Partners in Patriotism
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Q1 | 2019 Inside this issue • MBTA Commuter Rail Update • PIP Fund to Exceed $500K in Donations • 2019 Gillette Stadium Events Announced • New Restaurant Coming to Patriot Place • SBLIII Trip of Lifetime for Residents Quarterly Insight into the Progress and Philanthropy of The Kraft Group Partners in Patriotism TITLE TOWN For the 6th time in 18 years, the Patriots are World Champions ew England’s remarkable run of suc- swirled through Foxborough like the winter Ncess by its major professional sports winds whip through Patriot Place. Legions teams over the past 18 years continued in of sports fans and media outlets concluded Rob Gronkowski leads a Play 60 clinic for students 2019 when the Patriots defeated the Rams that Father Time had finally sacked the sud- and senior citizens at Igo Elementary School on May in Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3 to claim their denly too old and too slow Tom Brady. The 28, 2014. sixth Super Bowl title and the game had finally passed Bill Belichick by. region’s 12th world champi- The outside noise grew onship since 2001. louder as the 2018 THANK YOU, We like to think season unfolded; con- the Patriots had stantly polluting the something to do airwaves throughout with this unprec- the local and national edented run of sports landscape. GRONK! championships in But in Foxborough Since being drafted by the Patriots in New England as it there was a different 2010, there has not been a more dominant all started with our noise: one of boister- or productive tight end in the NFL than Rob Super Bowl XXXVI ous cheers from a Gronkowski. On March 24, after nine NFL sea- victory in Febru- nation of fans nearly sons and three Super Bowl championships, ary 2002 and 66,000 strong Gronk announced his retirement. continued with the Patriots winning three roaring through the town during each of the His NFL resume almost certainly makes him of New England’s four championships from Patriots 11 home wins at Gillette Stadium a first ballot Hall of Famer, but the legacy he 2001-2004. (including preseason and postseason leaves behind goes well beyond football. All this winning has coined Boston the games). The home crowd helped guide the For the better part of nine years, Gronk “City of Champions,” but we think Foxbor- Patriots to the only unbeaten home record made Foxborough home. He lived mere ough, following the Patriots sixth champion- in the NFL in 2018. minutes away from Gillette Stadium and was ship (half of the region’s 12 championships The unwavering support of the local com- routinely spotted around town at Stop & Shop, Town Hall and playing pickup basketball games over the last 18 years) has unequivocally munity again rallied around the home team See GRONK, Page 10 become America’s “Title Town.” and let all of those outside of New England And we have you, our fans, friends and know that the Patriots are still here and Find Partners in Patriotism on Social Media neighbors, to thank for this. they’re not done yet. Find Partners in Patriotism on Twitter by following Throughout the 2018 season, we saw The team fed off of the noise around them @PIPFoxboro and on Facebook by liking “Partners time and time again why the Patriots have - relishing in the chance to prove their doubt- in Patriotism.” These accounts are dedicated to the best fans in not just the NFL, but in all ers wrong while reveling in playing football in news and information important to the Foxbor- of sports. It began in the off-season, when February for a third straight Super Bowl and ough community and pro- many sports pundits thought aloud (again) fourth in the last five years. vides the Kraft Group with that the Patriots’ 18-year run had ended fol- Patriots fans, especially here in Foxbor- another way to regularly lowing a heartbreaking loss to Philadelphia ough, have never grown complacent with engage with its neighbors. in Super Bowl LII. Rumors of internal discord See CHAMPS, Page 2 Partners in Patriotism Update: Foxborough Commuter Rail Pilot to Begin Fall 2019 With weekday commuter rail schedule. Group officials to finalize the pilot Trains will not travel south of Fox- service coming to Foxborough The fall start date will allow for program’s schedule and outreach borough beyond Patriot Place and in 2019, MassDOT, the MBTA upgrades to the system’s signal about the new service. will not travel across any grade and the Town of Foxborough system and track to be com- The 11.5-month pilot program crossings in town. For more infor- announced the pilot service will pleted. will run commuter rail trains from mation about the pilot program, begin with the MBTA’s fall 2019 MassDOT will continue to Foxborough/Patriot Place Station please email foxborostation@ schedule rather than the May work with Foxborough and Kraft to Boston via the Fairmount Line. patriot-place.com. Foxborough High School Marching Band performs at the Patriots Super Bowl LIII Send-Off Rally at Gillette Stadium on Jan. 27. CHAMPS: Thank You for the Community Support From PAGE 1 Among those in the crowd the success of their team. And was the Foxborough High School it showed again during another Marching Band, who the Patriots run in January, another Super invited to perform during the Bowl championship in February rally. and another parade. “It was a great opportunity to We were amazed by the more support the Patriots and play than 35,000 fans who attended for all of the fans who came out the Patriots Send-Off Rally at to the rally and to experience Gillette Stadium the week before all of it with the rest of Patriots Super Bowl LIII. The atmosphere Nation,” said FHS Band Director reaffirmed our feeling that being Aaron Bush. “We loved it.” able to represent Foxborough Additionally, the first 200 Fox- and New England in the Super borough residents who attended Bowl is a tremendous privilege the rally were rewarded with VIP that never gets old. access, placing the hometown Even Coach Belichick couldn’t fans near the front of the stage. help but marvel at the over- Foxborough Police & Fire led the whelming support. Patriots buses out of Gillette Sta- “This is an awesome crowd, dium and onto Route 1 en route just tremendous,” Belichick told to the airport. the thousands of fans. “This is The incredible support we the biggest send-off we’ve ever received throughout town didn’t 2 had.” See CHAMPS, Page 11 Partners in Patriotism Partners in Patriotism PIP Fund to exceed $500K in donations The Partners in Patriotism (PIP) Fund is entering its fifth year as a registered nonprofit in Foxborough and is expected to reach a significant giving milestone in its support of the community in 2019. Since the Kraft family’s founding of the PIP Fund in 2014, the nonprofit has awarded more than $425,000 to Foxborough-based groups, organizations, individuals and community projects com- mitted to providing a positive impact and improving the quality of life in Town. Of the more than $425,000 in dona- tions, more than $115,000 has been awarded to supporting students and educational programs in the Foxborough schools, more than $67,000 has sup- ported town-wide athletes and athletic programs, nearly $78,000 has support- ed community programs and town-wide events and more than $42,000 has supported Town projects like the Foxbor- ough Flag Pole, the Global War on Terror Monument on the Common and the Sharon Wason Pavilion at the Payson Recreational Complex. Over the years, the PIP Fund has also served the community as a means of financial assistance to Foxborough residents who have experienced sudden loss or find themselves in an emergency financial situation. To date, the PIP Fund has donated nearly $123,000 to resi- dents in financial need to help them get back on their feet. In 2018 the PIP Fund began award- ing up to five, $5,000 scholarships to graduating high school seniors who reside in Foxborough and will be pursu- ing a postsecondary education. The students are selected based on their ability to demonstrate a dedication to community service and embody the core the Kraft Group serve 3-year terms on In 2019, the PIP Fund welcomes five principles and values of the Kraft Group: the Fund’s Grants Committee to review new members to its Grants Commit- good character, high integrity, respect grant applications and recommend al- tee with the appointments of Jessica to others, a willingness to take owner- location of the Fund’s $100,000 annual James, Chris McNamara, Matt Mona- ship and be active in their community. investment into the community. The han, Katie Storer and Marcia White- Since its inception, the PIP Fund has Fund’s Board of Directors, comprised of house. These five new members replace been a philanthropic partnership be- five members of the Kraft Group, review outgoing members Livia Binks, Michelle tween the Kraft family, the Kraft Group the Grants Committee’s recommenda- See PIP, Page 8 and Foxborough residents. tions to determine where the funds A group of 13 residents selected by should be donated in Town. 3 Partners in Patriotism SIX STRING COMING SOON TO PATRIOT PLACE Six String Grill and Stage, feature plenty of VIP private a full-service restaurant and viewing, event function space live music venue, is targeting and open areas for dancing. a summer 2019 opening at The Briar Group, in collabo- Patriot Place. ration with DFTR, will operate Located at 275 Patriot the new concept.