| | | | | | | | | | Dear Big, Hello October! Officially fall and entering a spooky month for those that look forward to Halloween! Otherwise, an orange month with crunchier leaves and cooler weather. Enjoy! To those that have sent feedback regarding events, thank you! Because you asked for it, we've added events for those Littles that are no longer so little, including an event for Littles that are ready to chat about college. This month, we are also welcoming parents into this newsletter! Parents, feel free to browse through events that your Big is not available for and enjoy! We would love to hear from you and involve you more in our programming. Please be aware that these events are suggestions and no mentor is obligated to attend. If you'd like to see more of something, feel free to reach out. As always, Bigs, remember to have your Big ID Card when visiting selected locations and send us photos of your outings! Along with the activities listed below, look through this site for a more extensive list of free to low-cost activities throughout our service areas. Warm Wishes,
The Community Team | | | | | | | | BBBSCMMW Events Connect with us through some of our own events! Opportunities for your Match to participate in fun activities, along with opportunities to support our efforts. | | | | | | | | | | October 7th | Thursday 6pm - 8pm BIG RE-TRAINING This is a virtual event using Microsoft Teams No need to download anything Click here to RSVP, to receive link. | | | We will be hosting a Volunteer Retraining for all of our Community Bigs. This training is a refresher about BBBSCMMW, our policies and procedures, and how we can better support our mentors. Please be aware that this training is mandatory. If you cannot attend, a rec | | | | | | October 12th | Tuesday 6pm - 8pm All Things College Applications Join the Mazie team for a panel discussion with experts from Brandeis, MassBay, and former mentee on how to tackle the application process for matches. The event will be in person with masks from 6pm to 8pm. Location is TBD and will be announced as soon as something is confirmed. This event is for Mazie mentors AND mentees to attend together! Location: TBD To learn more, click here. | | | | October 16th | Thursday 5:30pm - 8pm | | | | | FULL MOON BONFIRE Join us for an evening of fun by the fire on a full moon night. Space is limited so please confirm with Parent/Guardian and RSVP before Monday, October 11th. Address and more information to follow. To register, click here. | | | | | | In-Person Activities Please follow CDC guidelines for yours and your Little's safety. Any questions, feel free to reach out to your match support specialist. | | | | | | | | | | October 1st - 11th - Topsfield Fair Check site for weekday and weekend hours. Location: Topsfield Fairgrounds 207 Boston Street, Topsfield, MA 01983 To learn more, click here. | | | | Until October 3rd - The Big E Location: The Big E 1305 Memorial Ave. West Springfield, MA 01089 To learn more, click here. | | | | October 3rd - Freeplay Family Day | Sunday 12pm - 4pm Worcester's first Freeplay Family Day is here! Bring the kiddos and enjoy all the arcade games, skee ball, air hockey, and pinball together! Admission is just $10 per person and all games are set to free! Fun for the whole family! Please Note: Freeplay is following the City of Worcester mask guidance. Masks are REQUIRED for ALL individuals both vaccinated and unvaccinated while indoors. Location: Free Play 25 Union St, Worcester, MA 01608 To learn more, click here. | | | | October 3rd - Charles River Cleanup |Sunday 1pm - 3pm We all "love that dirty water" but not the trash that has accumulated. We have been assigned to the area between Moody street in Waltham -Newton Street in Waltham. Location: Charles River Path, Waltham, MA To learn more, click here. | | | | October 4th - Comic Fan Club | Monday 4pm-5pm Do you love comics and graphic novels? Do you dream about becoming the next Raina Telgemeier or Jarret Krosoczka and just want a place to hang out and get inspired? Come to our Comics Fan Club! Bring your friends or make some new ones! Ages 8-11. Masks are required for all participants. Registration is required as space is limited Location: Worcester Public Library 3 Salem Street, Worcester, MA 01608 To learn more and register, click here. | | | | October 8th - 11th - HHF Fall Festival | Friday - Saturday Join us for our annual Fall Festival Weekend or apple and pumpkin picking, live music, and activities! Location: Hollis Hills Farm 340 Marshall Rd, Fitchburg, MA 01420 To learn more, click here. | | | | October 16th - Trunk or Treat | Saturday 6pm - 8pm Dress up in your favorite costume and come down to this free event. Please bring 1 large bag of candy for each child attending to distribute to cars. This will be open to the public again this year. Location: Hamilton Road and Gub Club 24 Hamilton Rd, Sturbridge, MA 01566 To learn more, click here. | | | | October 16th - 17th - Wachusett Applefest | Sat - Sun 11am - 5pm Live music, food trucks, farmer's market and skyride! Tickets needed: Adults (13yr and up): $11 Advance/ $14 Door Juniors 6-12: $6 Advance/ $9 Door Package includes admission and skyride: (Last SkyRide is at 4:45pm) Adults $20 Advance/ $23 Door ; Juniors $15 Advance/ $18 Door To learn more, click here. | | October 17th - Burncoat Harvest Festival | Sunday 1pm - 5pm Location: Burncoat Center for Arts and Wellness 78 Burncoat St, Wocester, MA 01605 To learn more, click here. | | | | October 23rd - Douglas Orchard & Farm Halloween | Saturday 1pm - 5:30pm $10/car Humans and dogs should come dressed in Halloween costumes. Oxen plowing our fields. We welcome back "Merlin". Bring your dog dressed up in a Halloween costume! Douglas Dog Orphans will be awarding prizes for best dog costume! Farm scavenger hunt for Halloween candy! Schedule of Events Starting at 1pm and ongoing: Observe oxen plowing our farm fields as they did historically. Halloween Scavenger Hunt around the farm. Treat bags: one per child. Location: Douglas Orchard & Farm 26 Locust St, Douglas, MA To learn more, click here. | | | | October 23rd - West Boylston Fall Fest | Saturday 12pm - 6pm Join this FREE fun family event, try some yummy treats, shop, listen to live music and participate in lots of fun fall or Halloween activities!
Live bands, food trucks, trick-or-treating, decorations, scarecrow & pumpkin contests, basketraffles, vendors, dancers and more! Location West Boylston Town Common, 01583 To learn more, click here. | |  | | | MYSTEAM Activity Try an experiment! Doing a hands on activity can be a great opportunty to not only work together, but also learn more about each other! | | | | | | Paper Bag Stars! The materials call for buying the bags, but you can use those trusty brown paper grocery bags as well! For materials and instructions, click here. | | | | | | | | More to do! In case you didn't know! We found some cool places for you and your Little to visit! In the future, we will include location where you and your Little can volunteer together. If you know of any, please share! | | | | | | | | | | | "The School Yahd is a place to re-live the best part of being a kid: playing in the school yard with your friends!" Hours: Family Time (all ages welcome):
Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday 12-5 pm
Teen Night (13+):
Saturday 5-8 pm Location: 216 W Boylston St Suite 400, West Boylston, MA 01583 | | | | | | | "For the adventure seeker, Level99 provides players with over 40 themed challenge rooms designed to test your team of 2-6 players both physically and mentally as you work together to unlock additional challenges and rewards." Location: Natick Mall 1235 Worcester St, Suite#3330 Natick, MA 01760 | | | | Location: 4 King St, Worcester, MA 01610 | |  | | Worcester Earn-a-Bike - website This program engages people of all social and economic means, empowering them to volunteer and learn basic bicycle maintenance, while earning a FREE bicycle. Participants volunteer 10 hours towards our shop operation, then choose a bike from our selection of earn-able bicycles, and build it up with tools and parts from the shop. Earn-A-Bikers must participate in an orientation before starting and two Learn-A-Bike workshops per bicycle earned. The orientation and workshops will count toward volunteering hours. Volunteer tasks typically include organizing parts, stripping bicycles, building bikes for donation or sale, or generally helping around in the shop. | | | | | | | | | | Is your Little asking questions about what's going on in the world? Are they interested in learning more about the BLM movement? Have they come out to you as queer or trans recently? Find some resources for talking to your Little about these important subjects below! Looking to talk with your Little about race and the Black Lives Matter movement? Here are some great resources and a helpful video with advice for talking to children about race. Has your Little come out to you as queer or trans? Find resources to best support them here. Clothing Donations from Cradles to Crayons Cradles to Crayons' program Giving Factory Direct is ready to fill clothing orders for our families. The Kid Packs are designed for youth from birth to age 12. However, sizes range from preemie to youth 18/20, which is an adult medium, so it is likely that some of our older Littles will still be able to benefit from a clothing donation. We are also opening this program up to include our Littles' younger siblings, so please reach out to your match support specialist if you are working with a family who is interested in receiving a donation of clean, quality clothing. | | | |  | | | Contact Us Big Brothers Big Sisters of Central Mass & MetroWest
484 Main St. Suite 360
Worcester, Massachusetts 01608 - Regional Program Director (MetroWest): Courtney Evans - 508-871-6401
- Regional Program Director (Worcester): Katie Roy - 508-752-7868 Ext. 15
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