Okay, Weston, it’s December 31 and it’s time for you to come up with your resolutions for 2023. I am working on mine in the airline lounge. Have you been to the new AA SOHO Lounge at JFK? Yowza, good times. My latest resolution is to remember that just because there is a pile of chocolate croissants, you don’t have to eat them all. I will remember this tomorrow.

Coincidentally to my buffet binge, an email came across from our northern friends in Lincoln about donating original art and sculptures of all kinds to Downsize for Diversity through Boston Bridges Initiative, a 501(c) (3) organization. This opportunity looks highly actionable and benefits all communities in the METCO program including Weston (see list below).

Joanna Schmergel, Lincoln resident, (though just barely over the line…we could make a play for her neighborhood for sure) has long been involved in fundraising for METCO and now focuses on this program.

“Over the last 5 years and 4 months we have collected donations from 35 towns in Massachusetts,” said Joanna. “So this is not just about Lincoln.”

Starting this month, Downsize for Diversity ART is going to be fundraising (collecting art donations) through the Boston Bridges Initiative, a 501(c) (3), begun here in MA, to facilitate cultural exchange and promote meaningful social interaction between city and suburban families. The Boston Bridges Initiative (BBI) helps support k-12 programs such as Friends of METCO groups, METCO departments, and other organizations in Massachusetts.

The current METCO district partners include:

– Lincoln 

– Bedford

– Wayland 

– Wellesley 

– Weston

– Newton

– Manchester by the Sea

More communities coming soon!!

Learn more about the Boston Bridges Initiative here:https://bostonbridgesinitiative.org/

How does Downsize for Diversity ART (Anti-Racist Together) work? 

Generous artists and donors across Massachusetts and New England donate original works of art and sculpture to the Boston Bridges Initiative, a 501(c)(3) based in Massachusetts. The BBI then sells these artworks locally and all proceeds will be contributed to the Boston Bridges Initiative to support METCO and other like organizations throughout the year. 

Call, text, or email Joanna Schmergel anytime to schedule a pick up at 617-645-9059 or owenjoanna@yahoo.com. A volunteer comes to you in their big truck and picks up all of your original artwork donations and gives you an itemized, signed 501(c)3 tax receipt on the spot.

The Downsize for Diversity ART (Anti-Racist Together) program was originally started by the 501(c)(3) organization, Friends of Lincoln METCO, Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee, in Lincoln, MA, and has raised $170,000 from 2017 to date.

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So your first resolution is resolved. Look around at your art and sculptures and think about which ones still give you joy. If there are some that don’t, think about donating them to support METCO.