Closing Out 2025 on High Notes

Highlights from a season of events that capped off a remarkable year.

Celebrating Ellis and Our 140th Birthday! 

EEC Commissioner Amy Kershaw accepts the Ellis Shero Award on behalf of Gov. Healey

On November 6, 2025, the Ellis community gathered at the historic Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts for Celebrating Ellis and Our 140th Birthday. Team members, families, friends, and advocates of early education came together to honor 140 years of impact at Ellis, and to help launch the decades ahead.

With remarkable attention to detail from the team at Liz Page Associates, the evening captured the whimsy of a child’s birthday party: colorful balloons filled the room; caterers served adult juice boxes and tater tots in party hats; and a beautiful birthday cake donated by Joanne Chang and our friends at Flour stood at center stage (photographed right). It was a playful and fitting way to celebrate another decade of Ellis and our enduring legacy of care and community.

Event Co-Chairs Jerome Smith and Sean Curran, member of the Ellis Board of Directors, opened the evening with remarks that energized the room, showcasing their emcee skills for the third year in a row. Against a backdrop of a visual, animated timeline, CEO Lauren Cook reflected on Ellis’s 140 years, and how comprehensive education and care can transform lives. Ellis Social Worker Cherish Casey followed with moving remarks that highlighted the depth of Ellis’s wrap-around care. She spoke of late-night calls from parents in distress and moments of grief and loss when the Ellis team has supported families. “This is the quiet, unseen work of early education,” she said, reminding guests that their generosity makes this care possible.

David Brown, former WCVB-TV meteorologist and longtime Boston volunteer, took the stage to conduct the Live Auction and Fund-Our-Mission. His energy inspired a charitable spirit. With more than $300,000 donated in the room.

During the event, Ellis was honored to present Governor Maura Healey with the 2025 Ellis Shero Award, recognizing her steadfast advocacy and leadership in support of early education in Massachusetts. Governor Healey has made early education a top priority by expanding access, supporting educators, and strengthening programs across the state. Under the Healey-Driscoll Administration, Massachusetts became the only state to continue funding Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants at the previous federal level. Governor Healey also established an interagency Early Education and Child Care Task Force, which has put forward recommendations to make early childhood education more affordable and accessible for all families.

We are deeply grateful to our Host and Honorary Committees, whose leadership — combined with the generosity of our community — helped us raise over $830,000, making this milestone event Ellis’s most successful benefit to date. If this evening inspired you, we invite you to join us in supporting Ellis’s next 140 years, ensuring every child and family receives the care, education, and opportunities they deserve.

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Frosty’s Friends  

Frosty's Friends depends on our incredible volunteers — including Ellis alum Amelia and her friend Corinne — to deliver hundreds of gifts to our students every year.

Every winter, Ellis is filled with extra cheer thanks to Frosty’s Friends, our annual gift drive that helps ensure every Ellis child has a special gift to open during the holidays. Among the volunteers were Kristen Vicino, a former Ellis parent and current volunteer, her daughter Amelia, and Amelia’s friend Corinne, who came after school to help wrap Frosty’s gifts.

This year, Frosty’s Friends delivered 515 gifts to our children, and volunteers like Kristen, Amelia, and Corinne played an essential role in getting every present wrapped and ready.

For Kristen, giving back to Ellis is deeply personal. Both of her children began their educational journeys at Ellis, and she has remained closely involved as a former Trustee and current Vice Chair of the Board of Directors. “We love Ellis so much,” she said. “Ellis invests in its students during the day, but Frosty's Friends is one of many ways Ellis makes sure children and families feel supported and cared for beyond the classroom.”

For Amelia, volunteering is about making the holidays brighter for others. “I like to help people who might not be able to afford gifts,” she said. “It’s cool to see how much people have donated and worked together to help Ellis families.”

As the three wrapped gifts, Amelia and her friend asked thoughtful questions about Ellis and how early childhood education is funded, sparking meaningful conversations about access, equity, and community care. Seeing the room filled with donated presents was a powerful reminder of what’s possible when people come together.

“It’s heartwarming to see the piles of gifts,” Kristen reflected. “You feel like you’ve done something tangible to help families enjoy the holidays.”

Thanks to volunteers like the Vicinos, and the generosity of all of our supporters, Frosty’s Friends continues to bring joy to the Ellis community during the holidays.