Pennies for Poverty:
Two Cents For Change

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What have we done, what will we do?
By Gillian Swart

NEWBURYPORT -

There are different strategies to eliminate poverty in Newburyport.

This weekend, Senzeni Na!, a three-day fair aimed at raising awareness about poverty, will tackle the issue from two directions. Groups and organizations will offer plenty of information about poverty and volunteer opportunities to help solve the problem.

The fair also will highlight the cultural heritage of Newburyport, and what residents can do to preserve the city's traditions. Organizers of Senzeni Na!, believe that preserving the richness of the city's past helps build a sense of community that inspires people to make a commitment to the future through volunteering.

Senzeni Na! is derived from the Zulu phrase meaning, "What have we done?" Now in its third year, the fair is hosted by the Social Action Committee of the First Religious Society Unitarian-Universalist, Belleville Congregational Church, Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents 4 Change, Inc., and the Poverty Program.

"It's going to be a great fair," says Catherine Yesair Gould, of Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents 4 Change. "We've got the Jelly Bean Mystery Auction, the Community Choir coming from Boston and 28 tables by local organizations—it's going to be a great time."

This year's celebration will provide volunteer opportunities not only with a variety of local non-profit groups, but also with national and international organizations.

Locally, Newburyport has many diverse nonprofits adding to the quality of life for individual families, and businesses in the Greater Newburyport area - an area that has a tradition of commitment, dedication and service to those in need and to the improvement of the community.

And this year's celebration hits the high notes for that tradition—including a concert by the Boston Community Choir, a very special edition of "Tiptoe through the Tombstones" and a new walking tour that celebrates the city's diversity.

Gould says cities and towns that have a better sense of cultural history have an increased sense of community and a higher happiness factor... and are more likely to help out each other.

"And it affects poverty, surprisingly enough," she says, adding that people who volunteer are more likely to do so because they feel they're investing in the community.

Common culture

And cultural heritage is where native Ghlee Woodworth enters the picture; she has organized two special tours for this weekend.

Not only will she autograph her book, "Tiptoe through the Tombstones: Volume I," on Friday and Saturday, she also will be conducting her unique tours.

Woodworth will meet interested people at Oak Hill Cemetery on Friday, Oct. 16, from 4-5:30 p.m., for tours to highlight "Newburyport Activists and Benefactors" buried there. Among the people in her book are those who held the first fundraiser to help build a local hospital and people in whose name the philanthropy continues to this day.

Mary Alice Arakelian would be one such subject of the short biographies Woodworth has assembled of a total 80 or so people who made a difference in Newburyport, in many different ways.

Woodworth's walking tour called, "African Americans in Newburyport: 1800s," starts at Brown Square, across from City Hall on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 3-4:30 p.m.

"I found 10 to 12 graves of African-Americans in Highland [Cemetery] from the early 1800s," she says.

Woodworth will be signing her book along with Fran Larkin, author of "5 Words and Then Some: How to Succeed in This Big Game We Call Life," noon to 4 p.m. on Friday, and Saturday 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Unitarian Church on Pleasant Street.

"[Fran] is a great, great guy; he really is. He's been here a year-and-a-half, and he's into everything," Gould said. "And Ghlee [Woodworth], well, Ghlee is the historian of Newburyport."

Another Newburyport native, musician Kathy Heywood, will give a presentation on the power of music to create social change. Ward 4 City Councilor Ed Cameron will talk about homelessness, a field in which he has worked for many years.

Basically, says Gould, the fair is a yearlong poverty presentation in three days. Organizers have been planning the event since May.

Events are free, but tickets are needed for the Boston Community Choir Concert. They are available at the fair, at the door or by e-mailing 2cents4change@gmail.com.

Volunteer fair grows to 3-day event:
By Katie Farrell Lovett, Staff writer

NEWBURYPORT—New events have been added to this year's annual Volunteer Opportunity and Poverty Awareness Fair.

The fair will be held at three different locations from Thursday through Saturday.

"We decided to expand it this year," said Catherine Yesair Gould, the chairwoman of the "Senzeni Na" Fair. The term is from the Zulu, and means "What have we done?"

That question is a powerful one, Gould said. Used in a protest song during the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the phrase could have several meanings, such as "What have we done to help people?"; "What have we done to deserve this?"; or "Look at what we've done," she said.

"It's a great question," Gould said.

The song will be performed during a closing concert for the three-day-long fair.

Throughout the fair, events will be held at several locations: the Belleville Church, Immaculate Conception, Brown Square/Brown Chapel and the Unitarian church, which is the primary venue for most of the activities.

About 25 nonprofit organizations from the Newburyport area, as well as national groups, will be on hand to raise awareness about their organizations and to promote volunteerism.

The weekend will also feature presentations, documentaries, walking tours and a closing concert by the Boston Community Choir. During a "jelly bean mystery item" auction, items will be "auctioned off" to the person who guesses the amount of the items in the container.

The events are all free in order to be inclusive to all, Gould said.

Along with a strong group of volunteers, Gould has been planning the event since May. The fair is hosted by the Social Action Committee of the First Religious Society Unitarian Universalist, Belleville Congregational Church, Pennies for Poverty: 2 Cents 4 Change Inc., and the Poverty Program.

"It's going to be fun," she said. "We've got a great bunch of volunteers. It's a group effort of a lot of people that worked really hard."

Gould said the group is still looking for sponsors, as well as people who will be willing to volunteer during the fair.

For more information, contact Gould at 978-463-0507 or e-mail 2cents4change@gmail.com.