By Kathy Kurtz Ferrari
Staff Writer
2/16/11
Two young residents had the pleasure of participating in festivities honoring a famous neighbor.

Eighth-graders Michael Fahy, from St. Agatha School, and Matthew McCarthy, from Pierce Middle School, took part in the inauguration of Gov. Deval Patrick last month. The boys were chosen to represent Milton for Project 351, the featured event of the governor’s ceremonies.

The event was held in conjunction with Cradles to Crayons, an organization that helps provide toys and clothing to underprivileged families.

Project 351 was designed to select an eighth-grade student from each of the 351 cities and towns in the state to take part in community service projects throughout Greater Boston, with participants taking the message of service and leadership back home.

Matthew, who is the son of Kerri and Tom McCarthy, is the president of the student council at Pierce. Michael, who is the son of Janice and Sean Fahy, is a peer leader at his school. Because of their proven leadership skills and past dedication to community service, the boys were nominated to participate by their respective teachers and principals.

Milton was one of only a few towns to have two representatives attend the event, as Michael was one of 10 students chosen to represent Catholic schools across the commonwealth.

The event was originally scheduled for Jan. 8, the weekend of the inauguration, but was rescheduled due to snow. The new date, Jan. 15, was aptly chosen to mark the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

“I’ve always had a passion for leading. I always wanted to do something good. Community service and leading kind of came together for me,” Michael said, explaining his past involvement in projects ranging from fund-raisers at school to helping with clothing and toy drives. During Project 351, he was assigned to work at Cradles to Crayons, cleaning and organizing toys.

“Now that I’ve seen what happens to the toys people donate, and I think when we do [toy] drives, we should be more responsible for what kind of toys we take. When I saw some of the toys, that were completely broken, I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’ …Things were broken, missing pieces. ...I feel awful for those people,” Michael said, adding that all children deserve good toys.

Matthew, whose father is one of the town’s park commissioners, has a passion for law, nurtured from his experience working on the Pierce Mock Trial Team. For Project 351, he was assigned to work at the Greater Boston Food Bank.

“It felt like 30 minutes, because it went by so fast. I wished it had lasted longer, but I think it was about three or four hours,” Matthew said, remembering his day at the food bank. While there, he packed bags of groceries for the elderly, as well as nutritious backpacks for underprivileged children and their families.

“They told us we helped 10,000 people by doing that food pantry,” Matthew said. “After working [there], I’m definitely going to do something with my school. I already have an idea.”

It was a sentiment shared by Michael, and the boys hope to organize a community-wide project together. Matthew plans to organize a charity basketball tournament with proceeds going toward the food bank. He also is planning a mittens drive to benefit the Pine Street Inn, as well as an event to benefit stroke victims.

Michael is working on a fund-raiser for his school, as well as a benefit for the people of Haiti.

The best part of Project 351 for the boys was the opportunity to shake hands with the governor.

“I went up and he said, ‘Thank you so much,’ to me. It was neat,” Matthew said, adding he didn’t have a chance to chat about the hometown bond because so many other students were waiting to say hello.

And while both Matthew and Michael said they do not share Patrick’s political views, they each agreed that they respect the governor and the office. The boys identify themselves as conservatives, and aspire to political careers. After their experience, they are excited to spread the message of community service.

“I want to help everyone; that’s the problem,” Matthew said.

“You’re never going to make everyone happy at once,” Michael said. “I think we can get something done, though.”