While lifelong Charlestown resident Anthony Matson lost his brave battle to bone cancer on Oct. 2, 2001, at age 27, the Anthony’s Dream Fund keeps his memory alive by helping others in the community who suffer from catastrophic illnesses.
“He was probably the best kid I got to know in my life,” said Nicole Matson, Anthony’s sister and an Anthony’s Dream committee member. “I don’t ever want his name to die. He was too good of a person for his name to just go away.”
Anthony, who Nicole described as a “typical Charlestown kid,” coached Pop Warner football and worked at the Charlestown Community Center. He was first diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in 1993. Soon after the initial diagnosis, he began chemotherapy and radiation treatments, which drove the disease into remission after about a year. In early 1998, however, Ewing’s Sarcoma returned in Anthony, and he once again underwent these treatments. By the following year, when radiation and chemotherapy provided Anthony with little relief, his mother began seeking alternate treatments. Anthony began experimental procedures, which were effective in treating his illness but cost in excess of $1,000 a month.
Anthony’s Dream Fund was established in April of 2001 to help defray the high cost of his medical treatment. The founding committee members hatched the plan during a meeting at the Life Focus Center and soon established it as a non-profit. In its first year, the organization sponsored three events – the Motown Cruise, Motown Night at the Knights of Columbus Hall and the Walk for Life – that together raised more than $30,000.
Sadly, Anthony died two weeks prior to the first Walk for Life, but not before telling his fellow committee members that he wanted Anthony’s Dream Fund to continue without him.
“Anthony knew it wouldn’t pan out and asked Nicole and [committee member] Joe McGonagle to carry it on,” committee member Kevin O’Halloran said. “We’re honoring his wish that something be in place in Charlestown to help with all our neighbors who are dealing with medical crises.”
The committee members eventually decided to sponsor only one event a year, Motown Night, in an effort to not overshadow other worthy causes in the neighborhood. “We have one event a year to remind the community of our mission and raise some money,” Nicole said.
Anthony’s Dream Fund has granted more than $90,000 to date, which has paid for medication, specialized equipment and other needs of those suffering from serious illnesses. On one occasion, the organization helped cover the cost of making a resident’s home handicap accessible. In most cases, however, the public never knows who the recipients are because of privacy issues.
“What is most gratifying is when you help someone out, and he or she returns to help out with event the following year,” Nicole said.
Above all else, though, O’Halloran emphasized that Anthony’s Dream Fund is in place to help all Charlestown residents, natives and newcomers alike, and encouraged everyone to attend the upcoming Motown Night.
“We’re not a Townie group; we’re a neighborhood group,” he said. “If you move into Charlestown, you’re part of the community, and we want to help.”
Anthony’s Dream Eighth Annual Motown Night takes place at the Knights of Columbus Hall, 75 West School St., on Friday, Sept. 19, from 7 p.m. to midnight. The event will feature legendary WILD-AM deejay and host of “Time Tunnel” Mark Colemen. Tickets are $20. To purchase tickets, contact Joe McGonagle at 617-699-6341 or Nicole Matson at 617-388-9726.

PHOTO 1 CAPTION: Coaches Dana Kendall and Celio Freitas (at right) speak to KidsGames participants.

PHOTO 2 CAPTION: Kids participate in an arts and crafts workshop.

Between Aug. 18 and 22, a diverse mix of kids from throughout the neighborhood turned out to the Charlestown Community Center for KidsGames Boston 2008 — a unique program of sports, games, music and arts that taught the importance of teamwork and leadership skills.
“It brought together kids from all social walks and classes,” said Joe Souza, pastor of the Celebration Church in Sullivan Square. “There were no clashes or divides. Everyone worked together with no preconceived notions.”
KidsGames, an international program that has included 3 million participants from more than 150 countries since its inception in 2001, took place in Charlestown for the fourth consecutive year. Unlike past years when the Celebration Church served as the program site, this year’s events took place at the Charlestown Community Center. The change in location also brought a surge in participation as 150 kids registered, compared with approximately 65 in each of the past years. (The expense for 75 kids who participated in KidsGames 2008 was paid for through a scholarship program).
The collaboration between the Celebration Church and the Community Center dates back to last winter when Community Center Cluster Administrator Beth Burton allowed Celio Freitas, the Celebration Church director of youth ministry and New England KidsGames facilitator, use of the Medford Street site for a youth soccer clinic. The two organizations worked together again for the second annual Backyard Olympics, a daylong program of races, contests and games for children that took place at the Charlestown High School athletic field on Aug. 10.
After the Community Center received a grant from the City of Boston’s Smart Choices program to sponsor sports clinics at the Community Center this summer, Burton decided KidsGames 2008 would be a fitting culmination for the programs. Four of Mayor Thomas M. Menino’s youth workers and Community Center Program Assistant Nicole Matson also assisted other KidsGames volunteers.
“The kids themselves not only made it successful, they made me smile as an adult,” Burton said, adding that the KidsGames would likely return to the Community Center again next year. “I’m looking forward to it and looking forward to it growing bigger.”
Besides typical athletic offerings such as soccer, kickball and basketball, KidsGames 2008 also introduced participants to Capoeira, a Brazilian martial arts form that includes a musical component. The program also included a journalism workshop during which kids published their own newspaper entitled “KidsGames News.”
As part of this year’s KidsGames, Sgt. Tom Lema of Boston Police Area A-1, Charlestown Against Drugs Chairman Peter Looney and Jennifer Kelly of the Charlestown Substance Abuse Coalition talked with kids about the dangers of drugs.
“It was so well organized and the kids were so well taken care of,” Looney said. “The Celebration Church and [the Charlestown Community Center] should be commended. We were happy to have a small part in it.”
“The Compassion Project” was another component of KidsGames 2008 in which participating kids performed household chores to successfully raise more than $800 for the Trapiche Orphanage in Maceio, Brazil. (On Sept. 19, the Celebration Church will sponsor a movie night for those who took part in the Compassion Project).
Meanwhile, KidsGames U.S.A. Facilitator Dan Williams has asked Freitas and others from the Celebration Church to set up a training site where others from throughout New England can learn about the program.
“Dan wants us to form an urban setting to train other so they can replicate KidsGames in other cities,” Sousa said.

CAPTION: The former Charlestown Public Library in Monument Square, which now houses the Battle of Bunker Hill Museum.

The Charlestown Preservation Society’s 2008 Historic House Tour will be held on Saturday, Sept. 27, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The tour features nine historic houses that represent the full range of styles – from cozy Greek Revival worker’s cottages to grand Victorian mansions -- for which Charlestown is well-known.
Also included are two historic sites that have undergone recent restoration: the post-Civil War Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the Charlestown Training Field and the former Charlestown Public Library in Monument Square, a 1912 public building in neoclassical style which now houses the Battle of Bunker Hill Museum.
A free trolley is available to take visitors to the tour sites.
The tour also includes a gala post-tour party and silent auction from 4 to 6 pm at the Charlestown Boys & Girls Club, 15 Green St. Auction items, which can be viewed and bid on all day, include weekend getaways, design consultations, spa holidays and elegant dinners.
Proceeds from the event help fund initiatives to preserve Charlestown’s architectural heritage and quality of life, including college scholarships, revitalization of open space, grants to community organizations and the ongoing restoration of the Charlestown Training Field, one of the nation’s earliest public spaces.
House tour tickets are available in advance at $20 for CPS members and $25 for non-members. On tour day prices are $25 for CPS members and $30 for non-members.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.charlestownpreservation.org, by mail (send checks to Charlestown Preservation Society, PO Box 290201, Charlestown, MA 02129) or through Charlestown florists, gift shops and real estate offices beginning in August.
Tickets and tour booklets will be available at the Boys & Girls Club on tour day. For more information, call 617-241-7500 or e-mail info@charlestownpreservation.org.