Staff Spotlight, November 2020: Marylou Spaulding

By: Linda-Jeanne Mack, Director of Adoption Management Services In honor of National Adoption Month, our team would like to honor Marylou Spaulding, Administrative Coordinator, and the queen of our West Springfield Office. Marylou has always done a lot for us…fixed our computers, been our “Gatekeeper” for state administrative tasks, and listened to our frustrations when [...]

Staff Spotlight, October 2020: Jaclyn Carnevale

By: Sharon Collins Newton, Program Director, Parents as Teachers Jaclyn is the absolute epitome of our compass points! She is a very kind, gracious, thoughtful, self-reflective, and conscientious person. She is determined and sets a very high standard for herself. Jaclyn’s self-driven attitude and work ethic have been remarkable. Jaclyn pushes herself to achieve and [...]

Young Women’s Advisory Council Explores Solutions to Social Justice Issues

18 Degrees continues advancing social justice as we wrapped up our first year of running a leadership development program for young women of color in greater Springfield called the Young Women’s Advisory Council (YWAC). The program, funded in partnership with The Women’s Fund of Western MA, and developed through the national Young Women’s Initiative, consisted [...]

18 Degrees is Ready to Help Navigate Remote Learning

There have been many conversations about school over the past months. In-person, online, hybrid, home-schooling. Truly, how are families to decide what will work best for them?  How do you choose between your child’s education and work that provides your housing, food, and healthcare? At 18 Degrees, we are looking at ways that our staff can support and advocate for families [...]

Pittsfield Community Connection Challenges Status Quo with New Funding

Pittsfield Community Connection, a program of 18 Degrees, has been awarded nearly $600,000 through the MA Department of Public Health Gun Violence Prevention Program (GVPP).  These funds will expand our work with young people in the City of Pittsfield and explore and challenge existing systems and practices that contribute to youth involvement in criminal or gang-related activities including gun violence. The communities most affected by violence have long histories of [...]

18 Degrees Delivers on our Mission During a Pandemic

Since the beginning of the Coronavirus pandemic we have maintained our commitment to our communities, our staff, and mission delivery.  We have operated with these clear goals in mind: keeping services running and accessible to the full extent possible; keeping our staff employed and paid; continuing on our mission, every child in a family, every family in a community, now and for [...]