Nazzaro Youth Worker Spearheads Fight Against Cancer

Michelle Deveau, the Nazzaro Center’s Youth Worker, was the driving force in a bake sale/fundraiser that the center’s youth and a bunch of volunteers held as part of their Halloween party this past October 31st.  As a dedicated advocate of cancer research, Michelle and her family annually host a huge fundraiser at the Orient Heights Yacht Club in her native East Boston that has raised over $70,000 in the past nine years for the Jimmy Fund. So Michelle thought it would be a worthwhile project to engage the children with whom she works in some similar project and the children came up with the idea to raise money for the benefit of Breast Cancer research.  Primarily through the sale of donated baked goods, but also with some small crafts and knick-knacks thrown in, the children were able to raise $555 in three short hours after school on Halloween.  “It could have been a lot more had the weather cooperated”, Michelle said.  But an after school project that can produce that sum in a few short hours is an admirable accomplishment and I am proud of our children.” True, a series of showers forced the bake sale indoors and out of sight of the usual 200 or so crowd that the outdoor party generally generates but it did not dampen anyone’s spirit.

Next up for the Nazzaro Center is their annual Cystic Fibrosis fundraiser, organized by art instructor Josephine Lepore, an all day affair at the center on Saturday December 7, which is also timed to coincide with a full day of in-house and CYO basketball in the gym