Politics & Government

Melrose Emergency Fund Tops $40K

A donation from the Peter E. Garipay Foundation helped put the Melrose Emergency Fund over $40,000.

A donation from the Peter E. Garipay Foundation helped put the Melrose Emergency Fund over $40,000, according to a city press statement.

Founded in memory of the late vice principal of Melrose High School, Peter Garipay, the Peter E. Garipay Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for all people in the community, according to the statement. The fund assists individuals and organizations needing economic support, offering opportunities to provide education and training to children and adults, and providing access to social activities that enrich people’s lives, the statement adds.

“I am honored that the Garipay family would choose the Melrose Emergency Fund as the first donation from the Peter E. Garipay Foundation,” said Melrose Mayor Rob Dolan in the statement. “Peter dedicated his life to serving the children of Melrose and was instrumental in the St. Vincent de Paul Society in helping the fund in so many cases. He never wished to be publicly acknowledged—helping others was enough. I think that speaks to Mr. Garipay and his family.”

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The Emergency Fund has received a total of $40,317.38 in donations since November, reads the statement.

“I want to thank the people of Melrose for their generosity,” Dolan said in the statement. “We are truly fortunate to live in such a caring community, where even in the busy holiday time, so many people are willing to remember their neighbors in need. These donations will go toward our goal that no Melrose resident will go hungry or cold this winter. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.” 

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Recent donors to the fund include:

Shelley and Stephen Finley

Charles Wasgatt and Catherine Curtis

Thomas and Jean Kelley

Jill Rodstrom, Daniel Zion, and Sam Zion

Neil and Karla Rosie

Sara Epstein

Jill and Stephen Geisler

James B. Lane

Drs. Andrea Gordon and Allen Shaughnessy

Joseph and Cynthia O'Donnell

Anne Rebecca Starr and Marc Norvig

Vincent Baldwin

Charles and Mary Tomkewicz

Doris DeAmicis

Stephen and Karen Hall

Leigh and Matti Teittinen

John and Rosemary Sutich

Phil and Nancy Kukura

Sean and Sheila Sule

A. David Metell

Melrose Boot Camp

Tug and Beth Yourgrau

Betsy Friedberg and Drew McCoy

Henry and Maura Bagley

The Peter E. Garipay Foundation

The fund accepts donations all year round, reads the statement. To make a donation, mail a check to Melrose Emergency Fund, Mayor’s Office, 562 Main St., Melrose, MA 02176 or bring it directly to the Mayor’s Office on the second floor of City Hall. Checks should be made out to the City of Melrose, with “Melrose Emergency Fund” in the memo line. For more information about the fund, call 781-979-4440.

Previous Coverage

  • Donors Line Up For City's Emergency Fund
  • Rotary Donates $3K to Emergency Fund
  • Melrose Emergency Fund Tops $10K
  • Masons Donate to Melrose Emergency Fund
  • Edward Jones Helps Melrose Kids By Collecting Back-to-School Supplies


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