30 New England Educators will each receive a voucher to support their schools and students
BOSTON, MA – December 6, 2022 – In recognition of educators across New England who display kindness, commitment and dedication towards their students, the Wasabi Fenway Bowl is celebrating 30 educators, administrators, and staff as Honor Roll Finalists, including three top Monster Finalists, all of whom will receive a voucher to DonorsChoose.org to support their respective schools and classrooms. The 30 finalists were nominated by their peers for their exceptional work in their schools and communities and chosen by Fenway Sports Management and their partners at Studio/B from over 200 submissions.
“It’s an honor to be a member of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl Executive Committee tasked with not only advancing the success of the game itself but working together to build on the game’s philanthropic mission through the Wasabi Fenway Bowl Honor Program,” said Julie Barry, vice president of global brand and communications at Wasabi Technologies. “Within my role, I see firsthand the challenges that public education faces daily. It’s fulfilling for our organization to be a part of this program and to be able to recognize those in public education who go above and beyond.”
The inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl, produced by Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events, will be played Saturday, December 17 at 11 a.m. ET at historic Fenway Park, featuring a matchup between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Louisville Cardinals. It will be the first college football bowl game to be played at Fenway Park and the first Division 1 bowl game to be held in New England. More information on the Wasabi Fenway Bowl can be found at game’s website: www.fenwaybowl.com, on Facebook or on Twitter and Instagram @FenwayBowl.
“We are excited to continue the Wasabi Fenway Bowl Honor Roll program and its tradition of recognizing incredible educators who go above and beyond for their students,” said Brett Miller, Executive Director of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl. “Each of these honorees do inspiring work to help young people succeed. Education is a core component of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl’s mission and we are proud to help support these outstanding educators.”
As part of the Wasabi Fenway Bowl’s recognition of the incredible impact the three Monster Finalists have had, Fenway Sports Management is proud to partner with Extra Yard for Teachers to provide each with $5,000 to be used on DonorsChoose.org. The donations will help these educators buy classroom equipment and materials to support the work that each is doing in their schools and communities.
This year’s three Monster Finalists are:
- Eileen Curran, an itinerant teacher of students who are visually impaired at multiple Boston Public Schools, is known to go above and beyond for her students, such as teaching the tools of braille and assistive technology as well as daily living skills like cooking or filling out college applications. As a person with a visual impairment herself, Eileen is a role model for her students, their families, and fellow staff. Eileen is always willing to collaborate with colleagues whether it be to create a summer enrichment opportunity for school age children with visual impairments to gather with peers, or to serve on a local or national board to advance equitable access for braille readers.
- Michelle Cooke, a second-grade teacher at Brookside Elementary School in Dracut, MA for over 25 years, recently published a children’s book titled “Don’t Bee Afraid.” She wrote this book to help children overcome their fear of bees and to inspire students to educate themselves about the importance of bees. The proceeds for her book are donated to a scholarship for a Navy “SeaBee” child. Despite having an allergy to beestings, Michelle has beehives on her farm. She was recently named the Massachusetts Agriculture in the Classroom Teacher of the Year in 2022.
- Amelia Lyons Rukema, a Amelia Lyons Rukema, a Homeless Education State Specialist for the Maine Department of Education, has worked tirelessly to promote and secure resources for students experiencing homelessness. These issues, exacerbated by the pandemic, have inspired Amelia to continue to work with schools and teachers across the state to connect them with resources to engage and support Maine students and their families.
More information about the Wasabi Fenway Bowl Honor Roll and Monster Finalists can be found by visiting globe.com/honorroll.
About Fenway Sports Management
Fenway Sports Management (FSM) is a global sports marketing firm that specializes in partnership sales, consulting, and the creation of unique and memorable events and experiences. The company serves as the sponsorship sales arm for FSG’s prestigious sports portfolio, including the Boston Red Sox, Liverpool Football Club, the Pittsburgh Penguins, New England Sports Network (NESN), and RFK Racing. In addition to representing FSG’s network of properties, FSM also serves as the exclusive marketing agency for LeBron James through a strategic partnership with LRMR Ventures.
Outside of sponsorship sales, FSM serves as the sponsorship consulting agency to several brands, advising them on how to use sports as a platform to realize their business goals through a variety of services including strategy development, negotiation, and activation. The firm is also an industry leader with its Special Events practice which creates, plans, and executes a broad spectrum of unique sports and entertainment events that range from large-scale, public events at iconic sports venues, to private, corporate events.
About Wasabi Technologies
Wasabi provides simple, predictable and affordable hot cloud storage for businesses all over the world. It enables organizations to store and instantly access an unlimited amount of data at 1/5th the price of the competition with no complex tiers or unpredictable egress fees. Trusted by tens of thousands of customers worldwide, Wasabi has been recognized as one of technology’s fastest-growing and most visionary companies. Created by Carbonite co-founders and cloud storage pioneers David Friend and Jeff Flowers, Wasabi is a privately held company based in Boston. Wasabi is a Proud Partner of the Boston Red Sox, and the Official Cloud Storage Partner of Liverpool Football Club and the Boston Bruins.
Follow and connect with Wasabi on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and The Bucket.
Media Contact:
Fenway Sports Management Contact: Sean Hathaway shathaway@issuesgroup.com
Wasabi Contact: Lindsay Daly LDaly@wasabi.com