stylist and writer
• Sonja Spears, Chief Equity and Inclusion Officer, Boston Health Care for the Homeless
  Program and Chair of the Newton Police Reform Task Force
• Broadway actors and NPS alumni Zachary Baer, Skylar Fox , Tess Primack , and  Ryan
  Vona with special guest, Adam Brown, director of  Theatre Ink  at Newton North High
  School
• Sam Vaghar , executive director and co-founder of Millenium Campus Network, an
  international nonprofit that trains college students to be leaders in social movements
• Giovanni Fazio, Harvard astrophysicist
• Aixa Beauchamp, philanthropist and Co-Founder of the Latino Legacy Fund at the
  Boston Foundation

Sessions are free, although donations are encouraged and may be made at registration. To register click www.newtonschoolsfoundation.org/newton-inspires

All proceeds support Newton Schools Foundation. NSF funds professional development for Newton educators, grants that give teachers the opportunity to try new approaches in the classroom, and programs that address both racial and income inequities and enable all students to achieve their full potential.

Individuals and businesses wishing to support public education in Newton through a Newton Inspires sponsorship can visit http://newtonschoolsfoundation.org/newton-inspires-sponsor.

This year’s lead sponsors are Northland and The Village Bank. Other supporters include
premium sponsor Mark Development and major sponsor Wegmans.