Triangle Celebrates Another Successful Spirit Awards Cookout!
On Friday, September 13th, Triangle, Inc. participants and staff were joined by corporate volunteers from State Street Corporation and Eaton Vance to celebrate our annual Spirit Award winners.
Mayor Gary Christenson of Malden and Malden Police Chief Kevin Molis also came to join the celebration and congratulate the winners. In addition, we were lucky to have visits from three members of the Triangle Board of Directors – board president Michael Moran, Second Assistant Majority Leader Paul Donato, and Richard Curtis. The Triangle community filled Lincoln Commons in Malden on a day filled with joy, dancing, laughter, and games!
The Spirit Awards recognizes community partners that have provided valuable experiences and expanded horizons for our participants over the past year. Our community relationships are at the heart of all we do to support our participants – there’s no doubt that these dedicated partners allow our programs to thrive.
Our first community partner awardee, Bootstrap Compost, is a longtime partner of Triangle and a rare repeat Spirit Award winner. As a residential and commercial food scrap pickup service, Bootstrap partners with local farms and reuses organic material for crop production. Bootstrap is a prime example of a local business that is committed to employing people of all ability, employing the Triangle team to play a meaningful role in their warehouse, sorting compost and processing buckets.
Another invaluable partner we recognized this year was the Belmonte School Peer IMPACT team. Peer leaders Chris and Pranaav successfully piloted Peer IMPACT, a youth leadership development program designed to bring students with and without disabilities together to increase understanding and prevent bullying. Chris and Pranaav brought this valuable learning to younger students, leading them through lessons on team building, self-advocacy, and bullying prevention.
Blessed Sacrament Church of Saugus, a dedicated partner to our residences, was next to receive an award. The church community is constantly looking for ways to lend a hand to the Triangle homes nearby. Notably, the church donates a full Thanksgiving spread to our residence on Grandview Avenue in Saugus every year. Instead of picking pre-cooked food up from Boston Market, staff and residents are now able to enjoy the holiday together in the kitchen.
Finally, Triangle honored two chefs from Bunker Hill Community College – Mary Beth Barton and George Kelley. The chefs work with Triangle students through the Culinary Arts Career Pathway, a training program for those interested in employment in the food service industry. While there, the Bunker Hill chefs created a community that allowed each student to learn the inner workings of a kitchen. The students experienced the quiet but consistent encouragement of Chef Kelley daily, as he stood next to each one saying “Good job!” and “Well done!” Chef Barton taught safety skills, calling “Hot pot!” as each student moved stealthily through the kitchen. Confidence overflowed and good quality food was produced, and you could see that the chefs changed lives.
Check out some photos from the festivities!
