Dear Friends,

Thanks to each of you for your interest in and generosity towards the Beatrice family since the death of Jeff. As you know, the situation on October 23rd was pretty dire. Jeff was the sole breadwinner. He had no life insurance and the home faced foreclosure. The mortgage situation seemed an impossible target.

Since then the community of Newton and beyond, including many of you, has responded in an incredible show of generosity. Dozens of people have donated hundreds of hours and raised thousands of dollars. Meals and other support have been and are still being provided to Elinor and her 7 children. We have received money from Bar and Bat Mitzvah’s, from First Communion classes, from strangers and friends. The Jeff Beatrice Sports-a-Thon at Albemarle and The Dinner Dance/Raffle held at the Elks were great successes. The outpouring has been amazing. We have ongoing efforts underway and a larger scale fundraiser scheduled for February 6th (see below).

We are close to a successful outcome on securing the home and need help to bridge the last gap.

We are now in the near final stages of serious negotiations with Ocwen, the mortgage company that is servicing the note on behalf of Deutsche Bank. We have, through an ambitious series of negotiations arrived at a point where The Beatrice Family Trust is close to securing the home for the family ahead of the scheduled foreclosure auction on January 5th.

Can you help us raise the final amount in the next few days? Can you contribute and ask friends, family and colleagues who may be able to help us close this gap?

Online donations can be made here.

If you would prefer to mail, the address is:

The Beatrice Family Fund
c/o The Village Bank
307 Auburn Street
Auburndale, MA 02466

We are pursuing every possible angle to succeed. We have been offered and are seeking help from area civic leaders and elected officials. However, we cannot rely on their efforts alone to resolve this. Our opportunity to secure this home is at hand and we are hoping to seize it.

The Greater-Newton community has responded in a way that just might enable the impossible to occur, and we hope you can help us to bridge this final gap.

It's a Wonderful Life...

Post from Nick Beatrice - Facebook's "In Memory of Jeff Beatrice"

i just wanted to express how much this all means to me, and to our whole family. thank you all for your continued support, its really quite incredible to hear from sooo many people i have never even met, telling me how much my father meant to them. thank you thank you thank you!!! youve all done more than i could have ...imagined, and i know my father is smiling down on you all. (probably with bbq sauce on his face) hehe :) thanks again!!!-Nick

This Friday Night (December 18th) - Jubilee Singers Perform at Our Lady's

On December 18th at 7:30 pm, the Jubilee Singers from Newton North High School will be holding a holiday concert in memory of Jeff Beatrice at Our Lady's Church. Please join us for an evening of celebration of Jeff's life through gospel music. Suggested donation is $5.00, although all donations are welcome. Reception in lower hall following concert. For directions: http://www.ourladys.com/

SAVE THE DATE - Dinner Dance & Auction - February 6th

Saturday, Feb. 6th at the Newton Post 440 - Dinner Dance with silent auction beginning at 6:30 pm with cocktails & Newton North High School choral performance

Variety of food stations including: sushi and beef tenderloin (Catering by Sysco and Peter Budge) DJ & Live Band (Suburban Renewal) Live and silent auction

We need your help! Auction items: sports memorabilia, restaurant and sports events, summer home opportunities, weekend get-aways, wine or beer offerings, jewelry, artwork, music experiences, etc. Can you help us look for items? If can help make cold calls, network with friends. Please contact: Tracy Clark or Meryl Appelbaum with donations. Volunteers: for Feb. 6th – set up, clean up, decorations and donations of flowers, etc.

For information regarding the silent & live auction, please contact: Meryl Appelbaum: Mmsm1@comcast.net or Tracy Clark: http://samalama@rcn.com/

Have your gifts wrapped at the Chestnut Hill Mall - Every Friday Night & Saturday

Friday nights and Saturdays (Dec. 4 through December 24th)

Arielle Conti, NNHS freshman is organizing this drive, with the NNHS Volleyball Team and her mother's Haddassah.

Needed: Parent and/or student volunteers to help staff the tables.

Donations appreciated of wrapping paper, Scotch Tape, ribbons and bows.

Schedule: Friday Dec 4, 11 & 18 -
Shift: 4:30-7pm
Shift 2: 7-9pm.

Saturday Dec. 5, 12 and 19 -
Shift 1: 9-noon
Shift 2 noon-3
Shift 3 3-5:30pm

For more info, to donate supplies or to volunteer to help, please contact: arilconti@gmail.com or 617-964-1898.

Burn and Earn Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K/3.1 miles in support of the Jeff Beatrice Family Fund...

Dear Friends,

It’s almost Thanksgiving and we have so much to be thankful for at this time of year. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the Beatrice Family, who lives here in Newton, and I wondered how can I help them most effectively; bake a casserole, send a check, donate items of need, etc? Around the city people like myself are trying to come up with creative ways to raise money for Mrs. Beatrice and her 11 children (seven whom are at home). The most pressing issue is how can we help them keep their home? How can we honor Mr. Beatrice, a man who was a dedicated coach to so many youth in Newton.

So my plans to help The Beatrice family stay warm and cozy in their Newton home is to ask my circle of friends to join me Thanksgiving morning for a Burn and Earn Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 5K/3.1 miles. Arrive at 8:00AM Thursday morning, at my home – 34 Laudholm Road, Newton, for a great cause! You get to feel great enjoying a fabulous walk, jog or run individually or with your family on a crisp Thanksgiving morning and share this incredible time with your neighbors; all while knowing you helped the Beatrice’s come a little closer to keeping their home that they love, a home that these 11 children have grown up in.

Take time this Thanksgiving to give back to a family who have shared their father with Newton’s sports community for all their lives as he coached various Newton teams. Please bring a check in whatever contribution you can make. Checks should be made payable to “The Jeffrey Beatrice Family Fund”, c/o The Village Bank, 307 Auburn St, Auburndale, MA 02466. If you cannot join us, please still consider making a donation online at http://www.facebook.com/l/eff48;www.beatricefamilyfund.com

The route begins at my home, take a left onto Cabot Street, take a right onto Center Street, take another right onto Commonwealth Avenue, then a right on Walnut street and another right onto Cabot Street. This is a 3.0-3.1 mile loop.

Hope to see you Thanksgiving morning!

Sally Babigian
34 Laudholm Road,
Newton, MA