Medway & Millis September 2018

Page 4 Medway & Millis Local Town Pages www.localtownpages.com September 2018
ALEX HANDY 5K
continued from page 1
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to the schools, the police and the
town.” Creating the foundation,
he says, gave his family “something
to attach to. We thought,
what a great idea – we were
grieving so bad back then – we
thought if we could help one kid
we felt like we were doing something
good.”
The Handy’s, who have another
son, Christopher, who’s 17,
wanted the work of the organization
to continue. They considered
having the Medway Police
Dept. take the race over, but “the
school reached out first,” says
Rich, who says that supporting
education is also important to
the family.
“I do think we’ve achieved
what we started, far more than
we ever thought we’d do. We
didn’t know what to expect,”
says Handy, who says the effort
evolved into a responsibility that
his wife, Ann, mainly took on,
donating probably 100 manhours
for the foundation’s annual
golf tournament and about
half that for the 5K each year.
Ann will still maintain a lot of
involvement in the 5K, he says,
“We love Medway, and we’ll try
to stay here as long as we can.”
Carolynne Benedetto, of
the Medway Secondary Parent
Teacher Organization and a
member of the running group,
Medway Momma Striders, is
involved in organizing the race.
She is co-directing the race with
Ann Handy.
“We’ve been working together
for the past six or seven months,”
says Benedetto, “with the PTO
taking over the fiduciary responsibility.
Project Alex has been dissolved,
but we are still supporting
the initiatives Project Alex supported.”
These will include providing
free bike helmets through
Medway Police and Fire, painting
crosswalks for better visibility,
especially near schools, and providing
funds to staff the weight
rooms at Medway Middle and
High Schools, so that students
will be able to safely use equipment.
“Those are the major things,
and we work closely with the
Medway Police Department,”
says Benedetto. MSPTO has
added more formal sponsorship
of the race this year, with gold,
silver and bronze sponsorships
available.
The 10th Annual Alex Handy
5K will begin at 8 a.m. on September
9th, with registration
starting at 7 a.m. The cost is $30
for participants 15 and over, and
$5 for kids 14 and under with a
donation of a canned item for
the Medway Village Food Pantry.
“One of the things about this
race is it’s not the typical Medway
5K route,” says Benedetto.
“It starts at the VFW and goes
behind it, and one of the things
the Handy family says is it’s a
really family-friendly route. It’s
quiet roads that the race takes
place on.”
Afterwards, at the VFW
where the softball field is, says
Benedetto, races for younger
children will be held, with ribbons
are provided for the littlest
runners. The event will also feature
a face painter, balloons and
snacks.
For more information about
the race, visit https://mspto.org/
alex-handy-5k/. To volunteer,
please contact Carolynne Benedetto
at carb424@yahoo.com for
more information.
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Bring Your Talents to
Medway Secondary Parent
Teacher Organization
It’s a way to stay connected.
“When your kids are little,
you want to be involved (in the
classroom), but it’s harder as
the kids get older, because the
teachers don’t have parents in
the classroom anymore. The
MSPTO is a great way to bring
your talents and get involved,”
says Julie Dennehy, Co-Vice
President of the Medway Secondary
Parent Teacher Organization,
high school. Dennehy
says she started off volunteering
at the elementary level,
with the Medway Elementary
Parent Teacher Organization,
so moving to the middle school
level was a natural progression,
but the organization could very
much use parent volunteers
whose students are new to either
Middle School or High School.
Dennehy says she volunteers,
“to meet other parents and network
a little bit, but also to give
back to the school community.
It’s a great way to meet the staff
and administrators behind the
scenes, to peek behind the curtain
and see how the school is
run and why decisions are made
and to provide support.”
Dennehy, who has a background
in public relations, says
she brings her PR skills to the
table, but that each parent contributes
in his or her own way.
“The MSPTO is a great way
to bring your talent, whatever
that is. Some people, it’s financial,
other people are very crafty,
and when we have our soup bars
and appreciation, there are people
who are amazing bakers and
cooks,” says Dennehy. “
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MSPTO’s Mission is stated
as: “To broaden the education
and social environment of the
Medway Middle & High School
students, and to promote an
open and cooperative relationship
among parents, schools and
tour community.
We aim:
• To lend our energy, talent
and time to improve the quality
of education
• To support our teachers to
achieve success
• To invite a diverse and broad
participation from parents
• To promote a team atmosphere
among parents, teachers
and administration
• To educate parents and enrich
families
• To foster a sense of school
pride.”
MSPTO doesn’t hold fundraisers,
aside from an annual
mailing with a donation form.
“We made a decision not to
do wrapping paper or events,
because so many other organizations
do them as well. There
are lots of ways we might bump
into each other, so we just do this
form,” says Dennehy.
Even so, the group is able
to hold a teacher appreciation
dinner each year, and they paid
for a portion of the prom buses.
The group also runs the snack
shack at the Middle School.
To contact MSPTO, message
them on Facebook or
email medwaysecpto@gmail.
com. You can also find Medway
Secondary PTO (MSPTO) at
MSPTO.org.
508-429-6927
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