Four high school football programs across Massachusetts have been selected as recipients of the Silvio Cella Family Foundation’s 2019 grant awards. Chelsea High School is among the schools receiving support through this initiative.
Each year, the foundation distributes $3,000 grants to four programs—one in the North, South, Central, and West regions of the state. These funds support efforts to enhance playing conditions, strengthen player safety, boost participation levels, acquire necessary equipment, and foster teamwork and school pride. Since its establishment in 2010, the Silvio Cella Family Foundation has contributed more than $100,000 to high school football programs throughout Massachusetts.
This year’s grant recipients are distributed regionally as follows: Chelsea High School (North), Southeastern Regional High School (South), South High Community School (Central), and Pittsfield High School (West).
Michael Cella, who serves as president of the Silvio Cella Family Foundation, expressed the organization’s commitment to the program. “This much needed grant money will help
these football programs to improve player safety and upgrade facilities and
equipment, and build a sense of teamwork and community in these schools,” he stated. “We are honored to carry on my Dad’s legacy and support high school football in Massachusetts.” Each recipient school will utilize its $3,000 award in accordance with MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) guidelines to support its football program.
The foundation has a lengthy history of supporting football programs. Previous grant recipients include Greater Lawrence Tech, Nauset Regional, Burncoat, and South Hadley (2018); Tech Boston Academy, Worcester North, Holyoke, and Tri County Regional Vocational Technical High School (2017); Brighton, Milton, Oxford, and Pathfinder RVT High School (2016); Medford, Weymouth, Bartlett, and Hoosac Valley High School (2015); Greater Lowell Technical, Cathedral, Doherty, and Monument Mountain Regional High School (2014); Northeast Metro Tech, Randolph, Blackstone-Millville Regional, and Smith Vocational & Agricultural (2013); Lawrence, Jeremiah Burke (Boston), Millis, and Ware High School (2012); Framingham, Fitchburg, and Pioneer Valley Regional High School (2011). The foundation has also made special donations to Revere High, where Coach Cella served as athletic director and head football coach for 49 years.
Cella elaborated on the foundation’s mission and values: “fblikebutton_button” “Silvio Cella was an innovator on the field, and a champion for athletes and coaches. He motivated his players and those around him to give 100%, not only in football but especially in the classroom, at home and in the community. The Silvio Cella Family Foundation is committed to player safety, and to preserving the integrity of high school football for generations to come.”
Chelsea educator receives prestigious fellowship
Brittany Fitzgibbon, a teacher at Chelsea High School in Chelsea, MA, has received a James Madison Fellowship from the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation of Alexandria, VA. The award was granted through the foundation’s twenty-eighth annual fellowship competition, which distributed a total of 53 fellowships in 2019. These fellowships are designed to support advanced study of American history for college graduates pursuing careers in teaching American history, American government, and social studies at the secondary level, as well as for experienced secondary school teachers in these disciplines.
The fellowship, named in honor of the nation’s fourth president and “Father of the Constitution and Bill of
Rights,” will provide up to $24,000 toward Ms. Fitzgibbon’s master’s degree studies. Her coursework must include substantial focus on the history and principles of the United States Constitution.
Ms. Fitzgibbon was selected following competition with other applicants from Massachusetts, with additional fellowships awarded to candidates in each state. Funded through a trust account held by the United States Treasury along with private donations, corporate support, and foundation contributions, the fellowship obligates recipients to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for a minimum of one year per year of support received. The award recognizes accomplished and promising educators, deepens their understanding of American constitutional government’s origins and evolution, and ultimately enriches secondary students’ knowledge of the nation’s constitutional heritage.
Established by congressional action in 1986, the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation operates as an independent agency within the Executive Branch of the Federal Government. Beyond administering fellowships, the organization supports various educational initiatives focused on constitutional history in secondary schools. Additional details are available at www.jamesmadison.gov.