The Castle Group

12/06/2024

Kick off the holiday season with the Asian Business Empowerment Council (ABEC) at their 2024 Annual Holiday Market!

Shop handcrafted goods, delicious treats, and more from 30+ AAPI-owned vendors while enjoying live entertainment and connecting with the Greater Boston community.

Explore ABEC’s Holiday Gift Guide for the perfect gift idea: https://www.tbf.org/shopaapiguide

When: Wed, Dec 11 | 5:00–7:30 PM
Where: The Boston Foundation, Boston, MA

Let’s celebrate community and the joy of giving this holiday season!

12/04/2024

A huge thanks to WCVB Channel 5 Boston’s Leanna Scachetti for including our Principal and Co-founder Sandy Lish in the recent online video series, “Good job hunting: A guide to the Boston market.”

Sandy touches on the professional landscape in Boston, how it’s changing— and how to retain young talent.

“It’s really important to build a culture that is a community in our own organization. And because we’re in a hybrid world now, we don’t have as much time to be together so we’re also very intentional about finding spaces to build that community,” said Sandy.

At this year’s Fierce Urgency of Now festival, Sandy highlighted the importance of allies and mentorship within the workplace, something Gen-Z is prioritizing in their job search.

You can watch the full series below.

Take a look at how the professional landscape in Boston is changing.

12/03/2024

It's ! We invite you to take a moment to support the nonprofits we have the great pleasure to work with every day. Each one plays a vital role in creating stronger, more equitable communities—whether by empowering students, addressing health and hunger, uplifting seniors, or amplifying underrepresented voices.

Explore their impactful missions, find ways to get involved, and consider helping them further their work. Together, we can make a difference and show the power of collective generosity.

12/02/2024

Be ready for anything! 🛑

Though event planners hope they'll never need to use a crisis management plan, it is critical that they have one ready to go when unexpected challenges arise.

Castle's SVP of Events Danielle Dickinson spoke with Association Conventions & Facilities about how crisis management plans can help event planners take control of tough situations. "You don’t want to incite chaos or fear. It does help to add an extra layer of control to ensure everyone is safe,” she said.

Read more of Danielle's thoughts below.

A crisis management plan ensures all stakeholders — attendees, presenters, vendors, event and venue staff — are safe, informed and respond accordingly.

11/27/2024

This season we're overflowing with gratitude!

To our amazing team whose dedication drives us forward, our incredible clients whose trust fuels our passion, our exceptional partners whose collaboration inspires us every day and our friends who remind us why we love what we do—thank you for making our work so meaningful.

Wishing you all a joyful and fulfilling Thanksgiving!🦃

11/26/2024

As we head into the holiday week, we find ourselves reminiscing about European adventures, specifically this incentive program we produced in Lisbon last May for one of Castle’s longstanding clients and global tech company.

From exploring the village of Sintra and the Regaleira Palace to indulging in local gastronomy on a TukTuk tour, the 275 attendees got a unique taste of Lisboa culture & cuisine.

The 3-night experiential event concluded with an evening at the stunning Palacio do Correio-Mor (pictured here) surrounded by beautiful French-style gardens—a truly rewarding experience for all!

11/21/2024

What better way to celebrate National Entrepreneurship Day than by recognizing extraordinary women leaders?

Center for Women & Enterprise honored Senate President Karen E. Spilka and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante with the inaugural Women’s Economic Empowerment Leadership Award for their commitment to advancing women’s economic independence.

Please join us in congratulating our own Sandy Lish, who was named one of 40 inspiring 2024 CWE Women Entrepreneurs Who Lift Up Massachusetts for creating economic impact and opportunities for our communities, alongside Wendy Spivak.

A special thank you to Rep. McMurtry for his long-time support of Castle and women-owned businesses across MA. Here’s to celebrating women entrepreneurs who are driving innovation, creating jobs, and make our ecosystem stronger!

11/20/2024

To help all team members prioritize our health and well-being, Castle hosted a filled with activities to recharge throughout the workday! 🔋

🧘 Jumpstarted the day with a yoga class at Asana Charlestown, where we practiced breathing, alignment and mindfulness. We left feeling relaxed and centered!

🍓 Had a delicious and nutritious lunch catered from Playa Bowls with yummy acai, fruits, granola and all the nourishment we needed.

🐶 Got a paw-some visit to the office for some puppy therapy, courtesy of the Pets & People Foundation, Inc. Penny and Rosie brought us so much joy, laughter and puppy love!

🍪 Enjoyed some incredible cookies from Collettey's Cookies. You can't conclude the day without a sweet treat.

We thank our Health and Wellness Committee for planning this special day to remind us that health and wellness, both in and out of the workplace, matters!

11/19/2024

Big shoutout to Babson College on an incredible Conference, uniting top minds from university-based entrepreneurship centers around the globe to tackle big challenges and share game-changing insights!

As Babson’s partner, we made sure every detail of this three-day, multi-venue experience hit the mark. With 700+ leaders and educators from 350 institutions joining in, the agenda was packed: powerful keynotes, lightning talks, a buzzing vendor showcase, pre-conference explorations throughout Boston, a standout reception at Fenway Park, and a memorable GCEC Awards Gala at Boston Marriott Newton.

Cheers to The Arthur M. Blank School for Entrepreneurial Leadership for bringing this global event to Massachusetts and setting the stage for a fantastic week!

11/18/2024

Our team had an amazing time at the 2nd AAPI Arts & Culture Summit hosted by the newly launched AAPI Arts & Culture Collaborative! Shoutout to , The Asian Community Fund for their work in seeding the initiative and day in partnership with the City of Boston, Barr Foundation, and Mass Cultural Council.

This powerhouse event brought together arts and culture leaders from across Massachusetts to dream big, strategize, and energize the future of the AAPI cultural sector.

Highlights? Glad you asked!

📊 A compelling presentation on the state of AAPI arts and culture by Michael Bobbitt, Executive Director of Mass Cultural Council.

📢 An inspiring panel featuring heavy-hitters like Stephen Chan, Senior Advisor for Partnerships at City of Boston, Giles Li, Senior Program Officer of Arts & Creativity at the Barr Foundation, Emily Ruddock, Executive Director of MASSCreative and moderator Ming Min Hui, Executive Director of the Boston Ballet. They shared the inside scoop on advocacy, funding opportunities and how we can keep creating spaces that uplift AAPI voices.

🎨And let’s not forget the 175+ AAPI artists, administrators, and advocates who showed up to lend their passion and insights. They are shaping the vibrant, inclusive future of arts and culture in Massachusetts!

11/15/2024

Embrace Boston convened their second of three annual Arts and Culture Summits as part of Everyone250, an effort to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary equitably.

The Summit, held at Massachusetts College of Art and Design, was hosted in partnership with Barr Foundation, A Beautiful Resistance, Embrace Boston, MassArt, Mass Humanities, Mathmatik Athletics and The Nellie Mae Education Foundation to bring leaders and advocates from diverse industries together in the wake of an historic election.

Attendees heard from Dr. Imari Paris Jeffries, Dr. Mary K. Grant, Emily Foster Day, Amanda Shea, Makeeba McCreary, Brian Boyles, Jeneé Osterheldt, Summer L. Williams, Andrés Holder, theo tyson, Ché Anderson and participated in breakout sessions lead by local facilitators Dart Adams, Payal Sharma and Mfoniso Udofia.

Our highlight? Participating in a spontaneous call-and-response song with the very talented Andrés Holder of Boston Children's Chorus.

11/14/2024

It’s not every day your team gets to enjoy an energizing lunch meeting with the new Equity and Justice team at GBH! This powerhouse unit is laser-focused on uncovering the racial and socioeconomic gaps in Greater Boston and beyond.

Big thanks to Magdiela Matta, Meghan Smith, and Trajan Warren for dropping by our office and sharing the incredible stories you're bringing to light. We look forward to exploring how we can partner together to amplify these important voices and tackle the issues that matter most to Castle and our clients in building a more equitable city!

11/12/2024

Gather Health celebrated another milestone in bridging healthcare gaps and enhancing equity across the state with the grand opening of its newest primary care center in Dorchester. This marks Gather Health’s fourth official location dedicated to providing community-centered care to older adults in Greater Boston!

We look forward to supporting their continued growth as they champion a socially supportive primary care model bringing vital resources to those who need it most.

📸: David Fox Photography

11/11/2024

A very gracious thank you to all the veterans in our lives. You are the family members who taught us resilience, the friends who inspired our work ethic, the clients who bring a unique perspective, and the neighbors who remind us of what it means to serve with humility.

Your sacrifices have shaped our communities and our shared values.

We encourage everyone to take a moment today to reach out to a veteran in your life. Whether it’s a text, a call, or a conversation over coffee, a simple 'thank you' can go a long way.

11/08/2024

1,200 turkeys, 150 participants and lots of smiles!

The hunger-relief tradition lives on at the The Greater Boston Food Bank (GBFB), who once again kicked off the holiday season with their 19th annual Chain of Giving event. On Thursday, we joined in on the magic alongside Lt. Governor Kim Driscoll, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 GBFB President and CEO Catherine D’Amato— plus Wally the Green Monster and Pat Patriot who danced their way through the human chain of hands passing 1,200 turkeys to be donated to families in need this holiday season.

Those 1,200 turkeys are only a portion of the 46,000 turkeys and other holiday and daily food items the nonprofit expects to distribute to pantries across Eastern Massachusetts throughout the holidays.

GBFB also celebrated its new refrigeration unit, which will allow the organization to distribute up to an estimated eight million additional nutritious meals next year.

Check out the story on WCVB Channel 5 Boston:

https://www.wcvb.com/article/greater-boston-food-bank-thanksgiving-turkey-drive/62843143

11/04/2024

"The culture here at Cumberland Farms is that we are a food service establishment that happens to sell gas."

Watch below to learn more about how the Cumby's team produces 24 million food items every year in the latest Made in Mass segment from Doug Meehan at WCVB Channel 5 Boston.

Headquartered in Westborough, MA, this New England staple's culinary center produces and distributes more than 100,000 food items daily to EG America's 1,500 stores nationwide.

Cumbies, as it’s affectionately known, is a lot more than just a place to get gas, milk or lottery tickets.

11/01/2024

Reproductive freedom finds itself at an alarming crossroads on the national stage. While we here in the Commonwealth are lucky to have elected officials who took swift action to protect reproductive care following the death of Roe v. Wade, we still can’t consider ourselves safe from what could come in the future.

Castle’s partnership with Dominique Lee and the team Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts (PPLM) is extremely important work and we’re proud to help them on their mission to restore, protect and expand care.

Read State House News Service’s Q&A with Dominique Lee to learn more about how PPLM is preparing for the upcoming election and how they plan to push their mission forward no matter who wins on November 5th.

The head of the Planned Parenthood League of Mass. reflects on her first full year in the job, the next legislative session, and an election that has spotlighted reproductive health

11/01/2024

In the wake of Steward Health’s collapse, State House News Service (SHNS) / MASSterList brought together hospital, health insurance and community care leaders for a timely and critical panel discussion on its impact on the Massachusetts health care system, "Urgent Treatment: Mass. Health Care after Steward".

, Dr. Abha Agrawal of Lawrence General Hospital and Greg Wilmot of NeighborHealth joined Lora Pellegrini of the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans, Steve Walsh of the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, and John Fernandez of Brown University Health to share their insights, experiences and concerns with workforce, cost and care trends that they’ve seen on the ground before and since Steward Health Care's exit from Massachusetts.

Thank you to Massachusetts Health Policy Commission Director David Seltz for opening remarks, SHNS' reporter Chris Lisinski for moderation and to SHNS/MASSterList and George Donnolly for holding space for this important and ongoing discussion. Lastly, thank you to all the panelist for sharing your invaluable insights and continued advocacy in working towards improved health care access for all Massachusetts residents.