The Goffstown Edge

Crispin's House Newsletter

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Thank You From Crispin's House

Once again the community comes through for Crispin’s House

On Saturday, March 24th Crispin’s House hosted our 12th Annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament and we raised $5,975.49 to support our programs for the at-risk youth and their families in our community. The turnout of 45 teams and 172 participants was spectacular. In addition, we had the wonderful support of many area businesses. Our Lead Sponsor was Granite State Plumbing and Heating of Weare. Additional sponsors included TD Bank, Goffstown; Goffstown Ace Hardware; St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Goffstown; KRG Motorsports, Goffstown; the Goffstown Clergy Association; Edward Jones Financial Advisor – Brian Hall, Goffstown; J & G Roofing, Pinardville; Super Suds Carwash, Pinardville, Unique Ford, Goffstown; Main Street Eye Care, Goffstown; Romein Counseling, Manchester; Coca Cola Bottling of Northern N.E.; Brown Graphix, Goffstown; Dunkin’ Donuts, Pinardville; Poised Solutions, Goffstown; and Crown Trophy, Hooksett. We ask that you please support our sponsors when you can.

We had wonderful coverage from our media partners, many thanks to the Goffstown News, the Goffstown Edge and Goffstown Today.

We are very appreciative of S.A.U. #19, Superintendant of Schools, Stacy Buckley and Goffstown High School Principal, Frank McBride for allowing the use of the gymnasium at Goffstown High for this event. We must also thank GHS Athletic Director Steve Fountain for his help and cooperation. And to GHS Custodial Supervisor, Pat Palazzo and Custodian, “Butch” Gamache, thank you so much for all of the help that you gave us before and during the tournament.

As always, we could not do this event without the wonderful volunteers that make this tournament possible. We appreciate them so very much. Manning the registration table were Diane Baines, Cheryl Elliott, and Celeste Lesmerises. Volunteers at the concession were John Tollefsen, Peter Romein and Kristie Curtis. GHS VolunTEENS support staff included Jen Bishop, Ashley Dowler, Jessiny MacNeil and Iris Zeng. Our bracket manager and head referee was Steve Baines. Other referees included Ken Perkins, Rick Wilhelmi, John Riehl, Matt Riehl, Al Baines, Gerry Bergeron, Kevin Georgantas, Mike Baines and Kevin Baines. Many thanks go out to the parents that came out of the stands to help with scoring and timing. The Unified Basketball team organizers were Charlene Belanger and Nancy Kelleher and the Unified Basketball team sponsors were Connor Benjamin, Amber Bennett and Chris Garrison. You guys are the best.

As usual, we had some competitive and exciting basketball played in this year’s tournament.  The winners of the various divisions are as follows:  The 4th Grade and Under Division was won by the Jr. Hawks with Derek West, Colby Quiet, Michael Baer and Sheppard Murdough. The 2nd place team was the Hawks with Katelyn Meserve, Fiona Beane, Taylor Clark and Erin Donahue. The 5th and 6th Grade Division was won by the Kool Cats with Carter Chouinard, Andrew Duval and David Mitchell. The 2nd place team was the Twisters with Sarah Doherty, Jessica Edmonds, Allison Laroochelle and Jillian Douzanis. The 7th and 8th Grade Girls Division was won by the Twisters II with Molly McQueeney, Grace Odell, Hanna Larochelle and Sam Woodward. The 2nd place team was the Technical Knockouts with Siobhan Pelletier, Haley Disko, Nicole St.Laurent and Alley Curran. The 7th and 8th Grade Boys Division was won by the Cobras with Will Sheppard, Chad Olivieri and Casey Gervais. The 2nd place team was the Fagowees with Connor Walsh, Timothy Comeau, Zach Comeau and Anthony Eberhardt. The 9th and 10th Grade Boys Division was won by the Oreos with Brendan Johnson, Jourdain Bell and Joseph Bell. The 2nd place team was the Grizzlies with Tim Riehl, Steven Edwards and Rob White.  The Adult Under 30 Division was won by JLK with Joey Galvin, Joe Shaw, Leon Henderson and Keith Judge.  The Adult Over 30 Division was won by the Granite State Plumbing and Heating with Mark LeBlanc, Andy Nutting, Jason Shelton and Pat Simpson. An honorable mention goes to the Goffstown Unified Basketball Team with Meagan Wolfe, Hayden Meattey, Tim Essig and Meagan Kelleher.

We are grateful for the wonderful support that the community gives to Crispin’s House and we promise to diligently work to keep funding the vital services that Crispin’s House provides to the youth and families of the Greater Goffstown Area. Please help us to continue the critical work that we do. To learn more about Crispin’s House and its programs or to make a donation please visit www.crispinshouse.org.

Al Baines
President of the Board of Director’s
Crispin’s House, Inc.
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown, NH 03045

Crispins House Hosts Unified Basketball Games

Crispin’s House to host Unified Basketball exhibition game on March 24th 

Crispin’s House is very pleased to announce that as part of the 12th annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 24, 2012 an exhibition Unified Basketball Game will be played at approximately 11:00am at the Goffstown High School Gym, 27 Wallace Road. 

Two teams of Goffstown Area Special Olympians will be paired with GHS student sponsors and they will play a 15 minute exhibition game. A team of Special Olympians played in a Unified Basketball league game against a team from Hudson last month and if you missed that game you missed a wonderful experience. The game was won by Goffstown at the buzzer. The gym was packed and there were GHS Cheerleaders, an NHIAA referee, many GHS students, faculty and staff and over 400 spectators. It was a special experience for all that were involved.

Come and see what Unified Basketball is all about. You won’t regret it.

Crispin’s House 3-on-3 Charitable Basketball Tournament

Crispin’s House 3-on-3 Charitable Basketball Tournament to be held March 24th 

Crispin’s House announces it will host its 12th annual 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament on Saturday, March 24, 2012 at the Goffstown High School Gym, 27 Wallace Road, starting at 8:00 a.m.  The tournament is a double elimination format with medals awarded to the first and second place teams.  Youth team categories include high school girls and boys, middle school girls and boys grades 5 & 6, middle school girls and boys grades 7 & 8, and elementary school girls and boys grade 4 only. Adult team categories include men and woman 19 to 30yrs., over 30yrs. and over 50yrs. The student pre-registration fee is $15.00 for students 18 yrs. old and younger and the adult pre-registration fee is $35.00.  Players may register at any time up to and including the day of the tournament. However, registration fees increase by $5.00 each on the day of the tournament. Registration forms are available in all the area schools and they are also on-line at www.crispinshouse.org.  A free team T-Shirt is available to all players that register on or before March 16, 2012. There is a maximum of 4 players per team.

Al Baines, President of the Crispin’s House Board of Directors and Tournament Director is very pleased to announce that Granite State Plumbing and Heating, LLC, of Weare, NH, has secured the naming rights of the tournament and will be this year’s lead sponsor.  We are grateful for the amazing generosity of Granite State Plumbing and Heating and applaud their continuing support of Crispin’s House and its programs. Additional sponsors for the tournament are: TD Bank Goffstown; Goffstown Ace Hardware; St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Goffstown; Unique Ford, Goffstown; Goffstown Clergy Association, Super Suds Carwash, Pinardville; Edward Jones Financial Advisor Brian Hall, Goffstown; and J & G Roofing, Pinardville   Several other business sponsorships are still available for the tournament. Please call 497-3499 or go to www.crispinshouse.org for more information.

Crispin’s House Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit program headquartered in Goffstown but, also serves the youth and families of New Boston, Dunbarton, Weare and Francestown.

Vote Yes on Warrant Article 22 for Crispin's House

The Crispin’s House Board of Directors is asking the voters in the Town of Goffstown to please vote with their hearts on Tuesday, March 13th and VOTE YES on Warrant Article 22. This article was submitted by petition by the Crispin’s House Board of Directors and it is a onetime request for funding of our non-profit organization in the amount of $62,501. We are submitting this request for funding to help us get through a time when all of our State and County grant funding has been discontinued. We are struggling to keep our programs operating with our all volunteer board and this funding will permit us hire a paid executive director. Without this funding we cannot enhance or grow the vital youth and family services and programs that we provide to our town.

The cost of Article 22 to the average home owner would be approximately $8.00. We don’t want to minimize the tax burden that we are all struggling with, but in the overall scheme of things, this is a small cost to incur to assure that Crispin’s House will continue to operate in a meaningful way.
The good news is that the selectmen are supporting Article 22 and have recommended its passage with a unanimous vote of 5-0-0. The bad news is that the budget committee voted not to recommend its passage. However, there was some support for passage within the budget committee with their vote of 6 against, 4 in support and 4 abstentions. The mood of the voters at the deliberative session on February 6th was overwhelmingly, if not unanimously, in support of passage of Article 22. We are very encouraged by this response and we are hopeful that this spirit will carry though to the rest of the voters on March 13th.

Crispin’s House needs the temporary help of the Town of Goffstown and the Town of Goffstown needs the services and programs that Crispin’s House provides. Please help us with your YES VOTE for Article 22 on Tuesday, March 13th.

For more information on Crispin’s House please go to our web site at www.crispinshouse.org.

Sincerely,
Al Baines
President of the Board of Directors
Crispin’s House Inc.
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown NH 03045

Crispins House 23rd Annual Meeting

You are cordially invited to attend the 23rd Annual Meeting of Crispin’s House on Friday, February 10, 2012 at 6:30PM in the St. Lawrence Church Hall, 1 East Union Street, Goffstown.
 
Contrary to what some members of our community believe, Crispin’s House is alive and functioning. Come and hear an update on what is happening with Crispin’s House, our programs and our future plans. In addition, we are going to recognize and honor three members of our community for their contributions to Crispin’s House and the community. The honorees are Gerry Perron from New Boston, Donna and Leo Kelly from Goffstown and Nancy Kelleher from Goffstown. Please come and hear the story of their contributions.
 
Light refreshments will be served. Please RSVP by February 8, 2012 to my email at albaines@comcast.net or my cell phone at 759-4986.
 
We look forward to hearing from you.
 
Sincerely,
 
Al Baines
President of the Board of Directors
Crispin's House Inc.
albaines@comcast.net
 
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown, NH 03045
(603) 497-3499
www.crispinshouse.org

A Letter from Crispins House

To the Editor:

Crispin’s House needs the voters help and understanding. We are caught between a rock and a hard place. Without an executive director we are very limited in our ability to locate funding to operate the vital youth services that we provide to the Town of Goffstown. Without funding we cannot hire an executive director.  The reason we do not have an executive director is that we lost all of our State and county funding and we had to lay off all of our paid staff and close our After School Program at Mountain View Middle School.

Grants are very scarce in this economic environment, as most of the non-profits in the State are in the same predicament as Crispin’s House is and we are all vying for the same grant resources. Without an executive director we do not have the stable organizational structure that funders are looking for, as result, this is extremely limiting our opportunities for grant funding. We are like a dog chasing our tail. Round and round we go. Without an executive director we cannot level the playing field. Without funding we cannot hire an executive director. Fund raising efforts have fallen far short of our needs, thus the decision to request $62,500 from the Town of Goffstown.

We are well aware of the very difficult economic times that this community is experiencing and the very large tax increase that Goffstown homeowners are about to saddled with. Knowing this, we still felt very strongly about going forward with the warrant article. The vital services that Crispin’s House provides to the youth and the families of our community are worth the sacrifice.  In the scheme of things, the warrant article for $62,500 that we are asking the voters to approve, will have very little impact on the tax increase that we are definitely going to experience. Approval of this warrant article will give us the ability to hire an executive director and for that person to spend the time necessary to explore grant opportunities that will hopefully preclude us from coming to the voters again for help.

Please join us as a friend of Crispin’s House at the deliberative session on Monday, February 6th at Goffstown High at 7:00pm and advocate for the approval of the Crispin’s House Warrant Article for $62,500. Thank you for your help and understanding.

Sincerely,
Al Baines
President of the Board of Directors
Crispin’s House Inc.
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown, NH 03045

Crispin's House Announces New Board of Directors

Crispin’s House Inc., a 501(c) (3) non-profit serving the youth and families in the Greater Goffstown area, announces the election of their new Board of Directors for the 2012 fiscal year. The recently elected executive officers are: President, Al Baines; Vice President, Kevin Georgantas, owner of KRG Motorsport; Secretary, The Rev. William Exner, Rector of St. Matthew’s Church; and Treasurer, Steve Baines, owner of Poised Solutions. Additional board members include: Lt. Kevin Laroche, Goffstown Police Department; Kristie Curtis, NH Teen Institute; Cheryl Elliott, TD Bank Goffstown; Gerry Bergeron; and Michele Petersen. For information about Crispin’s House, Inc. please call 497-3499 or visit our website at www.crispinshouse.org.

Amala Wellness Hosts Yoga Fundraiser for Crispin's House

Amala Wellness is hosting a charity event to raise funds to help support Crispin's House in order to continue to provide their wonderful services to the local youth.

On December 10th at 5pm in the Goffstown Studio (152 Mast Rd, Goffstown, NH) we will begin our series of 108 Sun Salutations. You can participate in the series physically and do as many of the salutations as your body allows or you may sit to meditate with the Mantra (chanting music) if you choose to be present but not physically follow the 'flow'.   If you can't participate you can still donate.

After the session we will be offering a restorative yoga session to relax the muscles and enjoy the stillness after such a strong flow. To participate we ask for a minimum donation of $20.

If you know anyone who would love to join you that I may not reach through e-mail, please share this with them. If you are not able to participate please feel free to sponsor any of us by donating what you can to the cause through me. 100% of the funds will be donated to Crispin's House.

If you want to read more about Crispin's House go to www.crispinshouse.org.

If you are wondering what 108 Sun Salutations are; I can answer that! ;).  In our 'physical' yoga practice (or Asana) we spend some time 'performing' postures (asana) in order to strengthen the body as well as bring balance and flexibility to the body and mind.  A Sun Salutation is a series of 12 postures done in flow (so that the body is in motion with the breath) to create a clear space for the mind in order to allow meditation or prayer.  In a series of 108 Suns we repeat this entire flow 108 times, this takes about two hours. The body is working and the mind is present.

In this case our intention to raise money to support the work that the Crispin House provides is our 'prayer' or focus for the mind.   While we move through the series there will be a Sun Salutation Mantra (music) playing to motivate the participants through the event.   You may or may not perform all 108, you may take a break and then continue at anytime since there are poses offered that you can rest in and continue meditating.  You may come to the event to sit and meditate the whole time if you cannot physically perform the sequence.  You may simply decide to support us through telling others about the event.  There are so many ways to show your support of this work. I thank you for any way in which you choose to participate :).

Let us know if you plan on attending or have any questions by going to www.amalawellness.com and clicking 'Contact us'.

Thank You Crispins House To Goffstown Jr Baseball

To the Editor,

We want to extend our sincerest thanks to the Goffstown Junior Baseball Board of Directors and President Mike Santoro our host and benefactor for the tournament and the wonderful sponsors, teams, players, spectators, volunteers and donors that made our 9th Annual One Pitch-Slow Pitch Softball Tournament, held on Saturday, August 13, 2011, our most successful yet. The weather was perfect and in a match of last year’s finalist the Bruins (Last year’s Diamond Dummies) managed by Corey Dearborn, upset the defending champion, New Boston Black Sox managed by Don Chambers, by a score of 8 to 5, in an extra inning battle. The New Boston Black Sox took the loser’s bracket route again this year but, were unable to overcome the young guns of the Bruins.

Also participating in the tournament were: 3rd place, the Junior New Boston Black Sox, managed by Maxx Chambers; 4th place, the Friends of Babe Ruth Softball, Mgr. Bruce Rand; tied for 5th place, Granite State Plumbing and Heating, Mgr. Rich Healy and the Goffstown Police Association, Mgr. Tom Hammond; tied for 6th place, Grasshopper Landscaping, Mgr. Jon Morris and the Line Drivers sponsored by Grace Limousine, Mgr. Kristin Crawford. Thanks for coming to our tournament.

We had wonderful support from many area businesses and organizations in our community and we would appreciate it if you would support them when you can. Our  very generous sponsors were: Granite State Plumbing and Heating, Weare; Grasshoppers Landscaping, Goffstown; the Goffstown Police Association; Main Street Eye Care, Goffstown; Goffstown Ace Hardware, Goffstown; Unique Ford, Goffstown; and Romein Counseling, Manchester. Goffstown Junior Baseball allowed us the use of their fields and donated all of the concession proceeds from the tournament to Crispin’s House, approximately $400.00. Thank you so much for helping make this the most successful tournament to yet.

The volunteers that participated in the tournament were invaluable to our efforts. Without them we could not succeed. Our sincerest thanks go out to the following: Umpires; Greg Begin and Collis Adams, from Crispin’s House, Steve Baines, Gerry Bergeron and Kevin Georgantas. Concession support was provided by Gina Heidenreich and Christine Biron from Goffstown Junior Baseball and from Dream Catchers Charlene Belanger and Peggy Beckwith. Registration support was provided by Diane Baines, Andrew Baines and Celeste Lesmerises. 50/50 Raffle sales were conducted by Cameron Baines and Alex Baines. Softballs were supplied by Bruce Rand from Friends of Babe Ruth Softball. Field preparation was by Kevin Baines. Thank you, also, to anyone else that may have anonymously helped out in some way during the tournament.

We are very grateful to The Neighborhood News, GoffstownToday.com, The Goffstown Edge and Greater Manchester Sports for the wonderful pre-tournament media coverage and for the day of the tournament coverage, Katie Donnellan from the Goffstown News. Thank you so much.

Crispin’s House was the ultimate winner again this year and we will net about $3,568.00 from the proceeds of the tournament. I would also like to note that every one of the 50/50 Raffle winners donated their winnings back to Crispin’s House resulting in an extra $76.00 for the cause. Thank you to Don and Wendy Chambers, Phil Soule and Celeste Lesmerises. We are amazed by the continued support that the Greater Goffstown Community has for Crispin’s House, as we struggle to raise the funds necessary to keep our programs operating. We know that times are tough for many families but, somehow the good people in our communities continue to come through for us time and time again. We are humbled by their generosity.

For more information about Crispin’s House, go to www.crispinshouse.org. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit and all donations are tax deductable.

Thank you very much,

Al Baines
President of the Board of Directors
Crispin’s House, Inc.
P.O. Box 411
Goffstown, NH 03045