Peter W. French Memorial Website - News & Events

Foundation Grant

12/30/2023

We were very pleased to issue a $5,000 grant to Paws 4 A Cure, a wonderful all-volunteer nonprofit out of Wakefield that provides financial assistance throughout the US to those who can't afford urgent veterinary care for their beloved pets. We received a heartfelt letter of thanks that stated "Your phenomenal donation is the largest donation that Paws 4 A Cure has ever received. When I opened the envelope at the post office I gasped and cried instantly. Your commitment to helping Paws 4 A Cure in Peter’s memory is sincerely appreciated." We love to help out smaller causes that can really use the donation, and we know this money will be put to great use.

Peter was an avid animal lover. From his pet adventures with Mugsy the hamster (and his many, many offspring), bunnies, fish, and especially our Siamese cats Tiki and Tai, he knew the joy and love that a furry friend brings to a family. We feel that he would wholeheartedly support Paws 4 A Cure and all the good they do.

20th Annual March Madness Pool

4/4/2023

In its 20 year, our biggest annual event (the Peter French Memorial March Madness Pool) turned out to be the biggest and most successful one yet! We set the record for both Original Pool brackets (510) and Sweet 16 brackets (370). Along with some very generous donations during the tournament, this helped us to raise close to $7,000 for the Foundation, which is also a new record. A HUGE thank you to everyone for participating this year and continuing to help make it grow, even 20 years later.

The Original Pool saw Matt Colangelo take home the 1st place grand prize of $1,055. Other prize winners included Ryan Willis, Matt Fitzpatrick, Jess Oknin, Mike Kasprzak, Lisa Macalaster, David Morse, John Kimble, Jason Mathers, and Fred Cole. John Kimble, Burns McKinney, and Wendy Oleksiak split the prize for Most Correct Picks, showing off their pick-making dominance. In the Sweet 16 Pool, Noah Jackson snatched the $595 1st place prize, followed by Daniel Ulacco, Randy Kessler, Scott Smith, Sanford Whitehouse, Fred Driscoll, and Stephen Michienzi. Through 20 years of running this fun event, we've had over 1,350 people total participate, including 19 who haven't missed a single year and another 13 who have missed just one. And we're up to 229 who have participated in at least 10 years. We love putting this on for everyone and love seeing it continue to grow!

To see the full recap of the pool and all the standings, check out the pool homepage at http://pfmffundraiser.weebly.com/. We hope to see you all in March of 2024 for the 21st annual!

Foundation Grant

12/30/2022

We were very pleased to issue a $5,000 grant to Adaptive Sports New England. This wonderful non-profit provides sports to youth and young adults with mobility and visual impairments. They conduct programs in swimming, track & field, beep baseball, wheelchair basketball, rowing, and others. They recently teamed up with the Patriots Foundation to host a wheelchair football clinic for more than 30 athletes from around New England (https://www.cbsnews.com/.../new-england-patriots.../ to see the local news story about it). Sports obviously played an enormous role in Pete's life. He also had a rare ability to bring people together and make everyone feel special. So we think this organization perfectly combines those two aspects of his life and that he would definitely appreciate and wholeheartedly support their mission.

This is the Foundation's 18th year issuing grants and we've now disbursed over $70,000. We're always looking for people in financial distress, especially during these very challenging times. So if you know of anyone, please let us know or give them our information.

19th Annual March Madness Pool

4/5/2022

The 19th iteration of our annual March Madness Pool turned out to be our biggest and most successful one yet! We set the record for most Original Pool brackets (501) and most Sweet 16 brackets (347). Along with some very generous donations during the tournament, this helped us to raise a little over $6,000 for the Foundation, which is also a new record. A HUGE thank you to everyone for participating this year and continuing to help make it grow, even 19 years later.

The Original Pool saw Jared Kurker take home the 1st place grand prize of $1,090. Other prize winners included Kevin Kelly, Noah Pearlstein, Dave Foley, Brett Portanova, Ethan Solomon, Andrew Flynn, Jamie Glydon, Christian Burgoyne, and Mike McGeehan. Cathy Shea and Brett Portanova split the prize for Most Correct Picks, showing off their clairvoyance. In the Sweet 16 Pool, James Flynn snatched the $600 1st place prize, followed by Raleigh Zbinden, Jillian Flynn, Linda Nerrow, Andrew Flynn (who captured the rare double-victory, prizing in both the Original and Sweet 16), and Chris Byrne. There were a lot of longtime pool participants who claimed their first ever prizes, which made us very happy. Congrats to all the winners!

To see the full recap of the pool and all the standings, check out the pool homepage at http://pfmffundraiser.weebly.com/. We hope to see you all in March of 2023 for the 20th annual!

Foundation Grants

12/30/2021

We were very pleased to issue 2 separate grants totaling $5,500 to two Lynn families who were in dire need due because of Covid. As was the case for many people during this pandemic, both suffered from job loss so they could help their children with online remote schooling. Despite earnest efforts to stay afloat, they'd both fallen quite behind in their rent payments. We were very excited to help ease some of those financial burdens and allow these families to get back on track.

This is the Foundation's 17th year issuing grants and we've now disbursed over $65,000. We're always looking for people in financial distress, especially during these very challenging times. So if you know of anyone, please let us know or give them our information.

18th Annual March Madness Pool

4/6/2021

Our annual March Madness Pool returned after a 1-year Covid hiatus for its 18th year, and it was especially meaningful to us this year as it occurred just a week after the passing of Peter's father. This year's pool saw a 425 brackets in the Original Pool and a near-record 300 in the Sweet 16 Pool. This helped us raise around $4,000, which brought the 18-year run of this event to around $58,000 raised for Peter's Foundation. We're so humbled by the loyalty and kindness of so many of you throughout the years, so a very heartfelt thank you from all of us!

This year's Original Pool (and its $1,010 1st Place Prize) was won by Natasha Mikus. The top 8 finishers received prizes, so also earning hefty amounts were Greg Monast, Kaelynn Altobello, Sarah Dinneen, Tom Cannon, Matt Sayers, Paul Capodanno, and Taylor Connors. Drew Denerstein, though falling out of the money for total points, did manage to grab the $100 prize for Most Correct Picks. The Sweet 16 Pool was won by Dan Verbanac, who took home the $515 1st Place Prize. Also finishing in the money were Finn Pincince, Tom Cannon, Ryan Brown, Richard Paduch, and Novar Whitworth. Congrats to all of the winnners, and once again, thank you to everyone for making this year's pool one of the biggest yet!

For all information on the pool, including how to play next year and a complete history of the pool, go to the pool's permanent homepage at http://pfmffundraiser.weebly.com/.

Super Bowl Squares Fundraiser

2/8/2021

Though it pained us to watch Tommy have fun in the Super Bowl without us, we were very excited to host the Super Bowl Squares Fundraiser once again. With 2 grids to choose from this year, participants could select up to 10 squares total. Numbers were then randomly chosen to fill up the grid, and the score at the end of each quarter dictated who the winners were of the pool. Congrats to the two big $300 winners, Paula Michienzi and Greg Stanton (for claiming the 3rd Quarter and Final Score Prizes), and to Ed Schultz, Kerry Dinneen, Allison Rymsha, and James Flynn (for each claiming $100 quarter prizes). Just like with our March Madness Pool, half of the total money in the pot went to the winners and the other half went to the Foundation, and as a result, we were very excited to raise $1,000. Thanks to all for participating!

Foundation Grant

12/22/2020

We were very pleased to issue a $5,000 grant to a Lynn mother of 3 who was in deep financial trouble due to Covid. After having lost her job due to childcare issues and remote schooling problems, she'd fallen way behind in her rent and other bills and was days away from eviction. We're very excited to help ease that financial burden and allow this family to get back on track.

This is the Foundation's 16th year issuing grants and we've now disbursed over $60,000. We're always looking for people in financial distress, especially during this very challenging time. So if you know of anyone, please let us know or give them our information. Happy Holidays!

Super Bowl Squares Fundraiser

2/3/2020

With some new blood in the Super Bowl, we were very excited to host the Super Bowl Squares Fundraiser once again. With only 1 grid to choose from this year, participants could select up to 5 squares total. Numbers were then randomly chosen to fill up the grid, and the score at the end of each quarter dictated who the winners were of the pool. Congrats to the two big $300 winners, Christopher West (for claiming the Final Score Prize) and Matt Nagler (for claiming both the 2nd and 3rd Quarter Prizes), and to Diane Schienda (for claiming her $150 1st Quarter Prize). Just like with our March Madness Pool, half of the total money in the pot went to the winners and the other half went to the Foundation, and as a result, we were very excited to raise $750. Thanks to all for participating!

Foundation Grant

5/31/2019

The Foundation was very pleased to issue a grant of $2,600 to a woman in dire need in Lynn. The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless reached out to us on her behalf. After enduring some severe medical complications, she temporarily lost her job and fell behind in her rent as a result. Our grant paid her arrears, allowed her to stay in her apartment with her son, and kept her from becoming homeless. It is especially meaningful when we are able to see tangible effects of our grants, and she and her son were extremely grateful. If you know of anyone in dire need of financial assistance who may fit the criteria outlined on the Foundation page, please reach out to us, as we are always looking for qualifying applicants!