Giving Back

"Great Women to Know" is a local women's networking group that brings unstoppable energy, unmatched time management, and inspired leadership to help each other and the girls of Esperanza Academy in Lawrence.

Esperanza students eat three meals a day at school, on a food budget that is stretched thin. GWTK collects Market Basket gift cards to purchase high quality nutrition, and, for Thanksgiving, made sure the girls ate a bountiful turkey dinner together. To enhance the girls knowledge and skills regarding nutrition, Merit Tukiainen, Owner of Night and Day, and Lisa Simmons, Prudential, Howe and Doherty REALTOR are teaming up to develop and deliver a cooking curriculum this year.
What better way to learn about future professions than from people who are practicing them? On Feb. 2, GWTK hosts a nod to Groundhog Day, called "Shadow Day" - at the school and in the community. Esperanza students spend the day learning about and participating in GWTK members' businesses.

This year, older girls were hosted at the Medical Offices of Elizabeth Harris, MD and Rehka Quazi, MD; at Andover Animal Hospital with owner Diane Tower, and at Elements Therapeutic Massage with owner, Cheryl Arbia. Kathy Moramarco, of Moramarco Chiropractic, hosted two girls to learn about starting and running a business. Joyce Perocchi, Esq. and Paula Colby-Clements, Esq. took girls to Lawrence District Court to meet a judge and learn about the trial process. They also learned about the legal rights of animals with Professor Diane Sullivan Esquire of Massachusetts School of Law.

Other members pitched in to provide much needed support to this rather complex logistical effort, taking full advantage of the wide array of skills and talents of this dynamic group!

As this new school year begins, Great Women to Know are focused on making the start of the year great for the girls at Esperanza. You can help in many different ways! Here's just a few:

Dollars for Duds: Planet Aid, located at Whole Foods in downtown Andover, provides the proceeds of all clothes donated at that spot to Esperanza on a per pound basis. Clothes can be worn, stained, and tattered and are still accepted. Make the new school year a time to clean out your closets and put those unwanted clothes to work for the girls of Esperanza.

Promote Uniform-ity: The girls need gently used khaki pants, in an assortment of sizes.

Make their Meals Count: Pick up a Marketbasket, Whole Foods, or Stop and Shop gift card to be used to purchase high quality protein and fresh produce.

Donate Technology Tools: On your Back to School shopping rounds, pick up some graph paper, flash drives, or a TI-80 Calculator.

All donations can be made and receipts obtained locally at:
Andover Animal Hospital
CoCo Collection
Dr. Kathleen Chan and Dr. Ivy Chen Orthodontics
Elements Therapeutic Massage
The Najjar Employment Law Group, PC.
Night & Day
Prudential, Howe and Doherty
Or by calling Meg Rokos at 978-697-4550 for pick up.

Future columns will focus on other ways that Great Women To Know invest in our community. Stay tuned!
For information about joining Great Women To Know, e-mail planbase [at] comcast [dot] net. For questions about Great Women To Know, call Meg Rokos at 978.697.4550. We welcome new members in service to other women, local businesses, and the girls of Esperanza Academy!
Column written by Meg Rokos, chairwoman of Great Women to Know