CASPAR’s “Strengthening Our Community” Spring Event a Tremendous Success!
On May 12, the CASPAR community came together for our 2022 Strengthening Our Community event at Maria L. Baldwin Park in Cambridge, and it was a wonderful night celebrating the life-saving work CASPAR does, the tremendous strength and resilience of the individuals we serve, and the support of so many dedicated members of Cambridge’s civic and business community!
Thanks to the amazing generosity of our event sponsors and attendees, we were able to raise more than $375,000 (and counting), to support CASPAR’s continuum of homelessness and substance use disorder services! We were also proud to present Bill Kane and Team BioMed Realty with the Carl F. Barron Catalyst for Change Award. This award is named in memory of Carl F. Barron—a dedicated, longtime supporter of CASPAR—and is given each year to recognize an individual and/or group who brings positive change to the community through their leadership in helping our most vulnerable neighbors, as Mr. Barron did throughout his lifetime. At the event, Bill was honored by Cambridge City Councilor Marc McGovern with a proclamation from the City of Cambridge, and Massachusetts State Representative Marjorie Decker with the Catalyst for Change Award.
Bill’s contributions to CASPAR through the years have been significant. Whether it’s been building support with fellow Cantabrigians for the Strengthening Our Community event, volunteering with members of the BioMed team to serve meals at our Emergency Services shelter, providing furniture and exercise equipment for CASPAR’s residential programs, or hosting donation drives to collect many of the essential needs of the people CASPAR serves each day, Bill and BioMed have always been there to support CASPAR’s vital services.
We are profoundly grateful to the many individuals, businesses and organizations whose hard work and contributions made Strengthening Our Community possible, including our emcees for the event, Sarah Eusden Gallop and Michelle Lower, all our wonderful guest speakers and our hard-working volunteers. Special appreciation and gratitude go out to our Presenting Sponsors Alexandria Real Estate, DivcoWest/Cambridge Crossing (our hosts for the evening), and MIT; our Lead Sponsors Tom Andrews and Christine Gilman, Innovive Health, John Moriarty Associates and Mark Roopenian; and all our incredibly generous event sponsors (click here for a complete list)!
Thank you also to our event attendees, who gave so generously in support of the work that we do—and it’s not too late to do so! If you missed attending Strengthening Our Community, but still want to show your support to our most vulnerable Cambridge and Somerville neighbors, you can be part of this incredible community effort by making a donation.
All of us at CASPAR were thrilled to reunite with so many old friends and make so many new ones, and we can’t wait to do it all again next year!