July 29, 2025 • 38 mins
The NightSide News Update features information and expertise from local and global innovators and leaders.
Listen in as Dan speaks with:
Charles Liao, Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, about U.S.-Taiwan relations and U.S.-China dynamics.
Christina Keim, M Ed, MFA, award-winning equestrian journalist and author of “Unwanted: The Causes and Effects of America's Horse Population Crisis.” Every year, tens of thousands of horses (racehorses past their prime, foals who didn’t meet expectations, elderly Amish cart horses, and backyard companions) become “unwanted.” Keim takes readers to the front lines of the crisis.
Mary Bach, AARP Pennsylvania Volunteer and Chair of the Consumer Issues Task Force, on why scammers want your resume and how they get them!
Krissie Kelleher, the new CEO of the Boston nonprofit Team IMPACT, about the work of Team IMPACT that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved.
You can hear NightSide with Dan Rea, Live! Weeknights From 8PM-12AM on WBZ - Boston's News Radio.
Listen in as Dan speaks with:
Charles Liao, Director-General of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Boston, about U.S.-Taiwan relations and U.S.-China dynamics.
Christina Keim, M Ed, MFA, award-winning equestrian journalist and author of “Unwanted: The Causes and Effects of America's Horse Population Crisis.” Every year, tens of thousands of horses (racehorses past their prime, foals who didn’t meet expectations, elderly Amish cart horses, and backyard companions) become “unwanted.” Keim takes readers to the front lines of the crisis.
Mary Bach, AARP Pennsylvania Volunteer and Chair of the Consumer Issues Task Force, on why scammers want your resume and how they get them!
Krissie Kelleher, the new CEO of the Boston nonprofit Team IMPACT, about the work of Team IMPACT that matches children facing serious illness and disability with college sports teams, creating a long-term, life-changing experience for everyone involved.
You can hear NightSide with Dan Rea, Live! Weeknights From 8PM-12AM on WBZ - Boston's News Radio.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's nice size with Dan Ray. I'm going easy Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you manage that we will have a great night
here on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray, and I'm
the host of the programmer Rob Brooks, the producer, the
person that you will talk to when you pick up
the phone later on this evening in dial six month,
seven two five four ten thirty or six one seven
nine three one ten thirty. In the meantime, I just
(00:26):
want to remind you that we have a new way
that you can get in touch with us. Apart from
calling the broadcast, which of course we always hope you do,
you can utilize our talkback feature on the new and
improved iHeartRadio app. Make sure you download that app and
have that free iHeartRadio app available While listening to Nightside
Live on WBC News Radio. All you have to do
(00:47):
is tap the red microphone talkback button in the top
right corner to send us a personalized audio message. Thirty seconds.
That's all you get. But it can be a compliment,
can be a criticism, can be anything you want. Keep
it clean, we'll play it back on nights. It's that simple.
Once again, hit the red microphone button in the top
right hand corner of the apple listening to night side
or I guess during the day you can do it
(01:08):
as well and send us your audio message.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
We have a very special guest.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Here, and I am delighted to introduce to all of
you a gentleman who is the Director General of the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office here in Boston. But he
is really the day facto representative of the Government of
Taiwan here and he would be the consul general of
the Government of Taiwan. His name is Charles Leo, Director
(01:39):
General Leo. Thank you very much for joining us. Taiwan
is an incredibly important island nation that has been an
ally of the United States for decades, and we have
been an ally of Taiwan that there's probably a lot
of people in my audience who don't understand how Taiwan
(01:59):
came to be and why it is so important.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Welcome, Thank you, Dan, Thank you for having me. It's
a great to be on your sual. Yeah. Talking about
the Taiwan US relations, you know, I have to mention
the most important piece of legislation, but join us. That's
the Taiwan Relations Act, paced by Congress in nineteen seventy nine,
(02:27):
and this act has helped maintain piece in the Taiwan's
trade and the affirmed America's commniment to supporting Taiwan's self
defense and the democratic development. You know, Taiwan and the
US have forged every closer relations based on our share
(02:48):
values of democracy, freedom and the human rights, and of
course our common interest. And this year, you know, forty
six years have paced. Now Taiwan ranked as the seventh's
largest trading partner of the United States. And in terms
(03:11):
of our you know, people to people changed, Taiwan is
the fifth's largest source of international students in the US,
which over twenty three thousand students. Let's alle the evidence
showing that how closed our relationship is. So I'm very proud.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
The other thing that excuse me, your interruption, But the
other thing that is so important is that Taiwan, as
a bastion of freedom in the Pacific, is only you know,
couple one hundred and fifty miles or so off the
coast of China who would love to take over Taiwan.
(03:57):
And you're in a very dangerous part of the world.
But you've stood strong. And one of the reasons that
we need to not only defend Taiwan and maintain our
friendship with Taiwan, we also have to, in my opinion,
realize what an important trading partner they are. The production
(04:21):
of computer chips by Taiwan, it's the most important trading partner.
I think this country has agree or disagree on that.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yeah right, you know, actually today the US has to
become one of our top investment destin nations, especially in
the high tech sector like you mentioned semi conductor. You know,
actually Taiwan benefits from the US innovation, research, design and
the development, and we also rely on the US market.
(04:53):
But at the same time, we are committed to working closely.
We trust the partners. You know, take the t SMC
for example, PSMC is one of Taiwan's leadings and my
conduct manufacturers. You know, it has committed to invest one
sixty five billion US dollars and marking the largest, you know,
(05:15):
single investment in the US history. It is a significant
contribution and its strengthen technological and reliance and helps diversify
global supply chains. Ye as you mentioned. Indeed, Taiwan is
situated in a very complex geopolitical environment and China's ongoing
(05:37):
campaign of political warfare and the military intimidations. Is deeply
concerned and I wanted toy Taiwan is on the front
line of defending democracy, and of course we will continue to
invest in our defense capability and work with like mighty
(05:57):
partners like the US to save guard our rule based
international order and the promote the prosperity and the stability
in the region and throughout the world.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Well, it is a Taiwan is such a successful democracy.
How many million people live in Taiwan on.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Taiwan, you know, actually that's about twenty three million people
in Taiwan. And the size of Taiwan actually, you know,
we are small islands, and the size of Taiwan's around
the fourteen thousand square miers is about the size you know,
New Hampshire place and the Rhoe Island.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, so it's a it's a big population on a
small island in a part of the world where China
has certainly looked at Taiwan for many, many years. But
I know Taiwan will defend itself. And I want my
audience to realize that Taiwan is as critical an ally
(07:03):
of the United States because of its geography and its
integrity and its belief in the same values that we
have similar to to Israel in another part of the world.
I mean, Israel has been such a strong ally of
the United States, and Taiwan has been such a strong
ally of the United States. We can never forget the
(07:25):
Taiwanese people twenty three million strong, or this island nation,
no matter how many sabers China decides to rattle, or
how many ships or planes that decides to fly over
your country or near near your country. So hopefully we
can learn more about this and maybe have a longer
(07:46):
conversation in the next couple of weeks, mister Director General,
and maybe you take some questions from my callers who
might have questions about the history of Taiwan. And it's
it's important the twenty first century.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Sure, yeah, I will be happy to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And I would like to say one most things lat
you know, I believe at the moment the most important
things is to keep Taiwan as at democracy. Yes, and
I believe that you know it will benefit not only
the Taiwan in the US, but the o the world.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Absolutely, It's it's a sacro saying relationship, Mister Director General. Again,
I know you've been here in New England for a while,
and I hope you're enjoying it, and I hope you'll
stay with us for many years. I know in the
diplomatic corps you folks tend to move around a little bit,
but I'm looking forward to having you back on the
(08:43):
program and learning more about this very critical piece of
real estate in the Pacific Ocean that we need to
we need to be aware of, conscious of, and defense
and defensive of. No, no question. Thank you so much
for your time.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
To see.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Thank you great to speaking to you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
You're very welcome. The Director General of the Nation of Taiwan.
And again, maybe that will just everybody who knows a
little bit more time, a little bit more about Taiwan.
As we're out of that conversation, we barely scratch the surface.
Director General, Charles Leo, Charles Leo, we will be back
right after this news break. I'm not newsbreak, this commercial break,
(09:28):
and we're going to talk with an award winning equestrian journalist,
the author of Unwanted, The Causes and Effects of America's
Horse population Crisis. If you love horses, and I think
most of us do, we don't get as much access
to them. You've gotta love this. Next interview back on
Nightside right after this, you're.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
On Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WZ Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I'm delighted to welcome Christina ke. I hope you pronounce
of that right, it's k E. I am a to
that pronunciation, Christina.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
They're close. It's time back time.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Okay, that's fine, no problem, Christina.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Time.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So you're award winning a question and journalist, and you
have a book that we're going to talk about called Unwanted,
The Causes and Effects of America's Horse Population Crisis. And
I haven't read the book, but I've read enough about
the book to understand this is a problem that I
did not appreciate. All of us watched these winners a
(10:29):
couple year ago, missing Dan. My namesake horse won the
Kentucky Derby, and of course everybody feels that when they
win the Derby or the Priakness of the Belmont Stakes Saratoga,
they get to put out, they're put out to stud
and they have a wonderful rest of their life. But
it doesn't happen.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
That way from most of the horses.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Tell us about it and what is your book highlighting.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Well, I was really intrigued by some of these really
interconnected questions the role of the horse and modern America
and how americans perspectives about horses have evolved. And horse
racing is such a great example because that was a
super popular sport right through into the eighties, and then
(11:15):
it experienced a real loss of fans because people began
to really care about what happened to horses when they
were done with their racing careers, and they started to
look and didn't like what they saw. So I kind
of delved into that and started to learn a little
bit more about what happens, what doesn't happen, and separating
some of the fact in fiction.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
So talk to us about it.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Tell us what you found out.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
Well, I think there were a lot of really interesting things,
And I'd love to talk about the Thoroughbreds because I
think a lot of people enjoy watching the Derby and
watching these big races, and there was really a culture
in the racing industry, again probably recently as the early nineties,
(12:01):
where people would run horses until they just couldn't really
run anymore, and then they would just sort of send
them to auction or send them away and didn't really
worry about what happened next. And fans spoke up and
said that wasn't the way they wanted to see business
done anymore. And so we experienced this change in culture
(12:23):
where trainers, owners, jockeys, everyone associated with these horses started
to look at them in a different way and make
choices where they would maybe retire that horse a little
bit sooner instead of running them one more time. At
the same time, we had all of these different organizations
form that specialized in helping those horses transition into new
(12:44):
jobs and new roles and find homes outside of the
racing industry, and public perception has shifted. It has a
much more positive outlook now.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, so this is again the word crisis is in
your title, So it sounds to me like the crisis
crisis has been confronted and if not solved, at least improved, I.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
Would say improved. You know, there's a lot of different
aspects of the horse world, and you know, one of
the things that really changed how equestrians kind of had
to think about what we do with horses long term
was in two thousand and six, the last US based
slaughterhouses that handled horses closed and there was a lot
(13:34):
of celebration. People thought that was a really great thing.
But at the time, something like one hundred thousand horses
were going through those plants annually, and we didn't really
have a plan as to how to handle those animals.
So we've done some good work. We've reduced those numbers.
We don't have probably one hundred thousand animals looking for
homes every year, but we still have something on the
(13:56):
order of twenty thousand, and that's still a pretty big number.
The rescues and other organizations that we have out there
we know can't quite handle that capacity, so there's still
work to be done.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
What's the average life expectancy of a horse.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
It can live a long time. It's not uncommon for
horses to live into their late twenties or even their thirties.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Well, they're wonderful animals, there's no question about that. We
need to protect them. And in your book, I think
is something that people who are concerned about this issue
should read. It's called Unwanted The Causes and Effects of
America's Horse Population Crisis. I know we can only scratch
(14:39):
the surface tonight, but I think you made a strong
case both historically and also from a practical point of
view what's going on today. And so although it's better,
it's not perfect, and your book will hopefully get a
lot of people involved. And I thank you for joining
us tonight, Christina, appreciate it very very much.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
When we get back, right after the news, we are
going to have another interesting topic and we will introduce
you to an AARP representative who's going she's the chair
of the Consumer Issues Task for us. And essentially there's
a lot of scammers out there who want to get
your information. And Mary Bach is going to explain to
(15:22):
us what I think most of us know, but also
what most of us should not do. I came close
to getting scammed a little earlier this week. I didn't hit.
I will explain the scam. But it's getting better and
better and better. And it's like, you know, they'll say
to you, well, if you're going to this is, we're
going to do this, We're going to do that, but
you've got to get to us right away.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Don't fall for any of it. That's the rule.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Back on Nightside right after this, you're on.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Night Side with Dan Ray on w b Z, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
All Right, London, Welcome Mary Bach. She is with the
AARP Pennsylvania. She's a chair of the Consumer Issues Task Force.
And Mary BArch is concerned that scammers want your resume
and my resume and we know what they're going to
do with it if they get any information on us.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Mary.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Welcome to nights att How are you.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Thank you so much, Dan, It's my pleasure to.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Be with you now. You are a Pennsylvania volunteer and
chair of their Consumer Issues Task Force. How much does
the average person who's on the internet. If you're not
on the Internet, you're probably immune from any of this,
But a lot of people are on Facebook or Twitter.
(16:42):
How pervasive is this stuff? I get it all the time,
but I understand a fairly well known public figure here
in New England, and I'll tell you about what I got.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Earlier this week.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
But tell us for the average person, particularly those who
are represented by the AARP, how pervasive is this stuff?
Speaker 6 (17:02):
It happens all the time. You are no exception whatsoever.
And actually, just today, the FTC has put out a
press release stating that between nineteen or between the year
twenty twenty and the year twenty twenty four that scams
have tripled and the losses just from job related or
(17:26):
employment related scams have increased from ninety million dollars a
year to five hundred million dollars a year, which is
just absolutely horrendous because people who are looking for employment
certainly don't deserve to be scammed.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Well, no one deserves to be scammed. So who's being
targeted here if you're talking about employment, I'm assuming it's
probably younger people if they can figure out the age
of their targets, people who are getting into the workforce.
But are they just targeting anybody that they can find?
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Absolutely anybody of any age can be scammed, and actually
the ages twenty to twenty nine are victimized the most.
That surprises a lot of people because most people think
that it's just only the old people that are being scammed.
But the younger people, while they are scammed at greater numbers,
(18:27):
they lose much less money, probably because they have less
money to lose as opposed to an older person who
might have a bit of a nest egg or who
has some retirement savings, etc. On their own homes, and
they simply have more money that they are able to lose.
They have investments, and on average, people in the older
(18:52):
age category lose eighty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Well, one of the things, one of the rules for
me is if you see it and you don't recognize
who sent it to you, don't open it.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
That's easy, amen, okay, And everybody is tempted. But and
you also should look at the address of the sender,
because oftentimes the address of the sender gives it away.
So earlier this week, I received like three of these
from they claim to be from my.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Internet server and that.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
My emails were going to be changed on July thirty first,
and if I didn't contact them immediately, my emails and
all of my files would not be available. I'd be
blocked out. So of course that's terrifying when you read that,
and your instinct initially is, let me respond to this,
(19:55):
But you have to have the discipline to say, think
for a second, you know, and you looked at the
the email that was sent and it was just you know,
letters and names, and it made no sense. It wasn't
sent from my internet provider, which happens to be Exfinity. Uh.
(20:17):
And of course, if I had clicked on it one
it might have infected my computer with a virus.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Or if I was.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Really a knucklehead and it clicked on it and they
started to ask me some questions, Well, tell us your
password and all of that. That's when you really are
in trouble. How do you how do you convince people?
What did they say? Curiosity killed the cat? That's an
old saying, but to me, okay, because it applies to
(20:51):
a lot of people, it's like, why am I getting this?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
You know all of us.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I'm worried about stuff, And it's easy for me to say,
if you don't recognize the person who has sent it
to you, don't open it and check check the email
from which it is being sent. Make sure that it's
not someone whose name you recognized, recognized, but is sent
from somebody in Eastern Europe who's looking and steal your money.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
What do you tell people? Mary?
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Well, Dan, you are just so smart, and you're taking
all of my talking points because you are saying exactly
what people need to hear. And at ARP, we like
to say, if you can spot a scam, you can
stop a scam. And that's why we think education is
so important. Education is the key. You never click on
(21:44):
a link unless you know for sure who that sender is, because,
as you just said, there's a very good chance that
clicking on that link is going to put malware or
some type of virus you know, on your device, and
you definitely don't want that to happen. Delete is your friend.
(22:05):
There are so many techts that we are getting these
days that are associated with scams, and you just don't
want to open anything. You want to delete, Delete, delete
now without advertising.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Are there any companies and I know that there's there's
a whole bunch of companies out there that give you protection.
It costs money to purchase protection for your computer, but
at the end of the day, it probably is a
pretty good investment.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Yes, it probably is. And particularly if you're someone that
is using your device. You're whether it's a computer or
a smartphone, for things like paying bills, doing various types
of financial transactions through your bank account, you're checking account,
that kind of thing. But we just have to be
(23:03):
so very cautious about anybody that we're dealing with these days,
because the criminals know that they can intimidate us, they
can pressure us, and many of us will succumb to
whatever it is we're being told out of fear intimidation,
and we just need to use common sense, know the
(23:26):
red flags, trust our guts sometimes and just step away
from these situations.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
You know, back in the old days, pre internet, you
had to be concerned about the people who came up
to the door, knocked on your door and said, gee,
we'd like to pave your driveway for you. We noticed
there's a few cracks in your driveway, and if you'll
give us a deposit, we'll be back tomorrow and we're
going to give you a really special price because once
we get you as a customer, and we'll have everybody
(23:57):
in the neighborhood as a customer, sort of with a
face to face scams and those were tough because the
people they were real good con artists. But I almost
wish we could go back to those days because the
most they were gonna scam you for was a few
hundred bucks, which was a lot of money in those days.
Don't get me wrong, but you can lose so much
(24:22):
more on the internet. It is a very dangerous place
to have a presence. And I know when I finish
my days in radio, I will tell my audience you
will not find me on the internet. You will not
find me on the internet. When I finish my days
in radio, I want to write me a letter. That's okay,
(24:42):
send me a telegram, that's fine, carry a pigeon. I'm
okay with that. I'm serious. I think it's a very
dangerous place.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Well, it certainly can be our friend in many ways,
but it also can be a true enemy. And again
that's why we need to know what to watch for,
why we need to be so very very careful in
the people or the companies we decide to deal with,
and what we trust or don't trust on the internet.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well as as I hate to quote Ronald Reagan to
someone from the aa ARP, but I'm going to one
thing that Ronald Reagan said that I think all of
us can agree with, and that.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Is trust but verify.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
You know, trust men, but verify uh. And and never
ever ever click on something you're not you don't know, uh,
don't trust and if you if you don't trust that,
you can't verify it. So I just you know that
we could next time, maybe Mary, we can go over
some of the scams, the the grandchild scam who calls
(25:54):
uh on the phone and says, you know, uh.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
You know, and they just they just look for you know,
older folks too, you know, they'll say, Grammy, is this.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You, Grammy, and exactly and as soon as someone's a
grandmother or a grandfather, yes, is this you Robert? Yeah,
well it's yeah, yeah. Unfortunately I was in a car
and we had some beer in the car and now
we're all under arrest that I need some money. I
(26:26):
don't want my parents to know, you know, one of
those they're very slick and how.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
They presented Mary and well, I don't envy your.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Job trying to sort of let people know about this,
but I hope we've done a little bit tonight.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Well. People just need to know what to look for.
People also need to know that they should report when
they feel like they've been victimized. There are so many
resources out there on the Internet and other places where
they can get really really good information. And at AARP,
(27:03):
we want people to know about our excellent website at
AARP dot org and you can go to that website.
It's totally free of charge. You do not have to
be a senior or a member of AARP in order
to use it, and we want people to go to
AARP dot org slash fraud Watch and there are lots
(27:26):
and lots of tools and tips about all kinds of
frauds and scams and people who think they've been victimized
or who just want to talk to somebody about a
call or an email that they've gotten, maybe a text.
We have a helpline that is manned by very well
(27:47):
trained volunteers who are eager to talk to people in
the public. And that total free number very quickly is
eight seven seven nine zero eight three three six zero,
and you can call that number talk to someone about
(28:07):
all kinds of scams. And finally, if anybody wants bi
weekly updates about the latest iteration of whatever scam it is,
it could be the grandparent scam, or the IRS scam,
social security scam. I mean, they're just too many of
them to name, and they're always changing slightly. The fraud
(28:33):
Watch Network at AARP will send again free of charge.
You don't have to be a member to do it.
You can text the letters f w in for Fraud
Watch Network to the number five zero seven five seven,
that's f w in to five zero seven five seven
(28:57):
and you will get bi weekly alert.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
All right, very r appreciate. I appreciate the information, and
I know my audience does h. I wish that AARP
had a simple place, AARP dot com where they could
go and they could get everything.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And when you get that, oh well that's fine, that's fine.
Then that's what I'm saying. AARP dot org. People will
remember that they're tough in terms of phone numbers, AARP
dot org. That's the key. Thanks Mary, talk again. Appreciate
it very.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Much, Thank you, Dan, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Very welcome.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We get back we're going to uh that's a very
serious topic, okay, and we've spent a little bit more
time on that, and we get back on talking. A
great nonprofit called Team Impact. If you know it, you'll
know why it's a great nonprofit. And if you don't
know it, you will learn why it's a great nonprofit
right after this break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Night Side, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Team name Impact is a great, great organization that matches
kids who are dealing with some disability issues or serious illnesses,
which college sports teams with us. Now is the new
CEO of the Boston nonprofit Team Impact, Christy kellerher Christy
congratulations your former Division one student athlete who captained the
(30:23):
Boston College women's lacrosse team and is also the mom
of a pediatric cancer survivor. That's that's quite a resume
for this position. Welcome to Nightside. Congratulations and your appointment.
Tell us about Team Impact. You you you are very
familiar with this group.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
Sure, Hi, Dan, thanks so much for having me tonight.
I'm so glad to be here with you. Team Impact. Well,
thank you. Team Impact mission, as you said, is deeply
personal to me. We match students and sorry, children facing
serious illness and disabilities with college sports teams, and since
(31:08):
two thy and eleven, we've matched more than four thousand
children with more than eight thousand colleges in all fifty
states and impacting more than one hundred thousand student athletes.
So our reach is wide, and we're certainly proud of
the legacy that we've built, and we look forward to
(31:28):
continuing to build on that legacy.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
For some reason, I had the belief, and maybe it
is ill founded, that Team Impact started in New England.
Speaker 7 (31:39):
It sure did actually in Boston. In fact, in twenty eleven,
eight former college class meets and student athletes came together
to start Team Impact, and it was inspired by a
gentleman named Jay Callman. He's one of our founders. His
(32:02):
inspired by his brother Chris. Jay was driven to find
a way to get all kids in the game, regardless
of sickness or disability. Chris was a longtime sports fan
who was born with a condition that prevented him from
participating in sports after the age of twelve, and he
got the opportunity on a team with the Bristol Red Sox,
a minor league DOUBLEA baseball team, and they took him
(32:25):
under his wing as an official bat boy, and that
really sparked an idea in Jay, who leveraged his relationship
with some passionate leaders, his friends from a lot of
his friends from Tough to bring this dream to life
and their years of personal experience on and off the field,
many of them were college athletes. Them college athletes themselves.
(32:47):
Really they wanted to pay forward this idea of having
children on teams to help them with their mental, emotional,
social and physical well being. And now eleven years later,
we've grown into a national nonprofit with multiple regions across
the country. So it's really a dream that started right
here in Boston. With some friends and it's grown into
(33:09):
you know, it's it's quite the legacy that that Jay
and his friends have have given to others.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
My, My impression, and you could probably talk about it generally,
is that these kids really get a chance to get
up close in person with the athletes. Whether it's a
big time you know, college football team, or big time
lacrosse team, or a small college tennis team. They get
to go to the games and they get some special
(33:36):
access to the players, to practices and uh and through
these some that sometimes there's lasting relationships that are developed
between some of these kids who maybe kind of compete
on the field because of a physical limitation or or
a serious illness, but they they certainly become part of
(33:57):
that team and a valuable part of the team that
they're that they're affiliated with.
Speaker 7 (34:03):
They sure do. Dan. We know that children with serious
illnesses and disabilities, like my daughter, they're often diagnosed during
the formative years of their lives and they'refore still with
a really different childhood than their peers. They miss out
on things like school, youth sports clubs and other activities
that most children often take for granted. And as a result,
(34:26):
these these kids offer they often suffer from depression, anxiety,
and social isolation. And in fact, because of this, children's
hospitals now recognize that there's more to treating a child
than just giving them medicine, and hospitals have psychosocial care
teams made up a childlife specialists and social workers whose
(34:47):
job is to care for the social and emotional well
being of children. And sometimes those those programs are limited
to the four walls of the hospital, and that's where
a team impact comes in. And every college athletic program
they recognize the importance of student athlete development. Much of
that burden falls upon coaches who are busy, you know,
(35:09):
worrying about winning winning games. And that's where team impact
comes in again. And we really fill crucially important gaps
for both partners in both healthcare and athletics. And that's
the reason why we've built great partnerships with the Children's
Hospital Association and the NCAA. And our unique clinical model
(35:31):
involves trained case managers and master level social workers and
they work between our college athletics teams. And we have
multiple teams at Boston College, Michigan, you name it, the
biggest schools you can imagine. We've got team impact teammates
on so many of those teams, and that clinical model,
(35:53):
the matchup process ensures that we find the right team
for each kid based on their unique personalities and diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
The group that benefits, in my opinion, of the athletes
because the athletes learn, they get so tied up and
wins and losses and successes and failures. They realize that
there's a lot more to life than just what happens
on or off the grid iron, the court, on the
on the baseball field, and they realize how fortunate they
(36:22):
are just to compete in college sports.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I mean, there's lessons all around. The athletes learn lessons
from the kids, and the kids learn lessons from the athletes.
It's a great it's a great program anytime that we
can help you. Chrissy, congratulations again on your success in
your appointment as the new CEO.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
And I have to ask, how's your daughter doing?
Speaker 7 (36:47):
My daughter is doing great. This August, they'll celebrate ten
years since ringing the bell at Mass General after proton
beam radiation therapy, and in just a couple of weeks
from taking her back for her senior year of college.
So she's doing great and we're among the lucky ones,
and I just feel lucky that I get to do
(37:08):
this work every day and pay forward the incredible community
that supported us during that.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Congratulations to you, Congratulations to your daughter, and congratulations to
everyone who participates, benefits from, or or provide support for
Team Impact. And if people want to learn more, what's
the website.
Speaker 7 (37:27):
Teamimpact dot org And if they'd like to make a gift,
teamimpact dot org slash donate perfect.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
They can figure that one out, that's for sure. Christie,
thank you so much. You're a great representative, the perfect
person for this position. Thanks so much. We will talk again.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
We can be of help to you, guys. Let us
know please, Okay.
Speaker 7 (37:47):
Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
You're really welcome, you very welcome.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
When we get back, we're going to open up our
conversations of the evening, which includes you. And that is
the ongoing crisis at Mass and cast and now they're
there are people who are living in that area who
are calling upon government to do much more, and specifically
not only more police, maybe state police, maybe the National Guard.
(38:13):
We have with us coming up. Andrew Brand, the co
president of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association. This is
a story that affects not only the South end of Boston,
affects the entire city of Boston in many respects, and
the entire country. I will explain right after the nine
o'clock news on my side
It's nice size with Dan Ray. I'm going easy Boston's
news Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
Thank you manage that we will have a great night
here on Nightside. My name is Dan Ray, and I'm
the host of the programmer Rob Brooks, the producer, the
person that you will talk to when you pick up
the phone later on this evening in dial six month,
seven two five four ten thirty or six one seven
nine three one ten thirty. In the meantime, I just
(00:26):
want to remind you that we have a new way
that you can get in touch with us. Apart from
calling the broadcast, which of course we always hope you do,
you can utilize our talkback feature on the new and
improved iHeartRadio app. Make sure you download that app and
have that free iHeartRadio app available While listening to Nightside
Live on WBC News Radio. All you have to do
(00:47):
is tap the red microphone talkback button in the top
right corner to send us a personalized audio message. Thirty seconds.
That's all you get. But it can be a compliment,
can be a criticism, can be anything you want. Keep
it clean, we'll play it back on nights. It's that simple.
Once again, hit the red microphone button in the top
right hand corner of the apple listening to night side
or I guess during the day you can do it
(01:08):
as well and send us your audio message.
Speaker 3 (01:11):
We have a very special guest.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Here, and I am delighted to introduce to all of
you a gentleman who is the Director General of the
Taipei Economic and Cultural Office here in Boston. But he
is really the day facto representative of the Government of
Taiwan here and he would be the consul general of
the Government of Taiwan. His name is Charles Leo, Director
(01:39):
General Leo. Thank you very much for joining us. Taiwan
is an incredibly important island nation that has been an
ally of the United States for decades, and we have
been an ally of Taiwan that there's probably a lot
of people in my audience who don't understand how Taiwan
(01:59):
came to be and why it is so important.
Speaker 4 (02:02):
Welcome, Thank you, Dan, Thank you for having me. It's
a great to be on your sual. Yeah. Talking about
the Taiwan US relations, you know, I have to mention
the most important piece of legislation, but join us. That's
the Taiwan Relations Act, paced by Congress in nineteen seventy nine,
(02:27):
and this act has helped maintain piece in the Taiwan's
trade and the affirmed America's commniment to supporting Taiwan's self
defense and the democratic development. You know, Taiwan and the
US have forged every closer relations based on our share
(02:48):
values of democracy, freedom and the human rights, and of
course our common interest. And this year, you know, forty
six years have paced. Now Taiwan ranked as the seventh's
largest trading partner of the United States. And in terms
(03:11):
of our you know, people to people changed, Taiwan is
the fifth's largest source of international students in the US,
which over twenty three thousand students. Let's alle the evidence
showing that how closed our relationship is. So I'm very proud.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
The other thing that excuse me, your interruption, But the
other thing that is so important is that Taiwan, as
a bastion of freedom in the Pacific, is only you know,
couple one hundred and fifty miles or so off the
coast of China who would love to take over Taiwan.
(03:57):
And you're in a very dangerous part of the world.
But you've stood strong. And one of the reasons that
we need to not only defend Taiwan and maintain our
friendship with Taiwan, we also have to, in my opinion,
realize what an important trading partner they are. The production
(04:21):
of computer chips by Taiwan, it's the most important trading partner.
I think this country has agree or disagree on that.
Speaker 4 (04:31):
Yeah right, you know, actually today the US has to
become one of our top investment destin nations, especially in
the high tech sector like you mentioned semi conductor. You know,
actually Taiwan benefits from the US innovation, research, design and
the development, and we also rely on the US market.
(04:53):
But at the same time, we are committed to working closely.
We trust the partners. You know, take the t SMC
for example, PSMC is one of Taiwan's leadings and my
conduct manufacturers. You know, it has committed to invest one
sixty five billion US dollars and marking the largest, you know,
(05:15):
single investment in the US history. It is a significant
contribution and its strengthen technological and reliance and helps diversify
global supply chains. Ye as you mentioned. Indeed, Taiwan is
situated in a very complex geopolitical environment and China's ongoing
(05:37):
campaign of political warfare and the military intimidations. Is deeply
concerned and I wanted toy Taiwan is on the front
line of defending democracy, and of course we will continue to
invest in our defense capability and work with like mighty
(05:57):
partners like the US to save guard our rule based
international order and the promote the prosperity and the stability
in the region and throughout the world.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Well, it is a Taiwan is such a successful democracy.
How many million people live in Taiwan on.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
Taiwan, you know, actually that's about twenty three million people
in Taiwan. And the size of Taiwan actually, you know,
we are small islands, and the size of Taiwan's around
the fourteen thousand square miers is about the size you know,
New Hampshire place and the Rhoe Island.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
Yeah, so it's a it's a big population on a
small island in a part of the world where China
has certainly looked at Taiwan for many, many years. But
I know Taiwan will defend itself. And I want my
audience to realize that Taiwan is as critical an ally
(07:03):
of the United States because of its geography and its
integrity and its belief in the same values that we
have similar to to Israel in another part of the world.
I mean, Israel has been such a strong ally of
the United States, and Taiwan has been such a strong
ally of the United States. We can never forget the
(07:25):
Taiwanese people twenty three million strong, or this island nation,
no matter how many sabers China decides to rattle, or
how many ships or planes that decides to fly over
your country or near near your country. So hopefully we
can learn more about this and maybe have a longer
(07:46):
conversation in the next couple of weeks, mister Director General,
and maybe you take some questions from my callers who
might have questions about the history of Taiwan. And it's
it's important the twenty first century.
Speaker 4 (08:02):
Sure, yeah, I will be happy to do that.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (08:06):
And I would like to say one most things lat
you know, I believe at the moment the most important
things is to keep Taiwan as at democracy. Yes, and
I believe that you know it will benefit not only
the Taiwan in the US, but the o the world.
Speaker 2 (08:23):
Absolutely, It's it's a sacro saying relationship, Mister Director General. Again,
I know you've been here in New England for a while,
and I hope you're enjoying it, and I hope you'll
stay with us for many years. I know in the
diplomatic corps you folks tend to move around a little bit,
but I'm looking forward to having you back on the
(08:43):
program and learning more about this very critical piece of
real estate in the Pacific Ocean that we need to
we need to be aware of, conscious of, and defense
and defensive of. No, no question. Thank you so much
for your time.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
To see.
Speaker 4 (09:01):
Thank you great to speaking to you. Thank you so much.
Speaker 2 (09:05):
You're very welcome. The Director General of the Nation of Taiwan.
And again, maybe that will just everybody who knows a
little bit more time, a little bit more about Taiwan.
As we're out of that conversation, we barely scratch the surface.
Director General, Charles Leo, Charles Leo, we will be back
right after this news break. I'm not newsbreak, this commercial break,
(09:28):
and we're going to talk with an award winning equestrian journalist,
the author of Unwanted, The Causes and Effects of America's
Horse population Crisis. If you love horses, and I think
most of us do, we don't get as much access
to them. You've gotta love this. Next interview back on
Nightside right after this, you're.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
On Night Side with Dan Ray. I'm WZ Boston's News Radio.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
I'm delighted to welcome Christina ke. I hope you pronounce
of that right, it's k E. I am a to
that pronunciation, Christina.
Speaker 5 (10:02):
They're close. It's time back time.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
Okay, that's fine, no problem, Christina.
Speaker 3 (10:07):
Time.
Speaker 2 (10:07):
So you're award winning a question and journalist, and you
have a book that we're going to talk about called Unwanted,
The Causes and Effects of America's Horse Population Crisis. And
I haven't read the book, but I've read enough about
the book to understand this is a problem that I
did not appreciate. All of us watched these winners a
(10:29):
couple year ago, missing Dan. My namesake horse won the
Kentucky Derby, and of course everybody feels that when they
win the Derby or the Priakness of the Belmont Stakes Saratoga,
they get to put out, they're put out to stud
and they have a wonderful rest of their life. But
it doesn't happen.
Speaker 3 (10:46):
That way from most of the horses.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Tell us about it and what is your book highlighting.
Speaker 5 (10:53):
Well, I was really intrigued by some of these really
interconnected questions the role of the horse and modern America
and how americans perspectives about horses have evolved. And horse
racing is such a great example because that was a
super popular sport right through into the eighties, and then
(11:15):
it experienced a real loss of fans because people began
to really care about what happened to horses when they
were done with their racing careers, and they started to
look and didn't like what they saw. So I kind
of delved into that and started to learn a little
bit more about what happens, what doesn't happen, and separating
some of the fact in fiction.
Speaker 3 (11:36):
So talk to us about it.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Tell us what you found out.
Speaker 5 (11:41):
Well, I think there were a lot of really interesting things,
And I'd love to talk about the Thoroughbreds because I
think a lot of people enjoy watching the Derby and
watching these big races, and there was really a culture
in the racing industry, again probably recently as the early nineties,
(12:01):
where people would run horses until they just couldn't really
run anymore, and then they would just sort of send
them to auction or send them away and didn't really
worry about what happened next. And fans spoke up and
said that wasn't the way they wanted to see business
done anymore. And so we experienced this change in culture
(12:23):
where trainers, owners, jockeys, everyone associated with these horses started
to look at them in a different way and make
choices where they would maybe retire that horse a little
bit sooner instead of running them one more time. At
the same time, we had all of these different organizations
form that specialized in helping those horses transition into new
(12:44):
jobs and new roles and find homes outside of the
racing industry, and public perception has shifted. It has a
much more positive outlook now.
Speaker 2 (12:54):
Okay, so this is again the word crisis is in
your title, So it sounds to me like the crisis
crisis has been confronted and if not solved, at least improved, I.
Speaker 5 (13:12):
Would say improved. You know, there's a lot of different
aspects of the horse world, and you know, one of
the things that really changed how equestrians kind of had
to think about what we do with horses long term
was in two thousand and six, the last US based
slaughterhouses that handled horses closed and there was a lot
(13:34):
of celebration. People thought that was a really great thing.
But at the time, something like one hundred thousand horses
were going through those plants annually, and we didn't really
have a plan as to how to handle those animals.
So we've done some good work. We've reduced those numbers.
We don't have probably one hundred thousand animals looking for
homes every year, but we still have something on the
(13:56):
order of twenty thousand, and that's still a pretty big number.
The rescues and other organizations that we have out there
we know can't quite handle that capacity, so there's still
work to be done.
Speaker 2 (14:07):
What's the average life expectancy of a horse.
Speaker 5 (14:11):
It can live a long time. It's not uncommon for
horses to live into their late twenties or even their thirties.
Speaker 2 (14:19):
Well, they're wonderful animals, there's no question about that. We
need to protect them. And in your book, I think
is something that people who are concerned about this issue
should read. It's called Unwanted The Causes and Effects of
America's Horse Population Crisis. I know we can only scratch
(14:39):
the surface tonight, but I think you made a strong
case both historically and also from a practical point of
view what's going on today. And so although it's better,
it's not perfect, and your book will hopefully get a
lot of people involved. And I thank you for joining
us tonight, Christina, appreciate it very very much.
Speaker 5 (14:58):
Thanks for the opportunity.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
When we get back, right after the news, we are
going to have another interesting topic and we will introduce
you to an AARP representative who's going she's the chair
of the Consumer Issues Task for us. And essentially there's
a lot of scammers out there who want to get
your information. And Mary Bach is going to explain to
(15:22):
us what I think most of us know, but also
what most of us should not do. I came close
to getting scammed a little earlier this week. I didn't hit.
I will explain the scam. But it's getting better and
better and better. And it's like, you know, they'll say
to you, well, if you're going to this is, we're
going to do this, We're going to do that, but
you've got to get to us right away.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Don't fall for any of it. That's the rule.
Speaker 2 (15:45):
Back on Nightside right after this, you're on.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Night Side with Dan Ray on w b Z, Boston's
news radio.
Speaker 2 (15:55):
All Right, London, Welcome Mary Bach. She is with the
AARP Pennsylvania. She's a chair of the Consumer Issues Task Force.
And Mary BArch is concerned that scammers want your resume
and my resume and we know what they're going to
do with it if they get any information on us.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Mary.
Speaker 2 (16:16):
Welcome to nights att How are you.
Speaker 6 (16:18):
Thank you so much, Dan, It's my pleasure to.
Speaker 2 (16:20):
Be with you now. You are a Pennsylvania volunteer and
chair of their Consumer Issues Task Force. How much does
the average person who's on the internet. If you're not
on the Internet, you're probably immune from any of this,
But a lot of people are on Facebook or Twitter.
(16:42):
How pervasive is this stuff? I get it all the time,
but I understand a fairly well known public figure here
in New England, and I'll tell you about what I got.
Speaker 3 (16:51):
Earlier this week.
Speaker 2 (16:52):
But tell us for the average person, particularly those who
are represented by the AARP, how pervasive is this stuff?
Speaker 6 (17:02):
It happens all the time. You are no exception whatsoever.
And actually, just today, the FTC has put out a
press release stating that between nineteen or between the year
twenty twenty and the year twenty twenty four that scams
have tripled and the losses just from job related or
(17:26):
employment related scams have increased from ninety million dollars a
year to five hundred million dollars a year, which is
just absolutely horrendous because people who are looking for employment
certainly don't deserve to be scammed.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
Well, no one deserves to be scammed. So who's being
targeted here if you're talking about employment, I'm assuming it's
probably younger people if they can figure out the age
of their targets, people who are getting into the workforce.
But are they just targeting anybody that they can find?
Speaker 6 (18:03):
Absolutely anybody of any age can be scammed, and actually
the ages twenty to twenty nine are victimized the most.
That surprises a lot of people because most people think
that it's just only the old people that are being scammed.
But the younger people, while they are scammed at greater numbers,
(18:27):
they lose much less money, probably because they have less
money to lose as opposed to an older person who
might have a bit of a nest egg or who
has some retirement savings, etc. On their own homes, and
they simply have more money that they are able to lose.
They have investments, and on average, people in the older
(18:52):
age category lose eighty thousand dollars.
Speaker 3 (18:58):
Well, one of the things, one of the rules for
me is if you see it and you don't recognize
who sent it to you, don't open it.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
That's easy, amen, okay, And everybody is tempted. But and
you also should look at the address of the sender,
because oftentimes the address of the sender gives it away.
So earlier this week, I received like three of these
from they claim to be from my.
Speaker 3 (19:30):
Internet server and that.
Speaker 2 (19:33):
My emails were going to be changed on July thirty first,
and if I didn't contact them immediately, my emails and
all of my files would not be available. I'd be
blocked out. So of course that's terrifying when you read that,
and your instinct initially is, let me respond to this,
(19:55):
But you have to have the discipline to say, think
for a second, you know, and you looked at the
the email that was sent and it was just you know,
letters and names, and it made no sense. It wasn't
sent from my internet provider, which happens to be Exfinity. Uh.
(20:17):
And of course, if I had clicked on it one
it might have infected my computer with a virus.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
Or if I was.
Speaker 2 (20:28):
Really a knucklehead and it clicked on it and they
started to ask me some questions, Well, tell us your
password and all of that. That's when you really are
in trouble. How do you how do you convince people?
What did they say? Curiosity killed the cat? That's an
old saying, but to me, okay, because it applies to
(20:51):
a lot of people, it's like, why am I getting this?
Speaker 3 (20:53):
You know all of us.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
I'm worried about stuff, And it's easy for me to say,
if you don't recognize the person who has sent it
to you, don't open it and check check the email
from which it is being sent. Make sure that it's
not someone whose name you recognized, recognized, but is sent
from somebody in Eastern Europe who's looking and steal your money.
Speaker 3 (21:19):
What do you tell people? Mary?
Speaker 6 (21:21):
Well, Dan, you are just so smart, and you're taking
all of my talking points because you are saying exactly
what people need to hear. And at ARP, we like
to say, if you can spot a scam, you can
stop a scam. And that's why we think education is
so important. Education is the key. You never click on
(21:44):
a link unless you know for sure who that sender is, because,
as you just said, there's a very good chance that
clicking on that link is going to put malware or
some type of virus you know, on your device, and
you definitely don't want that to happen. Delete is your friend.
(22:05):
There are so many techts that we are getting these
days that are associated with scams, and you just don't
want to open anything. You want to delete, Delete, delete
now without advertising.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
Are there any companies and I know that there's there's
a whole bunch of companies out there that give you protection.
It costs money to purchase protection for your computer, but
at the end of the day, it probably is a
pretty good investment.
Speaker 6 (22:40):
Yes, it probably is. And particularly if you're someone that
is using your device. You're whether it's a computer or
a smartphone, for things like paying bills, doing various types
of financial transactions through your bank account, you're checking account,
that kind of thing. But we just have to be
(23:03):
so very cautious about anybody that we're dealing with these days,
because the criminals know that they can intimidate us, they
can pressure us, and many of us will succumb to
whatever it is we're being told out of fear intimidation,
and we just need to use common sense, know the
(23:26):
red flags, trust our guts sometimes and just step away
from these situations.
Speaker 2 (23:35):
You know, back in the old days, pre internet, you
had to be concerned about the people who came up
to the door, knocked on your door and said, gee,
we'd like to pave your driveway for you. We noticed
there's a few cracks in your driveway, and if you'll
give us a deposit, we'll be back tomorrow and we're
going to give you a really special price because once
we get you as a customer, and we'll have everybody
(23:57):
in the neighborhood as a customer, sort of with a
face to face scams and those were tough because the
people they were real good con artists. But I almost
wish we could go back to those days because the
most they were gonna scam you for was a few
hundred bucks, which was a lot of money in those days.
Don't get me wrong, but you can lose so much
(24:22):
more on the internet. It is a very dangerous place
to have a presence. And I know when I finish
my days in radio, I will tell my audience you
will not find me on the internet. You will not
find me on the internet. When I finish my days
in radio, I want to write me a letter. That's okay,
(24:42):
send me a telegram, that's fine, carry a pigeon. I'm
okay with that. I'm serious. I think it's a very
dangerous place.
Speaker 6 (24:52):
Well, it certainly can be our friend in many ways,
but it also can be a true enemy. And again
that's why we need to know what to watch for,
why we need to be so very very careful in
the people or the companies we decide to deal with,
and what we trust or don't trust on the internet.
Speaker 2 (25:17):
Well as as I hate to quote Ronald Reagan to
someone from the aa ARP, but I'm going to one
thing that Ronald Reagan said that I think all of
us can agree with, and that.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Is trust but verify.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
You know, trust men, but verify uh. And and never
ever ever click on something you're not you don't know, uh,
don't trust and if you if you don't trust that,
you can't verify it. So I just you know that
we could next time, maybe Mary, we can go over
some of the scams, the the grandchild scam who calls
(25:54):
uh on the phone and says, you know, uh.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
You know, and they just they just look for you know,
older folks too, you know, they'll say, Grammy, is this.
Speaker 2 (26:06):
You, Grammy, and exactly and as soon as someone's a
grandmother or a grandfather, yes, is this you Robert? Yeah,
well it's yeah, yeah. Unfortunately I was in a car
and we had some beer in the car and now
we're all under arrest that I need some money. I
(26:26):
don't want my parents to know, you know, one of
those they're very slick and how.
Speaker 3 (26:30):
They presented Mary and well, I don't envy your.
Speaker 2 (26:33):
Job trying to sort of let people know about this,
but I hope we've done a little bit tonight.
Speaker 6 (26:40):
Well. People just need to know what to look for.
People also need to know that they should report when
they feel like they've been victimized. There are so many
resources out there on the Internet and other places where
they can get really really good information. And at AARP,
(27:03):
we want people to know about our excellent website at
AARP dot org and you can go to that website.
It's totally free of charge. You do not have to
be a senior or a member of AARP in order
to use it, and we want people to go to
AARP dot org slash fraud Watch and there are lots
(27:26):
and lots of tools and tips about all kinds of
frauds and scams and people who think they've been victimized
or who just want to talk to somebody about a
call or an email that they've gotten, maybe a text.
We have a helpline that is manned by very well
(27:47):
trained volunteers who are eager to talk to people in
the public. And that total free number very quickly is
eight seven seven nine zero eight three three six zero,
and you can call that number talk to someone about
(28:07):
all kinds of scams. And finally, if anybody wants bi
weekly updates about the latest iteration of whatever scam it is,
it could be the grandparent scam, or the IRS scam,
social security scam. I mean, they're just too many of
them to name, and they're always changing slightly. The fraud
(28:33):
Watch Network at AARP will send again free of charge.
You don't have to be a member to do it.
You can text the letters f w in for Fraud
Watch Network to the number five zero seven five seven,
that's f w in to five zero seven five seven
(28:57):
and you will get bi weekly alert.
Speaker 2 (29:01):
All right, very r appreciate. I appreciate the information, and
I know my audience does h. I wish that AARP
had a simple place, AARP dot com where they could
go and they could get everything.
Speaker 6 (29:15):
Uh.
Speaker 2 (29:15):
And when you get that, oh well that's fine, that's fine.
Then that's what I'm saying. AARP dot org. People will
remember that they're tough in terms of phone numbers, AARP
dot org. That's the key. Thanks Mary, talk again. Appreciate
it very.
Speaker 6 (29:31):
Much, Thank you, Dan, my pleasure.
Speaker 3 (29:34):
Very welcome.
Speaker 2 (29:34):
We get back we're going to uh that's a very
serious topic, okay, and we've spent a little bit more
time on that, and we get back on talking. A
great nonprofit called Team Impact. If you know it, you'll
know why it's a great nonprofit. And if you don't
know it, you will learn why it's a great nonprofit
right after this break on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (29:54):
Night Side, Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (30:00):
Team name Impact is a great, great organization that matches
kids who are dealing with some disability issues or serious illnesses,
which college sports teams with us. Now is the new
CEO of the Boston nonprofit Team Impact, Christy kellerher Christy
congratulations your former Division one student athlete who captained the
(30:23):
Boston College women's lacrosse team and is also the mom
of a pediatric cancer survivor. That's that's quite a resume
for this position. Welcome to Nightside. Congratulations and your appointment.
Tell us about Team Impact. You you you are very
familiar with this group.
Speaker 7 (30:44):
Sure, Hi, Dan, thanks so much for having me tonight.
I'm so glad to be here with you. Team Impact. Well,
thank you. Team Impact mission, as you said, is deeply
personal to me. We match students and sorry, children facing
serious illness and disabilities with college sports teams, and since
(31:08):
two thy and eleven, we've matched more than four thousand
children with more than eight thousand colleges in all fifty
states and impacting more than one hundred thousand student athletes.
So our reach is wide, and we're certainly proud of
the legacy that we've built, and we look forward to
(31:28):
continuing to build on that legacy.
Speaker 2 (31:31):
For some reason, I had the belief, and maybe it
is ill founded, that Team Impact started in New England.
Speaker 7 (31:39):
It sure did actually in Boston. In fact, in twenty eleven,
eight former college class meets and student athletes came together
to start Team Impact, and it was inspired by a
gentleman named Jay Callman. He's one of our founders. His
(32:02):
inspired by his brother Chris. Jay was driven to find
a way to get all kids in the game, regardless
of sickness or disability. Chris was a longtime sports fan
who was born with a condition that prevented him from
participating in sports after the age of twelve, and he
got the opportunity on a team with the Bristol Red Sox,
a minor league DOUBLEA baseball team, and they took him
(32:25):
under his wing as an official bat boy, and that
really sparked an idea in Jay, who leveraged his relationship
with some passionate leaders, his friends from a lot of
his friends from Tough to bring this dream to life
and their years of personal experience on and off the field,
many of them were college athletes. Them college athletes themselves.
(32:47):
Really they wanted to pay forward this idea of having
children on teams to help them with their mental, emotional,
social and physical well being. And now eleven years later,
we've grown into a national nonprofit with multiple regions across
the country. So it's really a dream that started right
here in Boston. With some friends and it's grown into
(33:09):
you know, it's it's quite the legacy that that Jay
and his friends have have given to others.
Speaker 3 (33:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:15):
My, My impression, and you could probably talk about it generally,
is that these kids really get a chance to get
up close in person with the athletes. Whether it's a
big time you know, college football team, or big time
lacrosse team, or a small college tennis team. They get
to go to the games and they get some special
(33:36):
access to the players, to practices and uh and through
these some that sometimes there's lasting relationships that are developed
between some of these kids who maybe kind of compete
on the field because of a physical limitation or or
a serious illness, but they they certainly become part of
(33:57):
that team and a valuable part of the team that
they're that they're affiliated with.
Speaker 7 (34:03):
They sure do. Dan. We know that children with serious
illnesses and disabilities, like my daughter, they're often diagnosed during
the formative years of their lives and they'refore still with
a really different childhood than their peers. They miss out
on things like school, youth sports clubs and other activities
that most children often take for granted. And as a result,
(34:26):
these these kids offer they often suffer from depression, anxiety,
and social isolation. And in fact, because of this, children's
hospitals now recognize that there's more to treating a child
than just giving them medicine, and hospitals have psychosocial care
teams made up a childlife specialists and social workers whose
(34:47):
job is to care for the social and emotional well
being of children. And sometimes those those programs are limited
to the four walls of the hospital, and that's where
a team impact comes in. And every college athletic program
they recognize the importance of student athlete development. Much of
that burden falls upon coaches who are busy, you know,
(35:09):
worrying about winning winning games. And that's where team impact
comes in again. And we really fill crucially important gaps
for both partners in both healthcare and athletics. And that's
the reason why we've built great partnerships with the Children's
Hospital Association and the NCAA. And our unique clinical model
(35:31):
involves trained case managers and master level social workers and
they work between our college athletics teams. And we have
multiple teams at Boston College, Michigan, you name it, the
biggest schools you can imagine. We've got team impact teammates
on so many of those teams, and that clinical model,
(35:53):
the matchup process ensures that we find the right team
for each kid based on their unique personalities and diagnosis.
Speaker 2 (36:00):
The group that benefits, in my opinion, of the athletes
because the athletes learn, they get so tied up and
wins and losses and successes and failures. They realize that
there's a lot more to life than just what happens
on or off the grid iron, the court, on the
on the baseball field, and they realize how fortunate they
(36:22):
are just to compete in college sports.
Speaker 3 (36:27):
You know.
Speaker 2 (36:27):
I mean, there's lessons all around. The athletes learn lessons
from the kids, and the kids learn lessons from the athletes.
It's a great it's a great program anytime that we
can help you. Chrissy, congratulations again on your success in
your appointment as the new CEO.
Speaker 3 (36:43):
And I have to ask, how's your daughter doing?
Speaker 7 (36:47):
My daughter is doing great. This August, they'll celebrate ten
years since ringing the bell at Mass General after proton
beam radiation therapy, and in just a couple of weeks
from taking her back for her senior year of college.
So she's doing great and we're among the lucky ones,
and I just feel lucky that I get to do
(37:08):
this work every day and pay forward the incredible community
that supported us during that.
Speaker 2 (37:13):
Congratulations to you, Congratulations to your daughter, and congratulations to
everyone who participates, benefits from, or or provide support for
Team Impact. And if people want to learn more, what's
the website.
Speaker 7 (37:27):
Teamimpact dot org And if they'd like to make a gift,
teamimpact dot org slash donate perfect.
Speaker 2 (37:33):
They can figure that one out, that's for sure. Christie,
thank you so much. You're a great representative, the perfect
person for this position. Thanks so much. We will talk again.
Speaker 3 (37:42):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (37:43):
We can be of help to you, guys. Let us
know please, Okay.
Speaker 7 (37:47):
Thanks so much. We appreciate it.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
You're really welcome, you very welcome.
Speaker 2 (37:50):
When we get back, we're going to open up our
conversations of the evening, which includes you. And that is
the ongoing crisis at Mass and cast and now they're
there are people who are living in that area who
are calling upon government to do much more, and specifically
not only more police, maybe state police, maybe the National Guard.
(38:13):
We have with us coming up. Andrew Brand, the co
president of the Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association. This is
a story that affects not only the South end of Boston,
affects the entire city of Boston in many respects, and
the entire country. I will explain right after the nine
o'clock news on my side
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