Wheelabrator gives $7G to Ballard Early Childhood

SAUGUS – It?s been six months since the Ballard Early Childhood Center partnered with Wheelabrator in Saugus, and so far that partnership is paying big dividends for the facility.Recently, Linda Sapienza, Wheelabrator Director of Community Relations, stopped by the Ballard School with a huge gift: a $7,000 check about 3-feet long.?I go to the school and say to the principal, ?Put together a wish list of what you would like to see from your business partner and put it in the order of the first thing you?d like down to the 12th,” said Sapienza. “We go through it and see what we can accommodate.”The Ballard School is Wheelabrator?s second partnership in Saugus. Sapienza said it had been partnered with Waybright Elementary for several years before taking on the Ballard School.?This is our first donation to the Ballard,” said Sapienza. “We?re very much into long-term partnerships because it shows you?re a leading corporate citizen. They go on for years and years. They?re very happy with it and happy to have us as a partner. That?s the response I?ve received.”Wheelabrator, which sits on the board of the Business Education Collaborative, also donated $2,500 to the Veterans Memorial Elementary School. Sapienza said these donations help ease the burden on groups like Parent Teacher Organizations.?Rather than taking a program we put together and give it to them, let?s fulfill something they know they need like something the PTO might be looking for or a teacher,” said Sapienza. “We don?t know best what they need, but we can help.”Sapienza said the money to the Veterans School will serve as seed money to help them convert the library into a learning commons.School Committee Chairman Wendy Reed said the partnership with Wheelabrator and the money it provides helps “tremendously.”?When we first opened (the Ballard School), we were scrambling and kind of piecing things together,” said Reed. “Reopening a new building is an expense and there are a lot of one-time expenses. It was nice that they stepped up because they didn?t have a corporate sponsor. They?re very generous to the community, especially to the schools. They always come forward and they?re great.”Wheelabrator, which burns trash and converts it to energy, has had its share of controversy in town. In May, the trash-burning facility agreed to pay a $7.5 million settlement with the Attorney General?s office for alleged environmental violations.The Saugus Board of Selectmen recently voted to accept its share of the settlement, which includes a $260,000 payment, plus an additional $200,000 for Center for Hard to Recycle Materials and for an environmental park off of Bristow Street.However, Sapienza said Wheelabrator?s recent donations are nothing new, and pointed to a long history of giving back to Saugus.?We?ve been doing community programs exactly like this all over Saugus for over 20 years,” said Sapienza. “It?s not a step-up. I think people are noticing it more because that happened. Before it was just standard operating procedure.”Matt Tempesta can be reached at [email protected].