Family, Friends Reflect on Washek's Life of Contentment, Grace

Wayland resident and Neighbor Brigade co-founder Pam Washek died on Dec. 2. Her family says her legacy is one of contentment, kindness and heroism.

Pam Washek first learned she had cancer in 2002. At the time, her oldest daughter was not yet a teenager and her two younger daughters had not yet cracked double digits. Even so, "She never said, 'Why me. Poor me,'" her husband, Kevin, said. "She always said, 'Why God? Why do you want my attention?'" Now, days after Washek lost her 10-year battle with synovial cell sarcoma, her husband can look back and say she got her answer. "I think what she’s fostered out there in these communities is the answer," he said. Kevin Washek is referring to the thousands of people who have been assisted through Neighbor Brigade, an organization Pam Washek co-founded in 2003 after her own neighbors came together to lend a hand following her cancer diagnosis. …

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Calling Hours, Funeral Service Announced for Pam Washek

The Neighbor Brigade co-founder and well-known Wayland wife and mother died on Dec. 2.

The family of Pam Washek has scheduled calling hours and funeral services for Washek later this week in Weston. Washek's husband, Kevin, said calling hours will take place Thursday, Dec. 6 from 4 p.m.-8 p.m., and funeral services will take place the next day, Dec. 7, at 10 a.m. Both calling hours and services will take place at St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Weston and both are open to the public. Washek passed away Sunday, Dec. 2, after a long battle with cancer. She is well known in Wayland and many other communities for her connection to Neighbor Brigade, an organization she co-founded with her friend Jean Seiden in 2003 as both women were undergoing treatment for cancer. Neighbor Brigade was designed to provide a network of …

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Wayland Resident Tells 'People' About Neighbor Brigade

Pam Washek of Wayland was featured in a recent issue of People magazine and the story is now available online.

Wayland's Pam Washek was "touched by how the community embraced" her family in 2002 when she received a cancer diagnosis. The helping hand offered by neighbors and friends planted the seed for an idea, Washek told People magazine for its Sept. 3 issue, now available online. Washek and Neighbor Brigade were featured in the magazine's "Heroes Among Us" section. In the feature, Washek said that she has found volunteers "want to get involved" when a neighbor in crisis needs help with chores, transportation, meals or something else. Neighbor Brigade, according to the People article, now includes 3,300 members throughout the state of Massachusetts. At least a few of those members even stepped up to help Washek recently as she underwent a "brief …

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Wayland Resident, Neighbor Brigade Featured in 'People'

Pam Washek and Neighbor Brigade are featured in the Sept. 3 issue of People magazine

Pam Washek, Wayland resident and co-founder/executive director of Neighbor Brigade, is featured with other volunteers in the “Heroes Among Us” section of People magazine's Sept. 3 issue. The issue, according to the Neighbor Brigade page on Facebook, is on newsstands now. Neighbor Brigade is a non-profit organization focused on helping neighbors in crisis and began in Wayland before spreading to many other Massachusetts towns. It continues to grow today. The "Heroes Among Us" section of People magazine highlights "Real people [who] selflessly open their hearts, offer help and inspire others along the way." “We’re thrilled that Neighbor Brigade’s mission of empowering communities to help their neighbors in need will be introduced to so many …

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Middlesex Savings Awards Scholarship, Grant to Local Recipients

The charitable organization is helping some people and organizations with strong ties to Wayland.

The Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation has recently awarded a local student with a $1,000 scholarship and a local organization with an $11,000 grant. Wayland High School graduate Natalie Barone is one of 30 students awarded $1,000 college scholarships by the Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation, which has distributed nearly $300,000 in scholarships since the program was established in 2000. Barone has plans to attend Salve Regina University in Newport, R.I., in the fall, according to a press release from Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation. Thirty public and vocational high schools in the area nominated students for scholarships based on criteria including academic merit, financial need, community service and personal …

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Neighbor Brigade Raises $26,000 in Annual Fundraiser

Second annual auction and trivia event draws more than 150 supporters of Neighbor Brigade, which was started in Wayland in 2003.

The informaiton below was submitted by the Neighbor Brigade. Fast-growing New England nonprofit Neighbor Brigade announced this week that its second annual fundraising event, “Party in the ‘Hood,” drew more than 150 neighbors from the Boston area and raised more than $26,000 to support its mission of helping neighbors in crisis. During the event, which was held June 7 at the Weston Golf Club, supporters heard from two recipients: a Medfield single mother of three who battled breast cancer and a Billerica mother of three whose husband suffered a brain tumor and required long-term assistance. Both women spoke movingly about the significance of the help they received from Neighbor Brigade and the overwhelming sense of caring they felt from …

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Tickets On Sale for Neighbor Brigade Fundraiser

The second annual "Party in the 'Hood" silent auction and trivia event will take place June 7.

The below is a submitted press release. Tickets are now on sale for Neighbor Brigade’s “Party in the ‘Hood,” an auction and trivia event to benefit Massachusetts non-profit Neighbor Brigade, which is based in Wayland and for which founder and Wayland resident Pam Washek serves as executive director. Tickets are available for $40 to attend, and trivia teams pay a $1,000 fee to participate in the competition. The evening will include hors d’oeuvres, desserts, raffles, and both silent and live auctions. Sponsors for the event are Lynch Landscape, Washek Electric, Especially for Pets, Collins & Collins, Judy Boyle Re/Max Signature Properties, Tier One Partners LLC and Help Around Town.  The event will take place June 7, at 7 p.m. and the …

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Wayland Nonprofit Founder Recounts Past, Looks to Future

The Neighbor Brigade began in Wayland 12 years ago and hopes to expand beyond Massachusetts this year.