24 Jan January 2021 Newsletter

January 2021 Newsletter

Welcome to the January 2021 edition of the Daniels Foundation Newsletter. In this issue, we explore the following topics. Click on the links to read the articles!

Discovery Science Worcester: In these challenging times of COVID The Discovery Museums, Inc. is offering hands-on learning in science for several Worcester schools thanks to a generous grant from the Fred H. Daniels Foundation. Click here to read more…

Foundation Supports Learning Hub at Boys and Girls Club of Worcester: As millions of parents across the country have discovered, supervising and supporting the virtual schooling of your children necessitated by the COVID pandemic is full of challenges. The Boys and Girls Club has established a Learning Hub to help reverse quarantine related learning loss. Click here to read more…

Eleanor Goddard Daniels: In 1915 Eleanor Goddard of 190 Salisbury Street, the home she grew up in, married Fred Harold Daniels, from the next house up Salisbury Street, where he grew up. Click here to read more…

An Interview with Barre Blake Hardy: Barre Blake Hardy is the newest board member of the Daniels Foundation, and we have all had the pleasure of getting to know her over the past year. Most of our interactions in 2020 were conducted by Zoom so we thought we would take a deep dive getting to know Barre better and share with all of you lovely readers. Click here to read more…

Email List: If you are looking at this, it is because you received an email with links to the January 2021 newsletter. If you would like to change the address or subscribe another, Click here…

Discovery Science Worcester

In these challenging times of COVID The Discovery Museums, Inc. is offering hands-on learning in science for several Worcester schools thanks to a generous grant from the Fred H. Daniels Foundation. Whether a student is in the classroom or learning virtually from home, all the students will be able to participate. A complete set of materials needed for the topics covered will be delivered to the school prior to the date of the hands-on lesson. Besides live instruction given, both the students and faculty will receive guides, so that they will fully understand the topic that is the focus of the instruction.

Some of the topics taught are flight, force and motion, physical changes of matter, liquids and solids, and weather and climate, just to name a few. The entire curriculum supports the grade specific STEM curriculum needs for K to 8th grade.

This is a wonderful offering for the schools to be able to execute when field trips, special visitors or in-house artists are not allowed to happen. Bands, choral groups, clubs and even physical education are often not allowed to meet. This type of hands-on STEM learning, which can be delivered either in person or virtually, enriches and enhances the education for many students, if not for all of them.

Foundation Supports Learning Hub at Boys and Girls Club of Worcester

As millions of parents across the country have discovered, supervising and supporting the virtual schooling of your children necessitated by the COVID pandemic is full of challenges. Imagine how much more challenging this task would be without technology or Wi-Fi while needing to go to work to support your family! The Boys and Girls Club has established a Learning Hub to help reverse quarantine related learning loss. As stated in their application, “with our kids’ disadvantages, this school year could otherwise be an almost complete loss.”

Sixty-eight percent of the Learning Hub members are low-moderate income, seventy-eight percent are minority, and more than sixty percent live in single-parent households. Many of the members face obstacles like language barriers or low expectations/aspirations, or see alienation from school and society as the norm. Again from their application, “our assessments have found that most Learning Hub kids have at least three Adverse Childhood experiences, which lead to toxic stress, physical/mental problems, and susceptibility to diseases, now and in the future. Much of 2020 certainly qualifies as an Adverse Childhood Experience.”

The Learning Hub offers their members access to technology and Wi-Fi in a safe and supportive environment so parents can go to work. In addition, counselors are available to provide social and emotional support to mitigate the trauma, depression, and feelings of danger that many are experiencing. The primary aim is to reverse the learning loss and emotional disturbances that have resulted from the quarantine.
At the December meeting, the board voted to support this initiative with a grant of $10,000.

Eleanor Goddard Daniels

In 1915 Eleanor Goddard of 190 Salisbury Street, the home she grew up in, married Fred Harold Daniels, from the next house up Salisbury Street, where he grew up.

Eleanor was the daughter of Georgia Grace Watson and Harry Williams Goddard. Harry Goddard, it will come as no surprise, was in the wire business.

Eleanor attended Smith College, graduating in 1911. A younger classmate at Smith was Mary Esther Martin, who would later marry younger brother, Dwight Daniels.  Also at Smith was Katharine Ames George. Katharine was notified by Smith College that her freshman year roommate in Hatfield House would be Eleanor Goddard of Worcester. So the two meet and became best friends and stayed roommates all four years.

The two traveled to Europe together, not the backpacking hostel type travel, but rather the old world chaperoned grand tour type travel. No festivals, and no lines to view the Mona Lisa…  They stayed close friends through the years as each married and raised families.

When Eleanor passed away in 1981 Katharine wrote a lovely reminiscence of their friendship which was published in the Sunday Telegram, July 12th.  It chronicles a trip the two took to the Worcester County Fair while still at Smith.  There was a balloon ride, and they both gathered their courage and paid the 50 cents each to take the ride – just the two of them in the basket, holding-on. Up the balloon went to 1000 feet over Worcester… people were ants… the wind gusted… the girls screamed in delight and terror… then back down to the applause of the fair goers.

The author hastens to point out that this was more than 100 years ago, when there were no safety straps, no helmets, no release forms … no safety net.. and no carny guy with them in the basket…  just two girls, a small rattan basket and one big colorful balloon. And JOY.

50 years or so later, on Halloween, dressed as a hobo, with “dirt” on my face from the burnt end of a wine cork, nervously, my sister and I walked the block to Auntie Nell’s, the big house at 190 Salisbury street. And rang the bell.  That same joyful girl, only a bit older, opened the door and made us feel welcome.

An Interview with Barre Blake Hardy

Welcome Barre!

Barre Blake Hardy is the newest board member of the Daniels Foundation, and we have all had the pleasure of getting to know her over the past year. Most of our interactions in 2020 were conducted by Zoom so we thought we would take a deep dive getting to know Barre better and share with all of you lovely readers.

Barre’s Daniels family connection comes from her father and out-going treasurer, Jonathan Daniels Blake, who was on the board of the Daniels Foundation for over 40 years. His mother, her grandmother, is Mary Daniels daughter of Dwight Clark Daniels.

Before joining the board, she had two opportunities to become familiar with the board. The first was participating in the G4 grant cycles that identified and funded programs in Worcester addressing the growing homeless population and the mental health issues among children stemming from home instability. The second is her experience over the past year before officially becoming a board member. She has had the opportunity to shadow the board, learning some of the treasurer duties, and participating in the different committees to learn how the board functions.

Barre is looking forward to giving back to the community where she grew up. She lived in Worcester County until she was 15 and went to elementary and middle school in Worcester. She has already witnessed how programs funded by the Daniels Foundation have a meaningful impact on the lives of Worcester residents. From the strategic programs focused on girls’ health and stability, to COVID-19 specific funding of basic needs, to educational program investment, and more. Barre looks forward to continuing the family legacy with a positive impact in Worcester.

Barre earned her BA from the University of Vermont and MBA from UCLA Anderson School of Business. before working for GE as marketing manager after graduation. She spent much of her career working as a marketing and management consultant for CMG, a strategic consulting firm, finding she loved taking on complex problems to break them down into simple solutions and helping clients transform into high performing, effective, and efficient teams. Barre left the firm when she and her family moved to Hamburg, Germany a few years ago. She has resumed doing some contract work with CMG since returning to the states.

Barre loves to travel and has lived in London, Spain, Germany, Peru, and eight US States. Living abroad and getting to experience so much of the US has given her many rich experiences. In fact, her favorite thing to do is plan trips and daydream about all the places she will get to go once her family gets the Covid-19 vaccine. Barre acknowledges she has been incredibly fortunate to be able to travel with her family over the last couple of years and cannot wait to get out and about again. In the meantime, they have been doing a lot of hiking with their dog and settling back into life in Massachusetts. For Barre, Massachusetts (especially Cape Cod) has always felt like home. Since moving back a year ago, it is now home for her family and they are loving being here.

Barre loves to cook, but (as we all agree) she feels there should be an unwritten rule that if “I cook, you clean.” Thankfully, her boys are 8 and 12 with the strong desire to earn allowance each week.

Welcome to the Daniels Foundation board Barre!

Extended Daniels Family Members Receiving the E-Newsletter

If you are looking at this list, it is because you received an email with links to the January 2021 newsletter. So, we have at least one correct and useful email address for you. If you received the e-newletter at an email address that is not the best, please click the email link to send Fred your preferred email address.

[email protected]

If you wish to add a recipient to the e-newsletter just send Fred a request by email.