North Shore Teacher Wins $20K

BEVERLY, MA – A Beverly woman and Hamilton-Wenham teacher won $20,000 in Merry Mixers annual 50/50 raffle. Anna Vitale said she had just heard about Merry Mixers and the work they do for North Shore Children's Hospital.

Vitale grew up in North Reading and went to Endicott College for undergraduate and graduate college. She's currently a special education teacher in the Hamilton-Wenham school district.

Merry Mixers, Friends of the North Shore Children’s Hospital, is a non-profit organization designed to support and raise funds for the hospital that has cared for North Shore children for decades. More than $1 million has been raised and donated since the organization's inception, with $88,000 donated to MassGeneral for Children at North Shore Medical Center in 2015 alone during the organization’s 65th anniversary year.

"This is amazing," said Vitale of winning the raffle. "I’m not exactly sure what I’m going to do with the money – I might buy a car, which would be so helpful. I just recently heard about the Merry Mixers organization, and the work they do for North Shore children and thought it was such a wonderful cause."

Funds raised by Merry Mixers in 2016 and 2017 are dedicated to funding the NSMC Family Resource Center, which provides services for families dealing with psychological, emotional and physical health issues, ranging from opiate addiction to coping with terminal illness. Conferences, workshops and family support groups are offered year-round, as well as an active mindfulness-based stress reduction program. In the past two years alone, Merry Mixers has raised more than $150,000 for the Family Resource Center.

The Family Resource Center provides education, support and resources for children, adolescents and professionals through a specialized library, conferences, workshops and monthly Family Round presentations. The Center is open Monday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m.

For more information about Merry Mixers, visit www.merrymixers.org.

Image via Merry Mixers: From left to right, Merry Mixers Co- Chair Erin Hegarty, Merry Mixers Committee Member and Winning Ticket Seller Amy Gochman, Anna Vitale, and Merry Mixers Co-Chair Julie Pitt