Cradles to Crayons Event, November 10
(Updated: 11/1/2023)
We are excited to invite you to join us at Cradles to Crayons Event on November 10, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM, at The Giving Factory located at 281 Newtonville Avenue, Newton MA 02460. There are limited spots available, so please email Shana Doiron to secure your place or for further information.
We hope to see you there for this fantastic opportunity to make a positive impact with the AGA Boston Chapter!
AGA Boston Chapter Completes Another Successful Valentines for Veterans Campaign
(Updated: 2/13/2023)
For the eleventh year in a row, the AGA Boston Chapter organized efforts to support VA’s Valentines for Veterans program. The purpose of VA’s National Salute to Veteran Patients Program, of which the Valentines for Veterans is a part, is to pay tribute and express appreciation to our veterans.
Volunteers, including Chapter members and their families, friends, and local students, participated in this year’s collection. Participants created more than 1,170 cards and artwork and provided them to three VA hospitals in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Chapter members organized these efforts in January and early February 2023.
Chapter member Benjamin Howe organized this year’s effort. The Chapter would like to thank contributors Marcia Luciano, Shana Doiron, William Muench, Debbie Howe, and Vanessa Barker for their efforts during this year’s campaign. The Chapter would also like to thank all the groups that participated in this year’s event and organized Valentines for Veterans’ programs in their communities.
- Hopkinton, MA Lions Club
- Hopkinton Girl Scout Troop #82358
- Our Lady of Lourdes School, Taunton, MA
- Hastings Elementary School, Westborough, MA
- Hillside Middle School, Manchester, NH
AGA Boston Chapter Holiday Party: December 1, 2022
Updated: 12/5/2022
We welcomed everyone back to Maggiano’s Little Italy in Boston for our first in-person Chapter event post-COVID. The Chapter hosted nearly 50 people at the restaurant for food and holiday fun on December 1st.
Attendees enjoyed Maggiano's wonderful family style lunch items before getting comfortable for an engaging session with Gina Cash, Esq., Director/Legal Counsel, Massachusetts Office of the State Auditor. Ms. Cash spoke on public benefits fraud. Attendees received one CPE for their participation. We also acknowledged the service of some key Chapter members at the end of the event.
We would like to thank everyone who donated an unwrapped child’s toy to the lunch. The Chapter organized this event, in part, to support My Brother's Keeper, a local charity.
Thank you to everyone who joined us, and we hope to see you all next year!




Chapter Community Service
Remembering and Paying Tribute on 9/11
Updated: 10/29/2022
In remembrance of the 21st anniversary of 9/11, the AGA Boston Chapter’s Community Service Committee challenged our members to perform an act of kindness and giving. The committee suggested these acts of kindness could include leaving a kind server a generous tip, complimenting someone, or providing an elderly person a ride.
Many of the chapter’s members accepted the challenge and performed the following acts of kindness on September 11, 2022:
- In the spirit of paying it forward, George Anastos reported buying the coffee and munchkins for the car behind him.
- Shana Doiron reported volunteering for the parent group in her town as the treasurer and spent some time putting together the budget.
- Elaine Silva reported when the elderly woman in front of me at the grocery store realized she was short $17.56, and was going to put food back, she paid for it instead.
- William Muench reported volunteering to drive a friend to the hospital for a doctor's appointment. He also attended a meeting to help plan a town family day.
- Benjamin Howe reported picking up trash at a local sports field.
Remembering and Paying Tribute on 9/11
In remembrance to the 21st anniversary of 9/11, the Community Service Committee would like to challenge our members to partake in an act of kindness and giving.
“Acts of Kindness” suggestions:
- Venmo a friend $5 for a coffee and an inspirational message
- Hold the door for someone and say “have a nice day”
- Compliment someone
- Leave a kind server a generous tip
- Donate a pint of blood at the American Red Cross
- Provide an elderly person a ride, grocery shop or just visit
- Pay for the person in back of you at Starbucks or Dunkin’s drive-up
- Make a food donation to a shelter or find a donation box at a local grocery store
- Bake cookies for a friend or elderly person
- Volunteer at an animal shelter
- Bring treats for your co-workers at your workplace
- Check in with someone who is sick at home
- Lend a hand to someone doing yardwork
We would love to see pictures of your kindness! Please post on the AGA Boston Facebook page.

Serving dinner to the Veterans 2008 at Boston VA’s Homeless Shelter
Submitted Kimberly Rapoza

Chapter Community Service Committee in Action
Submitted by Bill Muench, CGFM, and a Chapter Committee Member

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AGA Boston Chapter Completes Another Successful Valentines for Veterans Campaign
For the tenth year in a row, the AGA Boston Chapter organized efforts to support VA’s Valentines for Veterans program. The purpose of VA’s National Salute to Veteran Patients Program, of which the Valentines for Veterans is a part, is to pay tribute and express appreciation to our veterans.
Volunteers, including Chapter members and their families, friends, and local students, participated in this year’s collection. Participants created more than 2,650 cards and artwork and provided them to seven VA hospitals in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Chapter members organized these efforts in January and early February 2022.
AGA Boston Chapter member Marcia Luciano from the Office of the State Auditor performed this community service with students at local Massachusetts schools. She noted that her dad was a patient at the Bedford VA Medical Center, and she will never forget the wonderful care he received.
Marcia and AGA Boston Chapter member Benjamin Howe organized this year’s effort. The Chapter would like to thank contributors Shana Doiron, William Muench, and Debbie Howe. The Chapter would also like to thank all the groups that participated in this year’s event and organized Valentines for Veterans’ programs in their communities.
- LaLiberte Elementary and Merrill Elementary Schools, Raynham, MA
- Our Lady of Lourdes School, Taunton, MA
- Richardson Olmstead Elementary School, Easton, MA
- Hastings Elementary School, Westborough, MA
- Webster Elementary School, Manchester, NH
- Hopkinton, MA Lions
- Hopkinton, MA Girl Scouts Troops. Troop 65040, led by Laura Barry and Maureen Belger, organized the event. They received support from other Hopkinton Girl Scout troops.
- The Doiron Family
- The Howe Family



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