Employees from three of our programs – Disability Evaluation Services, Health and Criminal Justice, and Disability Community Services – recently raised $1,100 for the Ava Roy Fund. The fund raises money in support of the daughter of Christopher Roy, a Worcester firefighter who tragically passed away in December 2018 fighting a fire.
This event felt very personal to many of our employees who live and work in Shrewsbury, the same city the Roy family called home. The idea to raise money for the fund began with Project Coordinator Rachel Criggar of Disability & Community Services, and quickly spread to the other programs with the help of colleagues.
The employees collected money through “$3 Dress Down Day” events, when employees dress in more casual attire while at work. The money collected during the year is donated to a variety of charitable causes including Operation Gratitude, the American Heart Association, and the UMass Cancer Walk.
For the Ava Roy Fund, the employees raised over $1,000 in just three weeks. Criggar added that “Many employees donated well over the $3 fee whether or not they “dressed down” each week because it was such a great cause.”