Friends of the Public Garden and Lend a Hand Society gathered on the Public Garden last week to celebrate a restoration project bringing new life to the terrace surrounding the Edward Everett Hale Statue.
The celebration also marked the Lend A Hand Society’s 125th year of providing emergency financial assistance to low-income families, individuals, seniors and disabled people in the Greater Boston area.
“It’s always exciting to bring new life to the sculptures in our parks,” said Liz Vizza, executive director of Friends of the Public Garden. “Not only are we able to reactivate a key public space in the Public Garden, but we are drawing attention to the life and legacy of an important figure in Boston’s history and celebrating 125 years of his organization’s dedicated work.”
Friends of the Public Garden, the steward of Boston’s most visited and central public greenspaces, Boston Common, Public Garden and the Commonwealth Avenue Mall, joined the Lend A Hand society to commemorate the important work of the organization through this capital restoration project. Improvements were made to the terrace surrounding the statue, which allows for a more seamless visitor experience.
Hale’s story “Ten Times One is Ten” sparked the impetus to form the Lend A Hand Society. Written in 1870, his story shines light on the impact of charity, showing its infectious impacts that spread from one individual to another. Today, a statue on the Public Garden memorializes Hale and his life’s work.
“It is an honor to partner with Friends of the Public Garden at this event to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding by Edward Everett Hale of the Lend a Hand Society,” said Nancy Cooper, executive director of the Lend a Hand Society. “During the latter half of the 19th century, he was one of the most influential men in Boston, possibly in the United States. It is entirely appropriate that the charitable organization he began still continues to reach out and help 2those most in need in his much beloved Boston. Lend a Hand Society assists hundreds of Greater Boston area households each year to address emergency needs to prevent eviction and utility shut-offs and to provide for medical, dental and other basic life necessities.”
The restoration of the terrace around the Hale Statue is the latest capital improvement project completed by Friends of the Public Garden. The Friends also recently announced a partnership with the National Parks Service, Museum of African American History, and the City of Boston for a $2.8 million restoration project and year-long programming effort for the Robert Gould Shaw/54th Regiment Memorial located across from the State House on Boston Common.