Did you know socks are the most needed but least donated article of clothing at local homeless shelters? Blue Hills Adult Education is collecting warm, unused men’s socks to donate to a local shelter.  Help us with this community service project if you can!

Students from Blue Hill’s Adult ESOL program were given a warm welcome by Norwood Hospital at their Wellness Fair on December 14. The hospital’s Community Outreach Coordinator Margaret Lutz worked with BHAE Director Ellen Borgenicht to organize an event where students benefited from the expertise of community leaders and hospital staff, including Canton Fire Chief Charles Doody,

Nursing Informatics Manager Eric Buonaccorsi, Christina DaSilva from Interpreter Services, and Director of Orthopedics Walter Kuropatkin, who spoke to the students about sleep disorders and joint pain. Students were also able to talk with medical insurance specialists, learn more about health care proxies, and were given blood pressure screenings.

One student says, “All this information is important to me because I have diabetes.” She says that she can now explain to her children how to use 911. Another student said, “I drive almost 1,200 miles per week and I can always be at risk for accidents. Keeping in mind my location, the direction, and point of reference can help me in case I need help.”

Fire Chief Doody’s 911 presentation and DaSilva’s talk about interpreter services were two of the highlights. Another student was relieved to know about interpreter services. “I have never had an emergency situation here, but I always got worried if I needed to call because I don’t speak English very well and people could not understand me. Now I know that in any emergency, they have all the support to attend to me and I can help others that don’t know about that.”