Student Supports Worthy Causes

“Max” Bruce Maxwell Wilson is a senior at Suffield High School. He was introduced to the New Britain area by his grandmother, who developed Alzheimer’s while Max was very young. One of her neighbors, Kelly Nauss, often came over to help with yardwork at his grandmother’s home. Max was inspired by learning of Kelly Nauss’s personal struggles while watching him give to others in need at his Friday night dinners in St. Mark’s Church, where Max frequently volunteers.

Indigo Buntings, a Brighter Shade of Blue

This is how the repartee unfolds as we get ready to hit the trails each week. There is a flurry of text messages, emails, and phone calls regarding all the wonderful places in town to stretch our legs. Ouija boards, spinners and rounds of rock, paper, scissors all become important tools in our decision making. It starts as a polite exchange, until I hijack the suggestions and begin to push my own recommendation with great gusto. The give and take builds to a crescendo when I pitch which piece of open space will best meet our needs (aka where I want to go).

Fall Nectar Flowers

Monarch butterflies are unable to survive cold winters so they migrate, mainly in October, to the south and west. Monarchs need an abundance of nectar from fall flowers to support them on their journey from the eastern and central U. S. to the mountains in Mexico. Most butterflies live only a few weeks, but some monarchs will survive up to nine months before returning north in the spring. You may think your gardening endeavors are far too small to make a difference concerning the needs of butterflies, but that’s not true at all. Plant or do whatever you can do.

Rays of Hope: Walk & Run Toward a Cure

The Rays of Hope Walk and Run toward the Cure of Breast Cancer will celebrate 25 years on October 21. Dr. Grace Makari-Judson of Suffield serves Rays of Hope as co- director with D. Joseph Jerry, UMass professor and scientist at the Pioneer Valley Life Sciences Institute. Since 1994, Rays of Hope has been helping women and men in the fight against breast cancer by walking alongside them on their cancer journey. A joint initiative between researchers from Baystate Medical Center and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, the Insitute maintains its offices and laboratories within the Baystate campus. Describing their goals, Dr. Makari-Judson said, “Our vision was an ambitious one and at the time the first for a research data base with information from consenting Baystate breast patients that would link personal histories to medical records and tissue samples to related clinical data.”

In June 2018, the Institute’s registry reached an enrollment of more than 1,000 patients.