SPARK January 2016 Newsletter
Our meetings & schedule to start the year off right!
FIRST THINGS FIRST - Upcoming Meetings - Mark Your Calendars!
This is a CRITICAL meeting re:
- Priorities identified by our last Grounded Visioning Meeting (by SPARK Team members), specifically STAFFING and FUNDRAISING
- An overview of Board Governance, including roles and responsibilities
- Our next steps as an organization in light of our priorities and roles.
I will be sending a separate email with notes from our last meeting with consultant Susan Nicholl including helpful information that Susan has included about governance and board responsibilities.
SPARK Board Meeting, Wed, January 13 at 6:30 pm at Natick Co-Working
- Please submit any items for the agenda/meeting to me (Christine) by this Friday, January 8 if possible. I will be sending out the meeting agenda on Monday January 11.
- The main focus of the meeting will be SPARK fundraising and financials.
MLK Community Celebration
We need volunteers for the MLK Community Celebration and Family Service project on 1/18 at Wilson Middle School. This is going to be a wonderful program that will be fun and meaningful for the whole family. We have planned the service project so that it will cover toddlers through middle/high school students. After all, MLK Day is a National Day of Service. Schedule as follows:
11AM-noon MLK Community Celebration
12:00 Service Project(s) in Wilson Cafeteria
Programming Committee!
- Best Books of 2015 (from Greater Good at Berkeley) would LOVE to have K McGonigal come! HERE
- Best 9 Leadership Books of the year HERE.
Preview opportunities!
- Tuesday, 1/12, "Reframing Masculinity: Vulnerability and Responsibility" Lincoln-Wayland-Sudbury Domestic Violence Roundtable" HERE.
- Thurs, 1/27 at 6:45 "Dr. Wendy Grolnick: Helping Children Succeed: Facilitating Children's Intrinsic Motivation in a Pressured World" Register HERE
- Mark your calendar to preview one of next year's speakers! 4/7/16 - Sara Ward on Executive Functioning - Duxbury Parent Connection info HERE
- 2/24/16 "The Opposite of Spoiled: Raising Kids who are Grounded Generous and Smart About Money." at Discovery Museum
- 5/5/16: "Taking Back Childhood: A Proven Roadmap for Raising Confident, Creative and Compassionate Kids" Nancy Carlsson Paige at Discovery Museum
Fundraising Subcommittees!
In addition, we will need SPARK Board Members to volunteer to support one of our fundraising initiatives over the coming year (and encourage SPARK non-Board Team members to do the same) including:
- Grant Writing: Sunny Stich (our Grant Guru) will need some assistance between now and April with inputting data & info for grants.
- Scoopapalooza (January - June commitment, with most of commitment in Feb-April doing outreach to local businesses)
- Boston Marathon (January - April) - hopefully an annual fundraising effort. Need SPARK Board members to assist in promoting Kristen Aberle's run & get the word out.
- Annual Appeal (October - January) We are at the tail end of our appeal, and could use help sending thank you notes to our generous donors. Also, we will welcome assistance next year since we are going to up our goal from 10K!