South Shore Young Professionals Support Local Toy Drive
- Details
- Published on Wednesday, 21 December 2011 11:48
- Written by Amy Dee
A classy evening of cocktails and schmoozing results in dozens of toys for South Shore’s needy children this Christmas…
The whose who of the South Shore’s up and coming professional circuit gathered for an intimate evening at a luxurious model home at Plymouth’s exclusive village, The Pinehills, to collect toys for the South Shore YMCA and raise awareness about the Y’s growing presence in the South Shore community.
The Pinehills is a village community, with 1,500 homes and plans to grow to 3,000 homes. Rumor has it that Tom Brady has purchased a plot of land in the Pinehills which is a complete community that includes a golf-course, shopping center, restaurants, bar and more.
“The Pinehills have been supporting the South Shore Young Professional’s Christmas event and Toy Drive for the past three years,” noted Pinehills’ resident and SSYP Event Planner, Peter Abraham. A Pinehills located restaurant, Café Olio, donated the evening’s hors d’oevueres and the evening’s cocktails were provided by the local spirits store, Lone Ridge Liquors.
In past Christmas drives, The South Shore Young Professionals has supported the nationally recognized Toys for Tots but this year in an attempt to focus on local charities the SSYP chose the South Shore YMCA’s toy drive and aided in the YMCA’s mission to provide hundreds of families and children with a Christmas that they wouldn’t afford on their own.
“We represent a demographic that spans between the Quincy to Plymouth region, giving to the SSYMCA this year was the biggest way we can tell our members [roughly 250] that you can give back to your community,” said Frank Ricci, SSYP Board Member and owner of the Hingham based restaurant Rafael’s.
By the time, this article has gone to print, the South Shore YMCA, will be busy with delivering Christmas presents and more to the approximately 800 families who have requested aid this time of year. And it takes a village to do so; hundreds of volunteers from the local fire and police departments and residents in Quincy give their time to make the SSYMCA’s Toy Drive all possible.
The SSYMCA, which is located in the Germantown section of Quincy, MA, is the Y’s social service branch that includes woman’s services as well as a food pantry that feeds over 1,400 families a month. According to President and CEO, Paul Gorman, the Y is not funded by the state, as most people assume, but instead they [the SSYMCA] rely heavily on corporate and individual donors. The support from local organizations such as the South Shore Young Professionals is essential to the Y’s continued success.
The roughly 75 attendees that gathered in the luxurious Pinehills home (which included a cozy screening room) were able to provide the SSYMCA’s Toy Drive with an additional 100 presents.
As, the New Year quickly approaches you can do your part and continue to support the South Shore YMCA with their endeavors to better and strengthen the community around them by visiting ww.ssymca.org or joining them for their largest fundraising events next year; their annual golftournament, their annual bike race, “The Taste of the South Shore,” and their annual event-gala which takes place during the Holiday season.
The South Shore Young Professionals was founded by Michael Sheehan and David Robinson four years ago to provide young professionals with information on how to be involved with boards, non-profits and more. Sheehan and Robinson sit on the SSYP board along with nine others and continue to run the organization’s planning committee.
The SSYP is an excellent way to stay up to date with how you can be involved with your community. The growing organization provides information about their work and the charities they support to over 600 individuals on their mailing list and have approximately 250 paid-members. The SSYP’s efforts are supported through a grassroots marketing campaign that is ran by Shea Baker of 3thought. The homegrown vibe reflects in the work that they do and the spirit of leadership that they promote; reminding us all that our efforts at the local level are key to our successful tomorrows. For more information or to join the South Shore Young Professionals please visit
southshoreyoungprofessionals.org
