Home Safety Network

We welcomed members of the Westborough community, including Police Chief Al Gordon, school committee member Bruce Trettor, and parents. Discussed having Westboro join our Home Safety Network and agreed it would be beneficial for all. Westboro H.S. and middle school are hosting a "commitment night" for all kids involved in school sponsored sports. The focus is on drug/alcohol use among teens. This is a mandatory meeting for both students and their parents. This meeting is taking place Weds. March 29^th at the Westboro high school. Ann will speak with Brian Callaghan, Westboro's athletic director, regarding the Network's role at that meeting.

We reviewed the highlights of the "Community Conversation" on Feb. 9^th. Discussed connect ed. as being effective advertising and using it in future. Spoke about getting clergy involved in helping us advertise future meetings.

Ann announced that we had received an anonymous donation of $150.00. Discussed how to increase donations, and what money might be used for.

Ann reported on the progress of the website. Julie Doyle and her class at Algonquin are helping us put together a website. The pledge form wil be available to download and the directory will be there as well. The site will also have various links for educational purposes. We decided get our own web address, as opposed to being attached to a town, police or school site. Discussed using the funds from the donation to pay for the address. Lynne Winter mentioned her husband hosts websites and will pursue getting an address with him.

Pam announced that Madd is having a Youth Summit in the Spring and is looking for kids to attend. Contact Pam Kane for more information.

We discussed having a mission statement, and agreed that it would be important to help us define ourselves. Plan to work on it as a group next meeting. In the meantime, members will review other organizations mission statements and email ideas to Ann Taggart or bring them to our next meeting.

Discussed topics for future meetings including focusing discussions around how to provide a safe home, and how to help kids negotiate difficult situations. Also explored possibly bringing in speakers.

Finally, decided to meet monthly, on the 3^rd Tuesday of the month. Discussed rotating meeting places between the 3 towns. The next meeting will be April 18^th at 7:00 pm. Location will be announced soon.