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My Brother's Keeper Newsletter
My Brother's Keeper has published a newsletter since November 1991. This newsletter details our experiences, progress, and joy of spreading the love and hope of Jesus Christ to those we serve.
An excerpt from our April 2008 newsletter:
"Nice and quiet, thank God"
By Josh Smith, My Brother's Keeper staff
It was a beautiful Thursday morning when Bob Souza (Brockton), George Comeaux (Easton), Chris
Ezepik (Stonehill College), and I pulled up to a modest white duplex on a side street in Quincy.
The family we were delivering to—John, Jenny, and their four children—had been living in Boston a couple of months ago when crime began to take over their lives. The final straw was when their oldest daughter managed to fight off an attack from a stranger, the second in as many months. John and Jenny moved out of the apartment in an effort to protect their children… but had nowhere to go. Soon the family was homeless, with the six of them living out of their car.
Moving into this apartment in Quincy was a godsend for them, even though they had been forced to leave their furniture
behind. When we arrived it had been a full month since the family had moved in and still all they had was a couple of air
mattresses and a rickety table they’d pulled from a dumpster.
John was an incredibly polite man, introducing us to his family and giving us a tour of the apartment. I asked how the neighborhood seemed so far, to which John replied, “Nice and quiet, thank God.” It wasn’t a minute later that the commuter rail tore past—no more than 25 feet behind the house—but I knew exactly what he meant.
Please click here to continue reading this article in our April newsletter.
An excerpt from our November 2007 newsletter:
"A Gift from God...To Us"
By Josh Smith, My Brother's Keeper staff
Before we even parked the truck, I knew our delivery in Brockton would be a special one. And it truly was…but not for any of the reasons I’d expected!
Joe Kennedy (W. Bridgewater), Doug Mullen (Easton), Erich Miller, and I were there to make a delivery to Denise, whom I’d met the previous week when we’d brought furniture to her neighbors across the hall. Denise had come over to help, anxious to hear when we’d be able to deliver her own furniture. Today it was her turn so I was surprised to be greeted not by Denise, but by workers from the phone and gas company who couldn’t gain entry to the apartment.
We, of course, wouldn’t take “no” for an answer quite so easily. We found a back entrance to the apartment and knocked loudly a few times before we heard a feeble “Come in” from the other side. We entered to find a bedridden, nearly unresponsive, elderly man inside. After a series of questions we pieced together that this was Denise’s Uncle Sherman, whom she’d left behind to meet us and the utility men while she was at court for her brother.
Obviously Sherman was struggling with even this simple task—he was shaking, barely coherent, and seemed to have trouble seeing. It turned out that he’d just been released from the hospital after spending most of the past seven months there with serious stomach problems. Denise had generously agreed to let him live with her until he started to feel better.
Please click here to continue reading this article in our November newsletter.
An excerpt from our September 2007 newsletter:
“We may not always see the poor around us—He does.”
By Brian Galvin, Summer Service Intern, Boston College High School
When we think about ‘the poor’, the image of a homeless man pushing a shopping cart often comes to mind. Through My Brother’s Keeper, I’ve learned a more accurate picture of poverty is much bigger but at the same time less visible. People in need are often part of our everyday lives much more than we realize.
Recently, I went out on a delivery with Ryan Thorley, Ron Pagliarani (Scituate), Staci McMenimon (Univ. of St. Thomas), Kara Shipkin (Oliver Ames High), and Dan Carvalho (Cardinal Spellman).
We were helping David and Pauline in Mansfield, a town we don’t normally associate with poverty and need. As we turned onto to David and Pauline’s street, all we saw were large houses until we got to their address—a small two-family house located on a little farm. I was amazed to see a family in need mixed right in with the upper-middle class.
David was working that day—he works in the stockroom of a local company—so Pauline was home to meet us. Their house was totally empty besides a TV, the blankets they were sleeping on, a folding table borrowed from friends, and an ice chest. We brought them a queen-sized bed, a dresser, a matching couch and chair, and a TV stand which was a perfect fit for their TV.
Please click here to continue reading this article in our September newsletter
An excerpt from our April 2007 newsletter:
“She couldn’t stop smiling and neither could we.”
By Stonehill College students Nicole Landry and Margaret Bouffard
The greatest thing about volunteering at My Brother’s Keeper
is knowing that each delivery is meaningful in its own
way. One recent delivery was to Lynne, a mother
of three children living in Brockton who
received four beds, three dressers, living room
furniture and a desk.
Lynne excitedly welcomed us when we arrived and was anxious to
show us where the new furniture would be going. Her children
were in school at the time of the delivery so Lynne said, “They’re
going to be so psyched when they get home!”
Please click here to continue reading this article in our April newsletter
An excerpt from our January 2007 newsletter:
“Today I Know My Prayers Are Answered”
By Brian Concannon, Norwell
Chairman, My Brother’s Keeper Development Board
It is Christmas morning and I cannot help but reflect on how fortunate I am. I have just finished opening presents with my family and I think about how many others do not get the chance to share this joy. And these thoughts bring me back to Christmas Eve—a special day I spent at My Brother’s Keeper.
You see, this year was a bit different for me. The pressures of work and the hustle and bustle of daily life had kept me from spending any time at ‘The Keeper’ this Christmas season. So in my mind, this day of service was as much for me as it was for those we have the privilege to serve.
I arrived with my brothers-in-law, Bob and Ed Barry, around 9:30 AM. We were greeted by Erich Miller who asked if we would be willing to help with an emergency furniture delivery—Mary and her three children had just moved into Brockton and had no furniture. They would be forced to sleep on the floor on Christmas Eve without the help My Brother’s Keeper provides...
Please click here to continue reading this article in our January newsletter
"Whatever
you do for the most humble of my people, you do for me."
Matthew 25:40