Health and Wellness

Save the Peace Institute Dec. 20th/Peace Boston's 3rd Anniversary Dec 21st

AdamE — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 15:40:56 -0600

Start: 12/21/2008 - 5:00pm

End: 12/21/2008 - 8:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

SAVE

THE PEACE

INSTITUTE!!!

Sunday, December 21st is Peace Boston's
3rd Anniversary. Please join us in celebrating by attending the
fundraiser for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute on Saturday. We have
worked HARD for the past
3 years to support the efforts of the Peace Institute. We, as a
community, cannot allow its doors to close. They have provided support
and services to 100s of Boston's homicide victims' families for the
past 14 years.

In the true spirit of Christmas, please give the gift of peace this
holiday season. Be sure to purchase the Peace in the Streets CD at the
event or at Funky Fresh Records, 74 Warren Street in Dudley. Unlike a
PSP or Ipod, the low price of $10 will change someone's life. Peace Boston just
made a donation to the Gaskin's family to help with the burial of their
son David who was killed on Monday. Your purchase will help us to
assist other families.

Bone Marrow Drive for Alexander

AdamE — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 12:18:38 -0600

Start: 12/20/2008 - 10:00am

End: 12/20/2008 - 2:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

The public is invited to join the National Marrow Donor
Program at St. Mark's Church, on Sat., Dec. 20, 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. A matching donor is being sought for Alexander Phan,
age 4, who is suffering from a rare condition
(hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis). Alexander's family and
friends encourage all to come. Info: 617-472-1109.

Here is a little more information on HLH according to the University of Minnesota:

Hemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis

Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) is a rare disorder usually affecting
infants and young children, but it can occur at any age. While the exact cause
of HLH is unknown, it is felt to be caused by a disorder of immune system regulation,
which leads to the activation of infection fighting cells called histiocytes
and lymphocytes. Their normal function is to travel throughout the body and
destroy foreign material and fight infections. Patients with HLH have too many
of these activated histiocytes and they begin to accumulate in normal tissue
and cause inflammation and damage to a variety of organs. Common sites of involvement
include the bone marrow, lymph nodes, liver, spleen, and brain.

There are two main types of HLH, the familial form (primary HLH) and the secondary
form. The familial form of HLH is genetic. In these families, there will be
a 25% risk that each subsequent sibling will develop HLH usually within the
first 2 years of life.

The secondary form of HLH develops secondary to abnormal activation of the
immune system, which can occur after certain infections or after the use of
drugs which suppress the immune system. It is very difficult to tell these two
forms apart without a previously affected sibling. However, early age of onset
is suggestive of the familial form and onset in older children is more common
in the secondary form and there may be an association with a recently detected
infection. It is important to note though, that children with FHL may also have
the disease triggered by an infection.

Most children with HLH will develop fevers, enlargement of the liver, spleen
and sometimes lymph nodes. They will have low blood counts (anemia and low white
blood cell and platelet counts). Some may also develop bleeding and seizures.
The first step in the treatment of the disease is to get it controlled and into
remission. This is usually accomplished with chemotherapy and immunosuppressive
medications. In the primary form of HLH disease control is temporary and the
disease will eventually return if treatment is discontinued. In secondary HLH,
if the underlying cause of the disease can be treated the HLH may be cured,
however, even in some of those children remission may only be temporary.

The only known cure for HLH is blood or marrow transplantation. For this procedure
high doses of chemotherapy are given to destroy the patients bone marrow, which
is where the abnormal immune system cells come from. Ideally, the transplant
should be performed when the disease is in complete remission (no signs of any
active disease). Blood or marrow transplant is most successful when a normal
sibling who has the same tissue (or HLA) type is used for the donor. Unfortunately,
only about 10-15% of children with HLH will have a sibling donor available.
However, the University of Minnesota has been the leader in research that has
led to the successful use of bone marrow from unrelated donors, peripheral blood
stem cells, or umbilical cord blood, for the source of normal bone marrow and
immune system cells. Because of this, a donor can be identified for the majority
of children with HLH. Our current protocol is designed to reduce the side effects
of the transplant therapy and reduce graft vs. host disease.

Pine Street Inn Homeless Shelter Food Drive

AdamE — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 13:45:54 -0600

Start: 11/19/2008 - 3:45pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

We are conducting a Food Drive for the
Pine Street Inn Homeless Shelter from now until
December 8th, 2008. Pine Street is in dyer need of the following
items:

cans of tuna (larger size)
ground or whole bean coffee (cans or plastic)
Cheerios or similar whole grain cereal
boxes of pasta

Pine Street expressed their sincere gratitude for being the recipient of
our community service but request that any donations collected be from the
above list only, since they prepare food in mass quantities.

We are reaching out to St. Ann's and St. Brendan parishioners to help make
our CCD community service project truly successful. What a wonderful way
to start off the holiday season by helping others less fortunate. There is
no place like Dorchester when it comes to charitable neighbors and we
are truly grateful!

Food donations can be dropped off anytime to the
Mastrogiacomo's home at 50 Westglow Street or the
Wyse home at 143 Milton Street. On behalf of St. Ann's &
St. Brendan's CCD programs, we truly appreciate your assistance. Any
questions feel free to email Susan at susanmastro62@verizon.net or Ellen
at jejjl@aol.com.

Late Fall Stony Brook Stroll

AdamE — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 14:02:08 -0600

Start: 11/09/2008 - 10:00am

End: 11/09/2008 - 12:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Urban Wilds Event

10:00 a.m.
Meet at parking lot on Enneking Parkway at Smithfield Rd.
Join the Friends of Stony Brook and walk the paved trail up the hill past Turtle Pond, with a stop at the pond overlook and a brief detour up Bald Knob to enjoy views of Hyde Park through the leafless trees. Walk will be an easy 2 miles with moderate hills. For more information call BNAN at 617-542-7696 or email info@bostonnatural.org

Click here to see a map of this event location read more »

Codman Square Health Center - 3rd Annual Diabetes Tune-Up Day

AdamE — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 21:04:37 -0500

Start: 11/08/2008 - 9:30am

End: 11/08/2008 - 12:30pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Stop by the Codman Square Health Center for the 3rd Annual Diabetes Tune-Up Day. The event will feature the following:

- Exercise Workshops Free

- Free Food

- Flu Shots

- Relaxation Workshops

- Dental/Eye Screenings

For more information, contact Maura Rowley at 617-822-8267 read more »

GROW BOSTON GREEN - Tree Give-Away: Dorchester

AdamE — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:20:34 -0500

Start: 10/25/2008 - 10:00am

End: 10/25/2008 - 2:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Grow Boston Greener is a collaborative effort of the City of Boston and its partners in Boston's Urban Forest Coalition to plant 100,000 trees in Boston by 2020. You can help with this historic effort by planting a tree!

Overweight children ages 11-13 and Parents/Guardians: Focus Groups

kam132 — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 07:27:03 -0500

Start: 10/29/2008 - 5:00pm

End: 11/05/2008 - 7:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

You are invited to come share your thoughts with us.

Researchers at UMass Boston are conducting small group discussions (focus groups) where we will ask you to share your thoughts about nutrition, physical activity, and weight loss.

There are two kinds of focus groups: 1) for eligible kids, and 2) for the parent/guardian of an eligible child. Each focus group will last for 2 hours.

Eligible Participants will be between the ages of 11-13, a racial/ethnic minority, and overweight. For your participation, parents will receive $30 and kids will receive either $30 or a one-month membership to GoKids Boston (a $50 value).

To see if you or your child might be eligible and to learn more, call: Kristen at 617-287-7346.

http://www.gokids-boston.org/ read more »

All "Green" Dorchester events - Oct 1st reminder

Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 12:42:12 -0500

Start: 10/01/2008 - 11:00am

End: 10/01/2008 - 12:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Please take a look at our online calendar regularly, link below. Lots of interesting and free local events!

www.scidorchester.org/user/266

How to Make Dot More Bike Friendly, 9/24 at 7 pm

Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:30:44 -0500

Start: 09/24/2008 - 7:00pm

End: 09/24/2008 - 9:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

How would you make Dorchester more bike (and foot) friendly?

Northeastern University professor Peter Furth traveled to the Netherlands this summer with 18 civil engineering students to study sustainable transportation in a country where there's plenty of it. When they returned, they applied their lessons to Dorchester, redesigning key sites to to improve access and safety for bicycles, pedestrians, and public transportation.

Come hear and discuss their ideas on Wednesday September 24th, 7 p.m. at the Vietnamese American Community Center, 42 Charles Street Dorchester, MA (one block from the Fields Corner T stop, map: http://tinyurl.com/47r2ts).

Projects to be presented include:
1) Making Dorchester Ave. bike friendly
2) Transit oriented development around Ashmont Station
3) Better walk /bike access to the UMass peninsula
4) A bike rental station for Andrew and / or JFK / UMass station
5) Making the South Bay shopping center more accessible for walk / bike / transit

Prof. Furth is a transportation engineer whose specialties include bicycle route networks and urban transit.

As a bonus, we'll have a brief preview of an exciting Citizen Schools project that partners middle school students with professional architects and transportation planners. This year's program focuses on plans for bike access and paths for Columbia Point.
As always check out our event calendar on www.dotbike.org for more event listings and if you have any questions or comments contact us at dotbike@bostonbiker.org read more »

Greening Dorchester

Dorchester Environmental Health Coalition — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 14:36:38 -0500

Start: 09/01/2008 - 7:30am

End: 09/01/2008 - 8:30am

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Please visit www.scidorchester.org/user/266 the Dorchester Environmental Health calendar for local enviro-related events.