Executive Director Kara McLaughlin accepted the Community Service Award on behalf of the The House of the Seven Gables at last evening’s Celebrate Salem Awards Dinner at the Peabody Essex Museum. All of the nominees in each category were voted on by the community and top honors were given out in the following categories: Businesswoman of the Year, Businessman of the Year, New Business of the Year, Excellence in Retail, Community Service, and Long Term Achievement.
The Community Service Award is given to an organization that exhibits an outstanding record of community service and volunteer participation. The Gables was in a field that included a number of worthy organizations including Historic Salem, Inc., Salem Main Streets, Salem Volunteers, nAGLY, and Mikki Wilson.
This award is a wonderful way to recognize the many contributions to Salem outside of what is expected. The organization provides free or deeply discounted event space to other nonprofit organizations and associations; offers free admission to Salem residents so they can learn about our city’s and nation’s rich literary, architectural and social history and/or simply enjoy the beautiful campus; and hosts students from Salem Public Schools for field trips and educational programs. In 2018, our settlement programs have started to focus on direct service to newly arriving immigrant families including adult ESL and citizenship preparedness classes; dual language summer enrichment programming; and the popular Community Conversations series which focuses on immigration and immigration reform.
The House of the Seven Gables is extremely grateful to all who voted for the organization and its good work in Salem.