Our Blog
Welcoming a New Executive Director
December 2015
Dear Margaret Fuller House Friends,
As we head into 2016, we have some terrific news: the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House has a new Executive Director! Christina Alexis comes to us with more than a decade of experience in the non-profit world, and with a deep appreciation for the history of the House and its role in The Port.
Christina steps into the position following the retirement of Barbara Kibler, whose leadership brought the MFNH from troubled times to the flourishing organization it is today. The Board of Directors is indebted to Barbara for her years of hard work and dedication, and looks forward to building on her legacy, and strengthening the House even further, through Christina’s leadership.
In selecting Christina, the Board completed a rigorous three-month process involving a seven-person board committee, as well as input from staff and community members. With experience in both the non-profit world as well as the private sector, Christina stood out for her vision, her leadership skills, her creativity, and her commitment to making our historic settlement house the very best partner to The Port it can be.
Christina’s experience in both management and fundraising make her well suited to lead the MFNH. At Northeastern University, where she began her career, Christina opened a new Alumni Center, and built the foundation for a successful alumni program. Over the next decade, she served in increasingly senior level roles, contributing her expertise to community service and health and human service organizations, including City Year, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, and Year Up. At the Dimock Center, where she served as Director of Development, External Relations, and Government Relations, Christina launched a multi-million dollar capital campaign.
The Board looks forward to formally introducing Christina to you, our community, in an event sometime this winter. In the meantime, please stop by and say hello. Christina’s first day as Executive Director is January 4. And with that, a new era at the historic Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House begins.
With all of our best wishes for a happy, healthy New Year – and many thanks, as always, for your support.
Mauricio Gomez
President of the Board
Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House
The 13th Annual PORT Community Pride Day
On Saturday September 12, neighbors, friends and family came together to celebrate the culture and diversity of the Port Community, as well as learn about various resources and services. People of all ages and backgrounds enjoyed the neighborhood cookout, music, arts & crafts, and amusements available. We especially loved the talented face painters and of course, the moon bounces and pony rides are always a hit!
Children enjoying the Moon Bounces
Pony Rides!
Opening up the performances of the day, were the talented young people from the Community Art Center who graced us with their skills in dance. Our friends JG and the Meggatones played our favorite soul and R&B hits. Also performing was the Fred Woodward Collective, a group of truly amazing instrumentalists. Linda McClean from Pentecostal Tabernacle got the kids involved in the fun by pulling them all up on stage for a dance! Closing out the day was the Hip Hop Transformation Project, a group of Cambridge teens learning about the history and production of hip hop. They were a great group of energetic talent and we look forward to seeing where they go next!
Kids take the stage to DANCE!
Community Art Center Youth Perform
The basketball tournament was, as always, a major highlight. Congratulations to this year’s winning teams!
The event was planned in partnership with Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, MIT, the City of Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Public Health Department, the City of Cambridge Department of Human Services, Port Action Group, Area 4 Coalition, the Community Art Center, and Pentecostal Tabernacle.
We want to give a shout-out to Jaclyn Rose of the Cambridge Police Department, who was crucial in coordinating with the Department, and to Matt Nelson of CPD, who served as grill-master in the hot sun all day long! A special thanks to the Cambridge Fire Department, as well as to Ducky Downs of Cambridge Public Works, who worked tirelessly in cleaning up the event. To all of our amazing volunteers from Cambridge Running Club, Lesley University and the community at large, a huge thank you for making this day happen!
We hope everyone has a great autumn and we look forward to all the fun events in our neighborhood to come!
Check out more photos from the event on our Facebook page and in the Photo Albums!
End of Summer Party
On Friday, August 28th, the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House celebrated the end of a wonderful Summer Explorations Program with the annual End Of Summer Party. It was a beautiful day filled with good food and fun. Families gathered to watch the kids show off their skills through a talent show, dance performances and displays of their artwork. The Leaders in Training Program for the summer came to a close as well and the LITs helped out and reflected on their experiences throughout the summer.
Salsa in the Park
On August 7th at the Clement Morgan Park, MetaMovements, in collaboration with the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, hosted “Salsa in the Park”.
MetaMovements is “an entrepreneurial artist collective dedicated to using the arts as a tool for positive transformation of self and community, creating bonds, fostering meaningful relationships and creating lasting social change.” Click here to learn more.
A free and popular outdoor summer series for all ages, backgrounds and abilities, Salsa In The Park is an innovative community engagement project that transforms public space for public benefit through music, dance and education. A public health initiative, featuring movement as a key to wellness, it draws over 500 people from all walks of life every Monday evening from 6pm to 9pm for salsa instruction (dance and percussion), high quality performances showcasing a variety of cultures and genres, social dancing and health and wellness promotion. MetaMovement’s weekly Salsa In The Park is held at South End’s Blackstone Community Center courtyard every summer.
The Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House has been fortunate enough to collaborate with MetaMovements, who taught dance lessons to Margaret Fuller House youth throughout the summer and helped us in hosting our very own Salsa in the Park! It was fantastic evening with a turnout of hundreds of folks of all ages. We want to thank MetaMovements and look forward to further collaboration with this wonderful organization.
Stayed tuned for updates on future events!
Margaret Fuller’s Birthday Cookout !
On Saturday May 23, 2015 the MFNH community gathered for a cookout to celebrate Margaret Fuller’s birthday. The event brought together over a hundred people including children, families, seniors, teens and folks from the local homeless shelters. Also in attendance was DJ Derek Evans who provided the sound and lively atmosphere for the event
DJ Derek Evans
as well as Sarah Boyer, author of the incredible book “We are the Port”. Sarah was kind enough to raffle off two free signed copies of her book as well as provide copies to purchase.
Toni Bee and Sarah Boyer
Cambridge City Councillor Marc McGovern shared some kind words about the house and about Barbara Kibler, the Executive Director who will soon be retiring. Longtime neighbor and Emeritus Board member, Stephanie Morris also blessed us with her presence.
Barbara Kibler and Stephanie Morris
Marc McGovern and some MFNH kids
The theme of the cookout was community and folks were invited to write on a poster one word describing what community means to them. People were also invited to think about and share their fondest memories of the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House.
“Community” Poster
Overall the event was a great success and we look forward to having more community gatherings this summer and especially to our upcoming Sweet Soul Supper on June 18th! Here are some more photos from the event!
STEAM in the Port Night
The first STEAM in the Port night was a huge success! On February 12th, Margaret Fuller House collaborated with Tutoring Plus of Cambridge and The Community Art Center in the FMA gym to provide students and families with a night to learn about Science, Engineering, the Arts and Math! We want to give a special thanks to Sharlene Yang, who was instrumental in the success of this event! Thanks also to Danger!Awesome, Mmmmaven, Volpe Center, and the Fletcher Maynard Academy for participating in the event and offering activity tables. And thanks especially to MIT for sponsoring the event! We look forward to future collaboration with these wonderful organizations to provide this great neighborhood with more STEAM-based fun. Stay tuned for details of the next event!
Port/Area 4 Pride Day!
On Saturday September 6th, neighbors, friends, and family came together to celebrate Peace & Pride in the Port Community. People of all ages enjoyed the neighborhood cook-out, arts & crafts, music, and amusements available. We especially loved the talented face painters, and of course the pony rides are always a hit!
The day’s performers included the Hip Hop Transformation Project, a group of Cambridge teens learning about the history and production of hip hop. They were a great group of energetic talent and we look forward to see where they go next! Also performing was the Fred Woodard Collective who were simply put, a group of amazing instrumentalists. Closing out the day was of course, our friends JG and the MeggaTones who played the hits of today and yesterday.
The basketball tournament was a highlight, despite the extreme late summer heat! Congratulations to this year’s winning teams!
Annie and Stephanie show their Port Pride!
We were so grateful to have Chandra Banks, Conflict Mediator of the Cambridge Public School District, on hand to address the crowd about peace and respect and caring for our neighbors. The Change for Peace Art Installation attracted new participants to express their peaceful ideas in an artistic way. Overall, it was a fun and peaceful day spent with friends and family.
The event was planned in partnership by the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, MIT, the City of Cambridge Police Department, City of Cambridge Department of Human Service Programs, Cambridge Public Health Department, the Port Action Group, the Area 4 Coalition, and Pentecostal Tabernacle.
Creative facepainting!
A major thank you and shout out to all of our amazing volunteers who made this day happen! We hope everyone has a great autumn and we look forward to all of the fun events in our neighborhood to come.
Kensley Project Party Celebrates Neighborhood Strength
This past Saturday, hundreds of people from Area 4 and across the city of Cambridge came to celebrate neighborhood strength at a block party in our backyard.
Members of the Kensley Project enjoy a performance by Elon Flyfield
The half-day event featured musical performances and face painting, basketball playing and water dunking—all of it thanks to a new community group called the Kensley Project, and the many people who support it.
The Kensley Project formed earlier this summer to honor the memory of Kensley David, a 22-year-old father shot and killed on Windsor Street in July. In the aftermath of that tragedy, several of his friends committed to strengthening the quality of life for residents of Area 4/The Port—and they’ve been adding members to the group ever since.
From left: Cambridge Police Lt. Dan Wagner; Kensley Project Co-Founder Santos Carrasquillo; and Cambridge Vice Mayor Dennis Benzan
We’ll bring you some of their voices in later posts, but for now, enjoy some photographs of the block party below. Thanks to all who organized it, supported it, attended it, and cleaned up after it—and see you next Saturday, Sept. 6, for Area 4 Pride Day!
To learn more about the Kensley Project, email kensleyproject@gmail.com.
End-of-Summer Cambridge Celebrations!
There are lots of great events that the MFNH is proud to support! Come spend some time with the Margaret Fuller Family before summer ends!
8/27: SUMMER EXPLORATIONS END-OF-SUMMER PARTY
Friends of the Margaret Fuller House are welcome to join the staff and families of our Summer Explorations Program for an End-of-Summer Party! Just in time for our kids to get ready to go back to school, our friends from the Novartis Corporation, Draper, and Amgen will be providing back-packs full of supplies! This party is a cookout and potluck, will feature a youth talent show, a slideshow of all the fun events and moments shared over the summer, and will offer the chance for parents to learn more about our after-school program.
This party will take place in the Margaret Fuller House parking lot on Wednesday, 8/27, from 5:30 – 7 pm.
8 /28: THE PORT CAFÉ
The Port Café is a new community meal right here in our neighborhood. This meal will offer delicious food and a space for fellowship and community-building with neighbors. Our friends who are organizing the Port Cafe need YOUR help, as neighbors, to give the Port Café flavor!
The first Port Café potluck dinner was on Monday July 28th the Margaret Fuller House, and it was a blast! The second Port Café will be a potluck dinner on Thursday, August 28th from 6:00-8:00 PM. Location is currently TBD but will be in the Port/Area 4 neighborhood!
Please take a moment to RSVP here. Feel free to invite a neighbor!
9/6: PORT/AREA 4 PRIDE DAY: WHERE WE CREATE OUR PEACE & PRIDE
The Port/Area 4 Pride Day is a free public event featuring activities and resources for all ages.
This year, Pride Day will feature an exhibition of the Community Art Center’s “Change for Peace,” an ongoing art-making and music series. Local community based organizations will be in attendance to offer information about critical resources and services ranging from health to housing to education. Popular events such as the basketball tournament and live music will be back this year. Children’s activities will include arts & crafts, face-painting, pony rides, and more!
Port/Area 4 Pride Day is Saturday, September 6, from noon to 5 at Clement G. Morgan Park (at the corner of Columbia and Washington Street) and surrounding streets, Cambridge, MA 02139. Rain Date is the following Saturday.
MFNH chosen as a beneficiary for the 12th Annual Taste of Cambridge!
What is the Taste of Cambridge?
- The Taste of Cambridge is a celebration of this historic city’s exceptionally diverse dining scene. The 2014 Taste of Cambridge features tastes from some of our most popular restaurants. Enhanced by a beautiful outdoor park setting, live music, and a great crowd, the TOC is one of Cambridge’s most anticipated annual events.
- The TOC is organized and run by the Cambridge Licensee Advisory Board, a volunteer organization that works year-round to prevent underage drinking and to educate and support liquor license holders in their efforts to prohibit sales to minors. The CLAB mission and its community minded focus is at the heart of the Taste of Cambridge.
- Proceeds from the TOC benefit non-profit partners chosen for to their alignment with the CLAB mission.
When and where is the Taste of Cambridge?
- Thursday, July 17th, 2014 – 5:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
- VIP Area stays open until 9:30 p.m.
- Location: University Park & Sidney Street (between Franklin & Pacific) in Central Square.
Thanks to CLAB for choosing the Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House!