MOTHER’S DAY EVENTS

What. A. Day! Children, teens, and young adults from across New England gathered at Gillette Stadium for an unforgettable Mother’s Day event— a day to honor + remember our moms alongside a supportive community of those who get it. Together, we created a space filled with connection, remembrance, laughter, healing, and hope. We want to extend the warmest thank you to all who joined us at our Mother’s Day Event as we shared stories of loss + love and made connections that will last a lifetime.

Thank you to Gillette Stadium for opening their beautiful space for this amazing day. A very special thank you to our Hosts, Megan and Kristen for planning the most impactful Mother’s Day event yet. Our heartfelt appreciation goes out to our committee members who worked tirelessly to ensure the success of the event: Hayden, Molly, Jami, Alice, Jamie, Pat, Arun, John, Tanya, and Eimear.

There were fun and meaningful activities for everyone! Phyllis from Higgins Holistic Health & John L led their respective opening circles to prepare us for the day ahead. We moved our bodies with peaceful, grounding yoga with Kim from TraveledandBalanced and high-energy dancing with Michelle from SoulFire Movement. The beautiful weather allowed us to enjoy outdoor lawn games, with John R, who led coaching drills, outside activities, games, and challenges for the boys.

The girls enjoyed making friendship bracelets, flower crowns, and getting pampered with self-care, hair, and nails, thanks to Alexandra, an Empower Mentor and owner of Petalouda Salon in Brookline and her crew of amazing stylists, Pat, Sarah, Abbie, Jessica, and Melissa, and to our nail artists Trang and Stephanie. Paulina and Kelly from Comer Teng Studio led the girls in jewelry making and wooden “Ride the Wave” vision boards. The boys dove into hands-on fun with Legos, wood crafts, Nerf challenges, and even a survival skills challenge where they learned how to pitch tents, tie knots, and read a compass.

Everyone got to try on real Super Bowl rings and take photos with a specially designed “Ride the Wave” balloon arch by the talented Taryn Spence. We were also joined by a special guest, Kevin’s sweet service dog, Winnie. There were moments of reflection and connection during the Q&A circle time, led by Christine and John L. We closed with a gratitude circle, reflecting on the love we carry and the community we share. Each participant was able to walk away with an Empower “swag bag” filled with goodies (think Squishmallows, amazing hair products, TB12, CBS Sports, and more) from generous companies across New England and beyond!

Lastly, the day would not have been captured without our incredible photographers, Mia Andreoli and Chris Capozzi, and talented videographer Andrea Alpen! To the dozens of volunteers who opened their hearts to Empower, we THANK YOU for building community and bringing love to children and young adults ✨