[Music] [Music] hello and welcome to another edition of currently
in quiny I'm Joe Catalano today we learned about a fundraiser that's coming up soon here in quiny
to benefit the Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism first though we take a look at the weather and
the news for you currently in quiny we've got some hazy sunshine 77° right now it'll be a beautiful
day today lots of sunshine nice and dry and Mild with highs in the low 80s this afternoon little
bit of smoke in the air later on this afternoon from the wildfires out west temperatures tonight
will drop off into the mid-60s under clear skies and the last weekend of July looks very
nice mainly sunny tomorrow with highs in the low 80s just a few more clouds on Sunday
still dry Sunday's highs again at the low 80s and a little gray and damp on Monday especially
in the morning could see be some showers around on Monday with highs in the mid 70s looks like a
big warm-up into next week so enjoy the next few days again we have sunshine and 77 degrees in
quiny right now checking out the news for you today a group of quinsey elected officials are
calling on the MBTA to make the Marina Bay ferry service free while the red line is shut down in
September member Representatives Bruce aers and tacky Chan Senator John Keenan and Ward 6 City
councilor Bill Harris have all sent a letter to MBTA general manager Philip a requesting the
Free Ferry rides and also requesting that the tea expand the ferry service and use a larger vessel
the red line will close between JFK mass and brain tree from September 6th through the 29th for work
on 18 miles of track the te says the shutdown is unprecedented but necessary in order to remove 20
slow zones and reduce travel times by at least 24 minutes the ferry operates from squantum Point
Park in quinsey with stops in the sea port at the aquarium in Logan Airport the tea bought that
ferry service from the town of Winthrop last year the newly formed citizens group called ajust quiny
is moving ahead with plans to mobilize residents after recently failing to gather enough signatures
to repeal the salary increases for the mayor and City councilors the Grassroots organization
released the results of a poll this week of 600 residents indicating support for a plan to replace
the city council in next year's city election impose term limits on quiny elected officials
increase fiscal responsibility a residential tax exemption and concern about a possible 99-year
lease of Granite Links to quy Hills Associates the group also celebrated their repeal the ray
effort by gathering just over 6,000 signatures in 3 weeks although they were falling short of
the almost 8,000 signatures required to repeal those pay raises the quiny Community Development
Department is receiving some national recognition for its efforts in supporting homelessness
prevention and Affordable Health Care the department was praised by the national Community
Development Association at their annual meeting in Cambridge also honored by the US Department
of Housing and Urban Development for supporting father bills in main Springs new Yaky Housing
Resource Center and manic community health center quinsey community development director
Sean Glennon accepted the honors along with representatives from Manet Community Health Center
and father bills and mainspring along with other members of his Department the department also won
the John Sasso National Community Development week award for a record 12th time some students will
be receiving some special care packages full of personal hygiene items when they return to
classes in quinsey in September this past week members of the quiny public schools youth Works
program spent two days assorting and packing over 1100 care packages full of soaps and toothpaste
shampoo feminine hygiene products and more all in partnership with the NM based nonprofit hope
and comfort those packages will be distributed to students at The Snug Harbor Broad Meadows Point
Webster and Southwest Middle Schools supporters say the kits will help those students experience
Better Health confidence and increased School engagements it's our check of news for you today
coming up the Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism holding a stars of the spectrum music festival
in quiny next weekend we'll learn all about it [Music] next welcome back the Doug fluty Foundation Junior
foundation for autism is holding a stars of the spectrum music festival at Veterans Memorial
stadium in quinsey next Saturday August the 3D it's going to be a great day and we're going
to learn all about it from Elizabeth Monroe and Stefano mcau because they going to be there
welcome to both of you thanks for coming over thanks for having us yeah it's a pleasure good to
meet you both appreciate that and looking forward to learning Elizabeth a little bit more about the
foundation first of all and then definitely about this music festival be rocking the Veterans
Memorial stadium all day next Saturday right uh so let's start first with the uh the history
about the foundation itself if we could yes so the Doug fluty Jr foundation for autism was founded
26 years ago last year was our 25th anniversary year our big celebration year um it was founded
by Doug and Lori fluty when their son douge Jr was diagnosed with autism when he was three years
old um Doug actually used some of his fluty flakes um proceeds to start the foundation and we've
been going strong for 25 years so we directly help people and families with autism live life to
the fullest sure and how do you do that what are what are some of the services that the foundation
provides so we provide direct financial support to people and families with autism um through
grants and we also provide Community grants to autism serving organizations and partners who
provide those Direct Services to the autism Community okay and who's eligible to receive those
Services how does that connection happen yes so we have a couple of Grants throughout the year where
people and families are um able to apply directly on our website for direct financial support and
we also have multiple Community grants throughout the year where these direct service feed on the
ground organizations in your community are able to apply for Grants and funding do you have
any sense for how many people the foundation assists on a yearly basis yes so we um thanks to
Our Community Partners and our grant organizations we touch the lives of around 10,000 people and
families with OP every year no we're actually Nationwide now so we are very active in Florida
which is where the flues currently live and we're kind of all over we have a huge um fluty 5K
for autism movement as well besides our music Endeavors we host fluty 5Ks across the country
and we do make an impact Nationwide now very good so that's uh you've gone International
but you're based here in Massachusetts right right in Framingham um and have you seen you know
progress over the past 25 years in the way autism is approached say from Society and also from the
Healthcare Community oh definitely there's just been so much more awareness that's been built when
dougy Jr was first diagnosed the whole reason that Doug and Lori started the foundation was because
no one knew how to treat autism it was a brand new diagnosis and now there's again much more
awareness and it really is a testament to where we are today with our event stars of the spectrum
these people they're ready to take the stage to show you what people with Autism what they can
do they're ready to share their stories and their voices and talents with the world as a matter
of fact you've brought one of the stars with you today in the form of Stephano Stephano thanks for
coming appreciate the opportunity to meet you and learn your story my pleasure yeah so you are one
of the Stars so you you were musically inclined yes I sure am musically inclined okay I sing and
play piano and guitar as well okay and you'll be performing at the festival that's right I'll also
be the honorary musical MC oh really okay so what is it about music that that uh energizes you you
know that that makes you happy I've always loved to sing and do music since I was a kid like when
I was one when I was a toddler I always loved listening to What's Love Got to Do With It by Tina
Turner very good taste it's a beautiful song yeah and I listen to more and more songs as time went
on okay is there music in your family or other other members of The Family Music inclines well my
uncle used to make compilation CDs oh really okay I understand you're going to school specifically
for music is that right I attended there actually I went to Bunker Hill Community College and got
an associates degree in music oh okay very good what do you hope to do in the future with that
degree well I still want to perform anywhere I go okay including at the festival right of course
yeah so what exactly will you be doing this is uh we should tell folks it's Saturday August 3rd
uh 2 p.m. at Veterans Memorial stadium so what's your role uh at the festival I will be an honorary
musical MC as well as singing in spectrum of sound oh okay what are you going be singing we're going
to sing songs like what we're made for we're going to sing like some mashups we're going to sing a
special version of lean on me with Faith Evans too really so what type of music and will there be
bands to go along with this as well yes the Doug fluty Bros band oh very good is it actually Doug
fluty Brothers well oh yeah oh it is it is okay so the big question Elizabeth Stefano will Doug
fluty be at the festival of course oh he will yes he will he's part of the fluty Brothers Band he'll
be drumming with spectrum of sound our inclusive choir of autism self Advocates they play a Boston
mash up that you don't want to miss so he'll be drumming for that um and yes he attends our shows
every year with Lori fluty oh really okay so I just want to read kind of the subtitle of of
the festival because it really it it's pretty self-descriptive as to what you're trying to do
uh join us for the nation's largest Music Festival by autistic artists that alone is a pretty bold
statement is that is that true yes so we will have nearly 100 people with autism taking the stage
to either perform or be an MC really okay uh and celebrate and Elevate voices and stories of people
with Autism so how will you do that how will the festival do that yes so we work with nearly 100
autistic talented artists from across the nation and they are here to share their music with the
world they've been practicing really hard and they're really really talented so whether you've
heard of them or not you should come to enjoy this fun day of Music we have special guests including
autistic performer from American Idol Aiden Boer um we have a sibling Duo from Florida Jake and Sky
Jake Velasquez was on America's Got Talent uh we also have some very special guests and Headliners
who will be collaborating with autistic artists so we have nationally acclaimed pop funk band couch
who originated in Boston they'll be joining and collaborating with autistic artists as well as Sam
James a singer songwriter who I believe is from Worcester Massachusetts he'll be collaborating
and then we have the winner the first autistic winner of America's Got Talent Cody Lee flying
in from California he has a set with his band as well so should be fun yeah about how many folks
are you expecting to attend oh um so right now we're creeping in on like 7,000 people attending
so it should be pretty big and we're so grateful for the city of quinsey and the free Jacks for
letting us be at in quiny last year we were at Fenway Park this year is bigger and better than
ever we we expanded from Fenway you've moved on up right yes um also it says the festival
is sensory inclusive so everyone in big bold letters can enjoy the live music and Mission
Centric vendors and Artisans so explain that if you could so we are very proud to partner with
one of our organizations autism Alliance to make the whole festival sensory inclusive so while
it still will be a music festival at its core there will still be loud music music throughout
the day we're offering accommodations so that people and families are able to bring their loved
ones with autism and they can have a fun time so we have indoor sensory spaces underneath the
bleachers that are air conditioned and quiet in case someone needs to go and relax we have outdoor
sensory spaces we have Bubble zones um all of our volunteers are trained so they will know that this
is a concert for people with Autism and we have um sensory item giveaways as well so we're giving
away fidget toys headphones noise cancelling headphones earplugs and sensory communication
cards for people who are non-speaking oh okay because the overall mission of the foundation
right is to help folks with autism live productive fruitful lives right exactly yeah uh doing this
through these Avenues yes and you also mentioned our shop the Spectrum our Artisans our vendors
so this is a new Endeavor of ours but we are inviting autistic business owners entrepreneurs
and artists to be part of our shop the Spectrum so fans and attendees will be able to shop um their
like artwar their their t-shirts whatever they're selling we have a huge vendor area I believe we
have like 18 autistic entrepreneurs coming to sell their stuff so it'll be a true Festival Vibe okay
um Stephano I understand that you are a performer at heart because when you're not playing a piano
or a guitar you're giving duckboat tours well I don't give the tours but I help guests board
the Ducks ah okay however I have narrated a few tours for my friends on special occasions but
I also get to be the Duck Tours mascot sometimes whose name is killroy who apparently was in
Quincy he was the one working at the shipyard during World War II I didn't even know killroy
was in Quincy see it's Kismet it was meant to be um yes as a matter of fact uh caroy was a
real person he was an inspector at the quinsey shipyard and he'd scrawl on the side of the ship
after he inspected it killroy was here so there you go and a fun fact although I talk a a lot I'm
actually good at keeping my mouth shut when I'm a mascot so my mom makes this joke to get me to stop
talking I should be put inside the mascot costume she keeps an extra handy just in case right yeah
um so now the duct tours are seasonal of course so what will you do after those after those done
are done this year work in the culinary industry really out of college okay all right what's some
of your favorite foods some of them I like as spaghetti alak carbonara I also like all sorts of
things and I like to enjoy what the season has to offer yeah I know being healthy is is important
to you right yes I'm trying to Teach the World to use healthier ingredients as my biggest cooking
goal okay all right so that's a a bold Endeavor do you think you can combine your two loves your
music and food uh together there of course mhm maybe uh be a performer at a restaurant perhaps
or something like that that would be an excellent goal there you go and I say with music also I
like to tell you another thing I do also have a good ear to detect how songs sound very similar
oh I see what you're saying the chords and and The Melodies and yes yeah very good do you think
you'll be a composer One Day writing music well I am working on my own song as well really Secrets
Elizabeth's nodding her head like yes he's got a lot of talent yes indeed no all of our stars
actually have taken it upon themselves to write their own music they actually just launched their
first ever original album featuring 15 autistic artists it's groundbreaking it's called stars of
the spectrum available on all streaming platforms and we partnered with big night talent to launch
this album it's doing really well and they'll be performing the album live on August 3rd oh really
yes so Stephano heard the album is inspired and he's also writing his own music so we're we'll
hope to elevate your song too when you release it so original music right here in quiny very
good yeah what would you say Elizabeth there are um some of the misconceptions about autism and
about people with Autism that that the public should know about yeah so I there are a lot of
misconceptions about autism I think that people have that they're people might be awkward or come
across as not conversational um but we are here to break those stereotypes and boundaries like
if you come to this concert you'll see them on stage people of all talents all abilities will be
taking the stage including non-speakers they'll be communicating with iPads we have autistic
golfers taking the stage who might not be singing but they'll be golfing on stage golfing
on stage yeah we have a little chipping contest on stage um our sponsors are Jersey Mike and
get air trampoline parks so the golfers will be doing a little contest with Jersey Mike and get
air and we'll be giving away either free Subs to people or free um trampoline trips ah okay very
good um do you have any kind of goal for for the event how much you hope to raise and and talk
about the what the funds will be used for yes so uh I would say our goal is while it will
be monetary it's really mainly to create this one-of-a-kind event that there's not there's
not an event like this in the nation besides we really want to create this inclusive and fun
space for people with Autism to enjoy it's by autism for autism um and all funds raised from our
generous sponsorships and donations made during the event will directly go to help people and
families with autism live life to the Phil okay would you say this is your biggest or one of your
biggest fundraisers yes however we are very lucky we have so many other fundraising inies that we do
throughout the year there are so many passionate people and we have a huge besides our music arm
we have our fluty 5K for autism and we have a huge peer-to-peer um fundraising initiative where
people host fundraisers for us they they take on a race and they'll choose to fundraise for the
fluty foundation so we have many Avenues where we are able to make an impact yeah it's you know
when I when I hear about the the festival and and all the different things the foundation's doing
it goes against common knowledge of folks with autism who would like you know kind of a calm
quiet atmosphere without bright lights and loud sounds so this is this is turning it out of 10 it
really is different for many people some people like the loud noise some people don't mind it
some find it they listen to music in their in their headphones some it really it's different
for every person all right and that's probably one of the misconceptions right is you can't just
generalize right it's called the spectrum because everybody's different everybody's a a different
place on that Spectrum right yeah and Stephano it sounds like you like you enjoy both you enjoy
you know the loud and the uh the exciting but also you said you listen to to music in your head
as well thanks yeah so going forward do you think you can use those skills to inspire others uh sure
yeah what um would you say have been some of the difficulties that you faced uh as you as you deal
with autism sometimes I had trouble understanding things but I eventually got through it mhm and
what would your advice be to some somebody who was going through a similar experience remember
to ask somebody for help whenever it's appropriate yes yeah uh possibly through the fluty foundation
right how did you find the fluty foundation how did that happen well I believe my mom met the
executive director Nick Savar at a Special Olympics event okay and believe that they' be
able to to help it with your family as well right of course yeah yeah has it has it been helpful
would you say it sure has really I love the fluty foundation I can't leave it do you have to well
I love being a member of it uhhuh Elizabeth is it for folks of all ages yes it is M okay so there's
no kind of you age out of the system no way yeah it's there to help whenever necessary very good
uh so tickets for the uh Festival how does that happen yes so go to www. fluty foundation.org to
check out our website under our events tickets are still available but they're limited so get yours
quick going fast yeah going fast absolutely are there volunteer opportunities as well definely
there are yes we have a huge volunteer army ready to go but there's always time to sign up
for more so yes if you visit our website there will be an option to sign up to volunteer as well
okay and do you have to have an experience with autism in order to volunteer no okay we will
we have a great training that's introductory and entry level so anyone even if you've never
worked with people with Autism before weour en you to volunteer okay all right very good uh
now going forward after the event this year what'll be happening for the foundation yes so we
will be going into the fall which is our fluty 5K for autism season uh we have I think we already
have like eight satellite events lined up and it's actually going to be our 25th Annual fluty
5K for autism in NAIC which is Doug's Hometown oh very good okay so will Doug junr also be here
in quiny for this event no so unfortunately douge does not travel well I see um so he will be
home in Florida but we are live streaming the event um with our television and media partner
WCVB Channel 5 Boston so anyone from anywhere can watch at www.wcvb.com excellent so hopefully
dougy will be watching online Okay um how did you come to to land in quinsey yes so uh this is our
second year of our concert yes last year was our 25th anniversary and we decided to go big we were
at Fenway Park we had 5,000 people stage on The Dugout it was Unreal it was Unforgettable um and
we are growing so we were looking at venues that had a higher capacity and quiny was the spot
it's kind of the free jaacks have been amazing it's been like a blank canvas we've been able to
get creative build shade tents build sensory tents they're letting us really like do what's best
for the autism Community it's again it's like a Blake canvas it's so much fun and there's huge
capacity so we're here we're excited excellent uh Stephano did you perform at Fenway Park of course
I did what was that like it was awesome yeah like It's a Wonderful venue the year before we didn't
have as many audience but we were at the Lincoln Center in New York City really okay so have you
traveled the country kind of as a Ambassador for the foundation would you say well the only
time I really was in a foreign state with fluty was New York City but also there was
once a gig in Connecticut oh okay all right so are there other types of autism foundations
Elizabeth like the fluty foundation yes there are tons so as I said the fluty foundation provides
Community grants to autism serving organizations um locally that provide Direct Services to the
families we don't provide the Direct Services per se we provide the funding so there are tons
of community organizations autism organizations where we actually partner with hundreds of
them and we invited them to the concert and luckily thanks to our sponsors were're able to
offer free tickets to people and families with autism and many of these autism organizations are
partaking in that and they're bringing buses of people they're making a huge Community event for
their for everyone so it should be a lot of fun yeah it I mean I think you know autism really
has become more in the mainstream discussion in recent years um I know that uh the state
police uh recently embarked on a new program to kind of assist officers and folks with autism
communicate better in that situation so it's it's it's Tak it's getting notice definitely yes the
autism numbers are rising every year um more people are getting diagnosed and more um normally
marginalized groups are having autism become more like for example the fluty foundation is really
taking a strong um stance on helping people and families in minority groups who are culturally
linguistically diverse who may not be able to communicate an IEP at school or other things like
that so we've been taking a priority to funding um served communities sure sure uh Stephano have a
great time at the festival uh do you want folks to come up and say hello to you if if they come yes
please okay all right and uh maybe you'll perform a little song for them too yeah sing their name
perhaps it would be great okay uh in the meantime look for you on the Duck Tours yeah you'll have
to see me working at the duck stop though okay and your in your mascot not speaking and by the way on
the day of game one for the Celtics finals yes I wasn't in the parade but on the day of game one
I was working at the credential center location when suddenly a big yellow bus from hoop bus came
mhm and I got to play basketball at work is that right as well as play on the swing hanging from
the ceiling inside the bus and then the hoop bus staff crossed the side road to the duck stop for
an impromptu moment that they gave me very good I climbed on the hood of the duck gave a shout out
and bounced past the ball from up there to one of the employees who then did some tricks passing
it to other employees and even shooting it across the side road for the final employee to alup it
that's available on Instagram ah okay we look if you look at hoop bus on Instagram and look at the
reals thank you both great with a funny basketball joke too okay all right we'll look that up uh have
a great time next uh next Saturday actually is the thank you we hope to see you there it'll be great
hope to see you there too thank you thank you hopefully the weather will cooperate it will this
weekend that's for sure it's beautiful out there today with temperatures in the low 80s nice and
dry this weekend with sunny warm days and clear cool nights maybe some showers around here on
Monday thanks again to Elizabeth moroe and Stefan mcau for joining us from the fluty foundation
thank you to our crew thank you for watching [Music]