Visit From St. Anselm College

On January 28, 2012 a group of students from St. Anselm College decided to spend the afternoon visiting Pine Haven and playing with the children. The children had a blast! They played their favorite games with these young students and shared delicious snacks. Thank you very much for spending the day with us!

Christmas Party with Santa Claus and Miss New Hampshire

On December 23^rd, during our Annual Holiday Party presented by the boys of Pine Haven, we had a visit from Santa Claus and Miss New Hampshire. The boys played Christmas music and the staff, families and guests all joined in singing Christmas Carols. The boys did a rendition of “T’ was the night before Christmas”.  Miss New Hampshire entertained the children and families by singing and rapping a song or two. Santa and Miss New Hampshire handed out presents to all the children who attended the holiday Party.

Donation from Bi-Wise and Associated Grocers of New England.

Pine Haven Boys Center would like to thank Bi-Wise and Associated Grocers of New England for choosing Pine Haven as their Shurfine Neighbor to Neighbor Program beneficiary. We accepted the check totaling $ 5000/ for our mission. Thank you again for your generous donation!

                               

Visit of Santa Claus

On December 19^th, when the door bell rang, Santa Claus, Mrs. Santa Claus and the elves where on the doorstep of the cottage! They came with presents and snacks for all the children. The looks of joy and excitement on the faces of our boys was overwhelming. They were so surprised to see Santa and company. The boys enjoyed the Christmas party and spent a lot of time playing and chitchatting with Santa Claus, his wife and the elves. A special “Thank You” to Mr. Lemay and CLD Consulting Engineers for organizing this fantastic party.

Visit of Youth Group from St Pius X Parish

 On December 16, 2011 – a youth group from St Pius X Parish visited our boys and played games, including “cracker ball”, which is our boys’ favorite game! After playing games, we sat down and had some wonderful snacks. We were then handed presents. What a great time we had and we thanked them for coming to see us. We hope they can visit with us again soon.

     

Visit of Miss New Hampshire

On November 16, 2011, Miss NH (Regan E. Hartley of Dover, NH) came to visit Pine Haven. As you may or may not know, Miss NH's platform issue is "Stand up: Bullying Awareness in Our Community". She came to Pine Haven to speak to the staff and our boys about "bullying". Questions were asked- answers were given. What a great job she did! Thank you Miss NH for giving us an insight into bullying!

Soccer Season

During the Fall, the Pine Haven soccer team participated in the Suncook Soccer Tournament. It was fun and very exciting as the children played very hard and displayed great sportsmanship.

Family Cookout

On August 26, 2011, Pine haven held its annual family cookout. Children, their families and Pine haven staff, all enjoyed a day filled with food, fun and games. This year's winner of the Fr. John Vitali award was Dustin.

    

Aubuchon Gift to us

Aubuchon Hardware Store in Allenstown, NH donated 250$ to our Center. It was their community appreciation day and they chose Pine Haven for their local Charity Donation. Thank you so much to Aubuchon and to Ken, the store manager.

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Dinner at Nashua Holiday Inn

The students and staff at Pine Haven thank the Nashua Holiday Inn for the wonderful dinner on February 8. The meal was generously donated by the Holiday Inn, and everyone enjoyed a delicious buffet held at the hotel. Helping to serve the dinner were the members of the Handyman group from Immaculate Conception Parish. Thank you so much for giving our boys such a fun event!

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Skiing season started
Pine Haven thanks all who have donated to the ski program for our students. Ski season is off to a strong start, with all the fresh snow! Our boys ski twice a week at McIntyre Ski Area in Manchester, enjoying the outdoor air and exercise. Skis, boots and clothing become outgrown very quickly, so all donations are greatly appreciated.

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Boy Scout Troop 97 Allenstown Jan 20, 2011
On January 20, 2011, Boy Scout Troop 97 from Allenstown, NH, visited our boys at Pine Haven. There were games in the gym, followed by an ice cream party. Our students had a lot of fun and hope to welcome Troop 97 again soon.

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New Year's Eve party Dec 31
Our students had a New Year’s party, complete with piñatas, cookies and hot cocoa, and received more gifts and toys. Everyone enjoyed celebrating the start of the new year, spending time together and hoping for a happy and successful 2011.

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Christmas party with Miss NH December 22
There was another visit from Santa on December 22 at the Pine Haven Christmas party for all our students and their families. A very special guest was Miss New Hampshire, who sang for the children and gave photos and autographs. This was the beginning of an extended break for some of the boys, as they returned home to their families for a Christmas visit.

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Christmas party December 20
Santa came a little early, on December 20, to surprise our students at their Christmas party. He had gifts for all! The boys had fun playing with all their new toys, visiting with Santa, and enjoyed some cookies and holiday treats.

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United Way Day of Caring

To celebrate the 19th Annual United Way Day of Caring, a group of volunteers came to Pine Haven on September 15 to spend a morning at our center. They helped with two projects, the removal of some tree cutting debris and some painting around our buildings. We thank the volunteers for such wonderful interest and assistance, which is much appreciated.

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Training: Trauma-Informed Innovation

On September 1st, 2010, in collaboration with Dartmouth College, Pine Haven Boys Center hosted Christina Grosso from the Jewish Board and Family Services in New York City, to provide training in trauma-informed care. Christina has extensive experience working in residential settings and is currently the Director of Training in their Center for Trauma Program Innovation. One of her specialties has been providing training for staff in Trauma-Informed principles of care and helping residential care settings become more trauma sensitive. More than 50 people from all over New Hampshire participated in the training.

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Training: fire setters

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A Day on Lake Winnipesaukee

On August 30th from 9:30 AM to 5:30 PM, our boys enjoyed a sunny day on Lake Winnipesaukee, thanks to the generosity of Ed, a very good friend of Pine Haven. Ed invited us to have a day on his pontoon boat, and the boys had a really wonderful time, tubing, swimming, diving, and even steering the boat! We hope to do it again next year! We all send many thanks to Ed.

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Family Picnic

On Friday, August 27, Pine Haven invited all families, foster families and respite families to our annual Family Picnic. The Pine Haven clinical department hosted a wonderful lunch with a Mexican Fiesta theme. There was a presentation of awards to recognize the Pine Haven families, and the special Father John Award was presented to Thomas, one of our students who had graduated from Pine Haven in June at the end of the school year. After lunch, the boys, families and staff played games, enjoying a sunny day on the baseball field, ending the day with a very welcome snack for all.

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St.Anselm Students Visit

As part of a community volunteer day, on August 27 a group of first-year students from St. Anselm College came to Pine Haven from 2 to 4 PM to help and to learn more about our center. After a tour from Fr. Paul and Fr. Remo, the students helped to clean up after the family picnic was finished, and then played basketball and soccer with the boys. Everyone also enjoyed a game of “Ultimate Frisbee” and other games and activities on the soccer field. The students showed great interest in our Pine Haven programs and plan to come back soon. We look forward to seeing everyone again!

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St.Pius X visit

Our boys had a visit on August 14th with a youth group from St. Pius X parish. The group came with their youth minister and played basketball and soccer with the boys. We all shared a fun lunch together, too.
It was great to share what we do every day with other young people. We thank the St. Pius group for coming, and hope to see everyone again soon!

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2010 Summer Outings

The boys at Pine Haven have been enjoying the wonderful New Hampshire summer. Each day there is a fun outing or activity for the students, keeping them busy and helping them to stay cool on the hottest days. We have attended Red Sox games, taken day trips to various lakes and beaches, and have hiked Mount Major, a favorite event for the boys. Water Country has been popular, too, as well as days spent in our own inground pool here at Pine Haven. A highlight for the children was attending the Matt Bonner Basketball Camp, which was great fun and exercise for all.

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2010 Pine Haven Award Ceremony

On June 18, 2010, our boys celebrated the end of the school year with an award and graduation ceremony. Three of our students were leaving the program and moving on to new experiences. All of the students in the program received awards highlighting their individual achievements during the school year, and listened to an inspirational talk given by Christine Young, a former recreational counselor. Guests at the ceremony included students’ families, social workers, and respite families. After all the awards and presentations, students had the opportunity to enjoy some refreshments and visit together with family, friends, and Pine Haven staff.

"The Power of Positive Choice and Thoughts"

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3rd Annual Pine Haven Reception

A big thank to all who attended the Pine Haven Reception on May 13 at the Nashua Country Club. Our special guest speaker, the first boy to reside at Pine Haven in 1960s, gave a wonderful and inspirational talk following a video presentation about the current boys at the center. A fun raffle concluded the evening, with Red Sox Tickets and gift certificates for restaurant, and other wonderful prizes. The donations of many generous parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church in Nashua made a great impact in Pine Haven. A big thanks to everyone.

See more pictures

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Fisher Cats Opening Day

On Opening Day, Thursday, April 15, 2010, a group of our boys attended the baseball game between the Manchester Fisher Cats and the Binghamton Mets at the Merchants Auto Stadium in Manchester, NH.  Thanks to the generosity of Paul A. Pouliot & Associates, the seats were free of charge for Pine Haven. Although the night was chilly, the boys had a wonderful time at the game, one even catching a fly ball! Everyone went home happy, looking forward to more baseball game outings this season.

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ICC HANDYMEN, from Nashua

On Saturday, March 13, 2010 the “ICC Handymen,” a men’s group from Immaculate Conception Church in Nashua, came to Pine Haven to rake and pick up branches that were still on the ground after the recent windstorm. They did a great job – three and a half hours of hard work with chain saws, rakes, gloves and a pickup truck. Many thanks to the ICC Handymen for all their help!

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ST.PIUS X in Manchester, NH

A parochial group from St. Pius X in Manchester came to Pine Haven one recent evening to visit our boys (March 12, 2010) . They played games in the gym, gave gifts to all the children, then enjoyed a party with chocolate chip cookies. Our boys were happy to have other people to play with! The St. Pius x group usually visits twice a year, at Christmas and also in the summer, when everyone can enjoy playing outside.

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SHAW'S STORE SUPPORT, Thank you!

On behalf on our boys and staff, we would like to thank Shaw's Supermarket for supporting Pine Haven Boys Center's mission on behalf of young children whom have experienced difficulties and traumas in their lives. We are overjoyed by Shaw's generous donation intended for our Special Projects Fund (Garden Therapy).

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SCOUT TROOP 410 at Pine Haven

On February 20, 2010, Boy Scout Troop 410 from Nashua came to spend the afternoon with our Pine Haven students. The scouts set up a tournament of activities in the gymnasium and divided everyone into four teams. It was an action-packed afternoon, with an obstacle course, a cup stacking relay, a basketball tournament and more. After all the games, everyone attended Mass, and then the scouts helped prepare a wonderful meal, which everyone enjoyed together. The Pine Haven boys truly had fun with the scouts, and they look forward to another visit soon!

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WINTER VACATION

Winter vacation is when our students go to special outings: on Monday, February 22, we went snow tubing at Gunstock Mountain Resort. It was so much fun. Other destinations for our week off from school are: Currier Art Center (on Wednesday February 24th, performing: "Jungle Stories" with story teller Tim Van Egmond).

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