North Reading Neighbor Brigade

Have you ever experienced a hard time in your life and needed the support of neighbors and friends? Did you know there was a group in North Reading dedicated to helping those in need?

A Neighbor Brigade is a group of residents that come together to help another resident coping with hardship, such as an illness or death. 

If you are a resident in need, you can receive help within hours. Simply put a request in to the town chapter leader, in North Reading that would be Mia DeFranco, and she will notify the other members of the group via email. Those members can volunteer to help online.

The organization itself was originally founded by Wayland resident Pam Washek two years ago. Her inspiration? She received help from her own neighbors during her battle with cancer, and found herself overwhelmed with gratitude. To give back, she decided to start the group to help others in a position similar to her own. Now there are now more than 20 Neighbor Brigade chapters in the state.

DeFranco started the local chapter for similar reasons. 

“During a difficult time for my family and me our friends and family came together to help us,” said DeFranco.  “A few months later, I decided to put my sadness behind me and put my energy into dwelling on the positive, counting my blessings, and thinking about what I can do to help others. I started doing some volunteer work and then I read about Neighbor Brigade in the Boston Parents paper. Once I read about the organization I knew it was something I wanted to be a part of and to bring to my community.”  

DeFranco is now working on building a network and the North Reading chapter is currently looking for volunteers. If you are interested or would like more information, email NorthReadingMA@Neighborbrigade.org.

"It’s fast, efficient and free, and better yet, it’s neighbors helping neighbors," said member Amy Legere.