Thank You for Celebrating With Us at the 28th Circle of Friends Gala!

Thank you to all who celebrated our 28th Circle of Friends Gala on Wednesday, May 25! Whether you attended in person at the Royal Sonesta Boston or joined virtually from the comfort of your home, you helped make it one of our best Galas yet. With your generous support and the support of our amazing corporate sponsors, we raised over $150,000 for youth and families! 

If you weren’t able to attend our Gala, don’t worry! We want to share with you the four videos we produced especially for that evening. Below, each video is presented in the order it was in our program. 

Earlier this year, our agency underwent an evolution: we changed our name from Cambridge Family & Children’s Service to Bridges Homeward! Our new name reflects our progressive values and our focus on permanency. But don’t just believe us – listen to five Bridges Homeward staff tell you themselves! 

We enjoyed hearing the story of Kerry, an amazing foster mom who has fostered with our agency for 16 years! We were lucky enough to have Kerry join us at our Gala this year. After we shared her story, she received a much-deserved standing ovation. Watch the video we made to find out why: 

We were proud to honor Cambridge City Manager Louis DePasquale with the Avon Children’s Friend Award. Louis has served the city of Cambridge for an amazing 40 years. We wanted to honor his service to the Cambridge community before he retires in June of this year. 

We were also proud to honor Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow with the James Huntington Award. Christine is the first woman of color to serve as Police Commissioner, and she also happens to be the adopted daughter of Denise Maguire, a former Bridges Homeward Executive Director. She sat down with our current Executive Director Bob Gittens to discuss how her experiences as an adoptee and a person of color influence and guide her as she leads the Cambridge police force.