By Magda Dakin

While most of us probably spent the bulk of the last year and a half  keeping our head down, hunkering down, staying away from risks, catching up on reading, beginning new crafts, hanging with friends on line or relying on facetime and zoom for human interaction some of us took positive action to make a difference.

Michelle LaChapelle and Kelly Boll, already working together at Plummer Place, the Northbridge Senior Center, found  a need and decided this was a good time to make it happen. During visits at the local Northbridge cable station they discovered that the list of shows and topics currently offered on this station was lacking a distinct feminine influence and point of view.  As an important part of the Northbridge community communication system it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Michelle and Kelly to access this source. Women of Worth was their solution.

In their role as director and assistant director of the  senior center, Michelle and Kelly  are in a unique position to meet many local people, both business and individuals. They have had many years to mingle and learn about the needs of the people they serve. “We were especially impressed by the many women-owned local businesses that have popped up in the downtown area and wanted to showcase their efforts and applaud their resilience,” says Michelle as she described how it all came about. 

“The COVID hiatus gave us some additional time for training and organizing the project and on Oc tober 13, 2020, we aired our first Women of Worth show on the local cable station, NCTV, channel 191 on the cable service in Northbridge,” continues Michelle. “We had another break around the holidays due to COVID and continued again later in the winter.” 

“We are looking forward to starting our new season which will air on Saturday Sept. 25. We’ve learned a lot and our viewers have been so supportive. The cable station says we are the most watched show so far,” says a happy, smiling Michelle. 

“During our first season we interviewed some of the intrepid women-owned businesses gracing downtown Church St. It’s exciting to see their dreams and visions take place.  We’ll be doing more of them in the coming season.”

“We also wanted to explore women coming in to themselves, through trauma, drama, growing and expanding. Some of the personal journeys we’ve encountered were moving and haunting. You can see all of last year’s programs on line at the website. We’ll be looking into putting them on YouTube as well,” says Kelly.

“We’d really like to make a difference in people’s lives, even in a small way. If even one person is helped then we know we’ve been successful,” says Michelle. “We’ve been blessed, everyone we’ve asked to come on the show has accepted.”

Michelle and Kelly clearly love their new adventure and are excited to share it with others. They especially enjoyed learning about Girls On The Run, a life-changing program for 8-to-13-year-oldthat promotes girls by teaching life skills through lessons and running. It’s an international organization with a local chapter right here in Worcester.

Looking forward they will be exploring more small women-owned-and-operated businesses, women’s health  issues and self care, women in blue, women in military as well as any other interesting and informative topics. Northbridge Community Television (NCTV) channel 191. For programming information 774-624-4236.