Think of Michael Foundation President Carmela Dalton announced that the foundation is donating $10,000 to the Northshore Recovery High School to help fund its after-school programs.
The Think of Michael Foundation, which is based in Lynnfield, was established in memory of Dalton’s son Michael Dalton, who died of an opioid overdose while in outpatient treatment at the age of 39 in 2018. The foundation’s goal is to help people who are battling substance-use disorder in several ways, such as by providing scholarships, transition assistance, and recovery resources.
Northshore Recovery High School in Beverly opened in 2006 with the help of the Northshore Education Consortium, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, and the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. It has an academic and therapeutic environment and is open to students ages 14 to 21 who need recovery and mental-health support while getting their high-school diploma.
“What we decided on is providing a donation that would give them a choice of doing special events such as bowling, the movies, rock climbing, golf, football tournaments — just anything fun for them,” Carmela Dalton said. “Anything that keeps them in the community and from getting into a relapse.”
Carmela Dalton also said that the foundation chose to fund Northshore Recovery’s after-school programs because the school has certain requirements for the grants it receives and it doesn’t have a lot of money for extracurricular activities to begin with.
In a press release, Northshore Recovery High School Principal Michelle Muffett-Lipinski expressed her gratitude toward the foundation.
“From the moment I met (Carmela Dalton and her husband, Lynnfield Select Board member Dick Dalton), I knew we would be working together to change the way we treat those who struggle with substance use and other mental-health challenges,” Muffett-Lipinski said.
