Happy New Year!
We wish our compassionate and resilient community a very happy and healthy New Year! May 2024 continue to offer us opportunities to foster deeper connections and support one another with a renewed sense of purpose. To inspire you, watch this video looking back on 2023 at Newton Neighbors. Thank you, Neighbors!
January Events in Newton: Connect with Community
January 8 - 18: Rotary and Village Bank Food Drive
In concert with Newton’s annual celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Rotary Club of Newton and The Village Bank are hosting their annual Food Drive the week before — January 8 to 15 — to benefit Newton’s three food pantries: Newton Food Pantry, Centre Street Food Pantry, and Arabic Baptist Food Pantry.
Items requested:
Cereal (kid-friendly and name brands preferred
Cereal/granola bars
Hearty canned soup (meat, beans, veggies)
White tuna in water
Ground coffee
Mac and cheese
Personal-care products: shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant
Baby wipes
All items must be within their use-by date.
Dropoff locations:
All Village Bank locations (until noon on January 13)
Newton Free Library
Newton City Hall
Newton Police Headquarters
Scandinavian Living Center
January 15: Harmony Foundation MLK Day of ServiceMonday, January 15, 9:30am - 3:00pmNewton North High School, 457 Walnut Street, Newtonville
Join Newton's 56th Annual Celebration of Martin Luther King, Jr., on Monday, January 15. This year's theme is Everybody Can Serve.
There are activities from 9:30 am to 3 pm with opportunities for reflection, music, student voices, children’s programming with Story Starters, a reception, and more at Newton North High School.
A landing page hosted by the City of Newton provides detailed program and pre-program information, including learning resources for young children on the event theme of service. Admission is free, but registration is required.
January 27 - 28: Newton Community Pride WinterFest
Saturday and Sunday, January 27 - 80Check website for times and locations
Winterfest events include:
Saturday, 10am: Guided trail walk in Cold Spring Park
Saturday, 5:30pm: Evening of free soup, music, and art at the Hyde Community Center
Sunday, 11am: Elsa, ice sculpture, and winter market on Newton Centre Green
Sunday, 3pm: Dance party at the New Art Center!
February Preview: Lunar New Year Festival
Saturday, February 3, 1 - 5pmAmerican Legion Post 440, 295 California Street, Newton
Mark your calendar for the Newton Housing Authority’s Lunar New Year Festival. Join fellow Newton residents as we celebrate the Year of the Dragon with traditional Chinese food, music, dance performances, arts, and more!
Free entry for NHA residents and friends, $10 for the general public.
RSVP by January 26 to Sergei Pahirya: spahirya@newtonhousing.org or call/text 617-581-3127.
…And Lots More!
For a full listing of events happening in Newton this month, go to our local news sources Fig City News and The Newton Beacon.
Call for Volunteers: Food Pantry Delivery
We are looking for volunteers who can help deliver groceries from our local food pantries to our neighbors who are unable to get to the pantries on their own.We especially need drivers for our TUESDAY deliveries from Centre Street Food Pantry.
Our schedule is:
Tuesdays from Centre Street Food Pantry. Pickup at either 12 or 12:15 before the pantry opens to the public.
Wednesdays from Newton Food Pantry. Scheduled pickups between 12:15 - 2:45.
It usually takes about an hour of your time and makes a big difference to so many in our community! Sign up here for January: https://volunteersignup.org/PRL8C
Call for Volunteers: Freedge
Newton Neighbors continues to support the Freedge, Newton Food Pantry’s community refrigerator and pantry initiative. Located in the parking lot of Central Cleaners at 420 Watertown Street in Nonantum, the Freedge is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and offers free food and personal-care items to anyone in need.
Newton Neighbors oversees volunteers on Thursdays and has volunteer opportunities throughout the day. Activities include picking up food from business partners and bringing it to the Freedge, shopping for items, and cleaning and maintaining the Freedge.
Our link for January signups is here.
Neighbor to Neighbor - Winter Tips
Extended Till January 12: Yard Waste and Christmas Tree Pickup
Still raking leaves? Haven’t taken down that Christmas tree yet? Newton’s Department of Public Works has extended yard waste pick up until January 12 due to debris created by the December storm. You can also place your Christmas tree on the curb on your regular trash day until the 12th. All decorations and lights must be removed and trees cannot be in plastic bags.
Snow on the Way!
Here’s a reminder of the snow-shoveling ordinance.
January 31: Parks and Rec Summer Camp Registration
Snow may be on the way, but we–and yours kids–are already thinking of summer camp. To help you plan for your summer, here’s a link to the summer calendar and which camps are running during each week:
Camps will open for registration at staggered times on the evening of January 31st to make the process run more smoothly. Some camps fill up quickly! Please be sure to log in at the correct time to register for the camp you are interested in.
5:30 pm: Camp Echo Bridge, Albemarle Acres
6:00 pm: Camp Extreme, Kids Korner, T-ville Trails
6:30 pm: All Star Chess Camp, Golf, Outdoor Adventure, Specialty Camps at Emerson and Nahanton Park, Tennis, Viking Sports, Wilderness Education for Middle School
7:00 pm: Vacation Camps at Lower Falls, Environmental Science Program
If the forecast holds, we’re in for wintry weather this weekend. Stay safe! We’ll be back in touch in mid-January with our Helping Neighbors newsletter.
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