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Run, Walk or Bike

for Education

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Volume 1, Issue 1

May 9, 2014

Daniel 1:17

“To these four young men God gave knowledge and

understanding of all kinds of literature and wisdom.”

About Barry

On May 10, 2014, 31 friends and family members gathered in Union Square,

Allston to remember Barry’s life. Our 1st annual walk, though rainy, was warm

and attended by determined students, parents and friends that raised more than

$5,000.00 for Barry’s memorial fund. A special thanks is extended to all those who

donated, walked, ran, biked or otherwise participated in any capacity including

Donovan’s track friends to parents and coaches from Matignon Catholic High

School; All from St. Patrick’s Catholic School, mom’s colleagues from Senior Whole

Health and church family at Abundant Life Church in Cambridge. A great heartfelt

appreciation is also extended to the Allston’s Engine 41/Ladder 14 Fire Station for

allowing us to use there parking lot but mostly for their assistance as first respond-

ers that fatal day. I can never thank them enough especially

Jonathan Hernandez and Keeghan O’Brien. The 1st awards

from the Barrington Vaughn Brinson Memorial Fund went to

St. Patrick’s School in Roxbury in the form of 6 scholarships

of 4/$250.00 awards and 2/$500.00 awards. These scholar-

ships will be awarded once per calendar year, per income eli-

gible student, determined by committee in need of tuition

assistance throughout the academic school year.

Barrington was born on June 1, 2000 at New

England Medical Center (now Tufts Medical). He was a beautiful

and precious sight. As he grew, Barry’s interest in God was very

prevalent as he continuously asked me about the Saints he learned

about in school. On May 9, 2013, Barrington Vaughn Brinson

(Barry) was fatally struck by a van while crossing the street on his

way to school. The accident happened in Union Square, Allston,

MA. Barry was a memorable student who was loved at St. Pat-

rick’s School in Roxbury. His schooling began in Pre-K and he

wanted to complete his tenure through 8th grade as his older

brother, Donovan, did before him. Barrington’s teachers all gave him and Donovan the same

compliment of being quiet and respectful. Mrs. Griffin, who had the pleasure of teaching both

Barry & Donovan, can be quoted as saying, “I loved teaching them because I could always count

on their good behavior.” Ms. Reverack, there 1st and 2nd grade teacher took so many wonderful

pictures of Barry and D growing up at St. Patrick’s. Her words were, she got the

best of them because they opened up to her the most. Barry was an honor roll stu-

dent who played basketball, sang in the spring music concert, and served as a tech for

the Easter play. The Bar- rington Vaughn Brinson Memorial Fund was created in

honor of his life and geared towards helping others follow the great example he left

walk,

or bike

,

Run,

It was in September 1887, that seven Sisters of Charity came at the invitation of Father Jo-

seph H. Gallagher to establish Saint Patrick School in Roxbury. Students at that time came

from a predominantly Irish Catholic parish community. From 1960 to present, the influx of

newcomers for Cape Verde, Haiti, Africa, Puerto Rico, Central and

South America, and the West Indies, has created a rich cultural fab-

ric. As a Catholic school, Saint Patrick School's priority is to pro-

vide a quality education that includes the development of the whole

person: spiritually, intellectually, socially, emotionally, and psycho-

logically. The standard life in the school community includes: Chris-

tian moral virtues of loving concern and respect for others, mutual

trust, non-violence, service to those in need and justice to all. The New England Association

of Schools and Colleges, Inc. (NEASC) awarded accreditation and membership to Saint Pat-

rick School. Many teachers at St. Patrick School have participated in not only educating but

imparting love and faith both to Donovan and Barry. As their mother, I am forever grateful for every

teachers efforts as I saw the love they have for both my boys. My wish for St. Patrick

School is to raise funds so that they can continue in their efforts of educating our chil-

dren in the community. The St. Patrick School has done more than our family could

have ever dreamed they would do. They are the epitome

of exercising your faith. I continuously thank them for

all that they have done and for keeping Barry’s memory

alive at St. Patrick’s with the new Barry Sports award

and the special gift of the Barry Butterfly Bushes planted

in the front garden with a plaque to his memory. I am forever grateful for

their assistance with his burial and their comforting expression of God’s love.

Matignon High School

St. Patrick’s School Roxbury

“As their mother, I am forever

grateful for every teachers

efforts as I saw the love they

have for both my boys.”

Matignon High School was founded by Archbishop of

Boston, Richard J. Cardinal Cushing in 1946 who fulfilled the

dream of Father Francis Anthony Matignon that passed back

in 1818 without the chance to realize his dream of a catholic

school in Boston. While the majority of the student body is

from local communities like

Cambridge, Somerville and Ar-

lington, enrollment represents

over thirty cities and towns

throughout Eastern Massachu-

setts and even southern New

Hampshire. Since 1947, Matignon has proudly served the Greater Boston re-

gion as a school known for its academics and athletic prowess in the Catholic

Central League. Much appreciation is extended to the track team of Matignon

High School who supported Barry’s brother, Donovan, in the rain along with

their parents for contributing towards the our fundraiser. Matignon High re-

ceived a $1,500.00 scholarship award, a $500.00 track team donation and award

certificates to all the students who participated in the walk. We thank you for

your donations and for loyalty to your teammate Donovan.

Barry’s Life 1

1st Annual Walk, Run or Bike 1

St. Patrick’s School Roxbury 2

Matignon High School 2

2015 Annual Memorial Scholarship

Fundraiser

3

Highlights 3

2014 Participants 3

Memorial Fund Goals 4

Special Thanks 4

Inside this issue:

Page 2

V OLUM E 1, IS SU E 1

2014 PARTICIPANTS

V OLUM E 1, IS SU E 1

The 2015 Walk will land on the exact day of Barry’s passing, May 9, 2015 on Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to

11:00 a.m. We will again meet at Fire Station 41 in Union Square Allston, MA. In 2015, we hope to raise

even more funds to assist students with school scholarships. We drafted a letter to request sponsorship from

area businesses to continue with a tradition of not using participant raised funds for marketing material like

this newsletter or refreshments. We will reach out to sponsors to provide a bus to transport participants to the

starting point and from the finish point. We are asking for donations to acquire a city permit to congregate

and police detail for the safety of the participants while we walk, run or bike along the designated route. We

are also hoping that those who participated last year, will find it in their heart to fundraise again this year.

I would like to thank Mayor Marty Walsh, Deputy Commissioner James Gillooly and mayAllston/

Brighton community organizations for making the new crosswalk and flashing beacons a relevant, personal

priority for the site of Barry’s passing. The implementation of this crosswalk makes this area much safer for

pedestrians to cross, for commuters to catch the bus and cause vehicles to proceed at a reduced speed with

caution in this well populated area of Union Square Allston. It is my hope that this crosswalk will prevent

anymore lives from being lost. We realize that school itself is a privilege and institutions like St. Patrick’s

of Roxbury and Matignon care about our children’s future. So as family, students and friends remember

Barry, let’s keep in mind those who may be in need of school scholarships.

Page 3

2015 Annual Run, Walk or Bike for Education

HIGHLIGHTS

A special thanks to (…) for being the first student to finish the course.

Not only did he run but he led and guarded the runners like the future leader he

will become. … said to me (mom), he felt it was important to participate in

Barry’s memorial run. In speaking with him, he was still a little uncertain where

he would go to high school but had Xaverian Brothers in mind. We wish him

the best of luck in his future endeavors by awarding him a $ Scholarship.

My gratitude goes out to all who supported the fundraiser by

participating or sponsoring. To Pastor Larry Ward and the mem-

bers of our church Abundant life, my (Lisa) work peers at Senior

Whole Health and friends of the family, thank you; From Matthew

Brinson (Dad): immense appreciation to his peers at Verizon on the

East Coast and countless family and friends, extend-

ing a heart felt thank you for all that you have done; Margaret Smith

(grandmother): her supporters from the RMV office in Quincy and Fam-

ily Life Fellowship Church; Valentino Robinson: his supporters from

Cambridge Community Center and Cambridge College; There are many

others who gave direct deposits to Liberty Bay Credit Union C/O the

Barrington Vaughn Brinson Memorial

Fund; I wish to extend a great big hug and thank you. It

is my wish that next year will bring us together once

again to remember the gift of Barry given to us for just

a short time and continue to raise funds for others to build

a legacy for Barrington that will live on.

Memorial Fund Committee Members

FUTURE GOALS

Raising Leaders!

Page 4

SPONSORSHIP

RA ISI NG LE A DERS

BARRINGTON VAUGHN BRINSON

MEMORIAL FUND

57L Everett Street

Allston, MA 02134

781-853-3685

Email: barringtonvbrinsonmf@gmail.com

So what’s the vision for the Barrington Vaughn Brinson Memorial Fund, you ask? Our short term goal

is to focus on making this walk an annual event, in hopes, to award as many scholarships as necessary to those

students who need assistance. Schools like St. Patrick’s of Roxbury and Matignon strongly believe in educat-

ing our children and sculpting future leaders. This fund would like to participate

in that wonderful and exciting process. One of our long term goals include having

enough funds available for college scholarships for graduating students. Another

future goal will be assisting with the transportation of students traveling from

South of Cambridge who wish to attend Matignon High School. As a parent, I

was very concerned for the safety of Barry commuting back to Roxbury to school

once we moved to Allston Brighton area but he was adamant that he would about

completing his tenure at St. Patrick’s as his brother did before him. That was his

second year commuting that distance. Parents should not have to choose safety over great schooling. Access

needs to be made available for students to attend the top school of their choice. Parents need assistance in pre-

paring our future leaders to attain the knowledge necessary for owning businesses, taking political roles, build-

ing our skyscrapers and healing people but peace of mind is also needed getting their kids to and from school.

When looking at the METCO Program, roughly 3,300 students from Boston and Springfield are bused and en-

rolled in school in 37 suburban school districts. This is a proven example of the need for transportation for a

better education. Our third goal is to recruit the help of teachers, students and parents to build a strong board

of volunteers with the same passion for education to guide the Fund to it’s utmost potential.

As we grow and years go by, the pain of losing Barry may still be ever present but we wish that his leg-

acy will be one to bring others happiness and hope.

Roughly 3,300 students from

Boston and Springfield are

bused and enrolled school in

37 suburban school districts.

http://learninglab.wbur.org/topics/metco-and-diversity-through-busing/

For those who wish to volunteer for the committee fund please call or email me at the contact infor-

mation below. Teachers are welcomed to use this fund as a project aid for class projects.

We are always looking for sponsorship for the running of the Memorial fund. We would like to keep

the tradition of not using monies raised by students, family, friends and sponsor specific funds to go towards

tee shirts, refreshments, permits, police detail, etc. Please feel free to steer sponsors in our direction. If you

wish to sponsor the fund, please contact us, using the information below. Thank you in advance.