Author: Robert Sondak
-
Churches Provide Meals to the Homeless
Every Thursday throughout the year, the homeless gather with Cambridge residents for a hot meal prepared by a local cook. The Harvard Square Churches Meal Program is a partnership between two women experienced in hunger outreach, Lieby Bouchard and Laurie Howell, along with two local cooks and a group of Harvard Square churches. This program…
-
Reaching Out: Local Ministers Team Up With Harvard Divinity School
Robert Sondak Spare Change News Throughout the summer, fall, winter and spring the homeless gather at the Cambridge Commons every Sunday to hear readings of the Gospel, the Bible and religious hymns. The Outdoor Church of Cambridge is a collaboration between a group of socially conscious ministers, the Harvard Divinity School and the Boston Theological…
-
Helping Haiti get back on it’s feet: New England Brace Company provides traditional prosthesis to earthquake victims
A New England-based corporation headquartered two hours north of Boston became a major supplier of traditional prosthesis in the aftermath of the January 12th earthquake in Haiti. This major disaster, which destroyed the medical infra structure in a land of nine million people and significantly damaged the capital city of Port Au Prince, moved the…
-
Local Housing Programs: History of the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund
In 1999 after rent control was change to reflect the need of low to moderate income people; a group of Cambridge business leaders created a program to provide subsidies and affordable rental housing within the city of 100,000 people. The Cambridge Community of Realtors, Cambridge Trust Company, East Cambridge Savings Bank, and Cambridge Savings Bank…
-
Local Housing Programs: History of the Cambridge Housing Assistance Fund
In 1999 after rent control was change to reflect the need of low to moderate income people; a group of Cambridge business leaders created a program to provide subsidies and affordable rental housing within the city of 100,000 people. The Cambridge Community of Realtors, Cambridge Trust Company, East Cambridge Savings Bank, and Cambridge Savings Bank…
-
Cambridge Farmers Markets
Cambridge, the home of two of America’s top universities, Harvard and MIT, is also the central location for six farmers markets. These farmers markets are open six days a week Monday through Sunday with the exception of Wednesday. Each Farmers Market is a diversified food focused urban marketplace that serves the community of greater Cambridge…
-
Beyond Crying Over Spilled Oil: How You Can Help
The Gulf of Mexico—the eleven largest body of water in the world—is geographically considered a small branch of the Atlantic Ocean. It houses one of the major bird habitats in the continental United States. The states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida—along with Mexico—share gulf shorelines. The U. S. Bureau of the Census reported…
-
A Coastal Concern: Global Warming and Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a 192 mile coast line that stretches from Newburyport to Provincetown. Within this environmental infrastructure exist Boston, the capital city; Logan Airport, the nation’s sixth largest; Cape Cod; Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Georges Bank. This environment is home to over 4 million people, as well as the North Atlantic’s premiere…
-
The Origins of the Tea Party Express Movement
Robert Sondak Tea, Anyone? During the second week in April, 5,000 people met in Boston to listen to former Republican Vice Presidential candidate and Alaskan ex-Governor Sarah Palin speak. Senator John McCain’s running mate echoed to the crowd that we are the true Americans, the frustrated silent voice. The April 12 issue of Spare Change…
-
Food Not Bombs: Bursting With Nutrition & Flavor
Robert Sondak In Cambridge in the 1980s, a group of anti-nuclear activists who were protesting the nearby Seabrook power plant began spray painting the slogan “Money for Food Not Bombs” on local buildings. This slogan was later shortened to “Food Not Bombs” and adopted by a local activist group that supports homeless people. HISTORY As…