Committee members, left to right, Dylan Judson of Dedham, Molly Tilton of Wellesley, and Caroline Quincy of Milton, send out invitations to The Laurel Ball. (Photo by Roger Farrington)

“The Fourth Annual Laurel Ball,” New England’s only holiday charity event for high school students, is scheduled for Wednesday, December 19 from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. at The Four Seasons Hotel in Boston.

What makes The Laurel Ball unique is its core charitable mission giving high school students throughout New England a chance to organize, manage and run their own charitable event with the proceeds directly benefiting younger students in Boston. So far, students from more than one hundred local communities and six New England states have purchased tickets to the black tie event.

Each year the gala has a different theme and charity recipients. This year’s event, “Laurels for Literature,” will benefit two Greater Boston schools. Proceeds will go to fund the first centralized library at The Boston Conservatory Lab Charter School, a public charter school serving students in kindergarten through fifth grade, with an innovative “Learning Through Music” curriculum. The gala’s proceeds will also provide continued funding for books at the Epiphany School, an accredited non-profit middle school whose motto is “Never Give Up on a Child.”

The 2007 Junior Committee, consisting of 47 students from more than 30 different schools in New England, has been instrumental in the planning and production of this event. The committee has selected the music program, the menu and promoted the cause of getting involved and making a difference in their community.

For tickets and more information about the gala, visit www.thelaurelball.com.

Boston Museum of Fine Arts Sponsors “MFA for the Holidays”

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (MFA) presents “MFA for the Holidays,” a series of festivities featuring multiple events each day.

“We wanted to find ways to celebrate the joy, fun, and spirituality of this time of year,” said Malcolm Rogers, Director. “With a tempting selection of performances and activities, the MFA welcomes all visitors to celebrate the spirit of the season with us.”

Fun-filled family events include art-making activities, the National Center of Afro-American Artists’ Black Nativity vignette, and a selection of holiday film shorts. Musical performances range from the klezmer music of KlezMITron and performances of World Music by the group Criollo Classico to costumed Victorian carolers.

Visitors will find unique Christmas and Hanukkah gifts at the Museum School’s highly anticipated December Sale, the largest art sale of its kind in New England, from December 5 through Sunday, December 9.

Additionally, appearances by the Boston Ballet, gallery talks, and other eclectic performances make this a “holiday to remember” for Museum visitors.

Following tradition, the MFA will complement the festivities with holiday decorations throughout the Museum, including a dramatic staircase lined with trees, and in front of the Museum, where visitors will be greeted by trees lit in white lights through the New Year.

General admission to the MFA includes two visits in a 10-day period, but does not include Gund Gallery exhibitions. Tickets for students who are university members are free, as well as for children 17 years of age and younger (during non-school hours). For more information, go to www.mfa.org or call 617-267-9300.

Hall of Fame Induction

Congratulations are in order! Boston’s Human Resources Alliance For African Americans, coordinated by Martha R.A. Fields of Fields Associates, Inc, recently held its first “Hall of Fame Induction” of African American corporate, community and business leaders. Inductees are leaders who are either from Massachusetts or made significant leadership contributions to the state.

The newly inducted 2008 Hall of Fame Inductees are: Robert Awkward, Middlesex Community College; Beverly Edgehill, The Partnership, Inc.; Jackie Benson Jones, Harvard University; Andrina Buffong, MITRE Corporation; Martha R. A. Fields, Fields Associates, Inc.; Janine and Tom Fondon, UnityFirst.com; Susan Gordon, Microsoft; Juliette Mayers, BlueCross BlueShield of Massachusetts; Monroe "Bud" Moseley, Isaacson, Miller, Inc.; Howard Watts, Fox Entertainment Group/Newscorporation; Darnell Williams, Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts; and Maurice B. Wright, Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Gotlieb Research Center at BU Receives Grants

The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center at Boston University seeks to capture and document history by collecting the manuscripts from individuals who play significant roles in the fields of journalism, poetry, literature and criticism, dance, music, theatre, film, television, and political and religious movements.

Membership in the Friends of the Libraries of Boston University includes a full season of events, including the Speaker Series, exhibition openings, cocktail receptions and other special events. For information, call 617-353-3696 or e-mail friends@bu.edu.

BU has recently received two grants totaling more than $600,000 from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center to catalog its extensive Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection.

Vita Paladino, Director of the Center notes, “The Martin Luther King, Jr. project marks the flagship effort to utilize this promising innovation and will honor Dr. King’s legacy. Having a searchable, electronic inventory will aid in the preservation of our collection and save researchers valuable time and resources.”

For more information, please visit www.bu.edu/archives.

Enjoy!

Mitch Bobkin
Greater Boston Interior Designer Featured on
NECN's Dream House.
www.mfb-designs.com

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