President of Governor Bellingham Carey House Association urges donations, cites recent city grant and ongoing costs

Matt Frank, president of the Governor Bellingham Carey House Association, described the historic Governor Bellingham Carey House and appealed to Chelsea City residents for donations and volunteer time to sustain its operations.

“The house is on Parker Street, and it's the yellow house up on the hill,” Frank said, summarizing the building’s location for listeners and noting its long history: “It's been there since 1659 in one form or another.” He described the house as a surviving colonial-era structure once owned by Governor Bellingham and said the association is working to broaden the house’s programming beyond colonial narratives.

Frank outlined the association’s nonprofit structure: a membership-elected board of trustees of roughly 10 people that selects officers. Memberships and small donations support operations and events; Frank said, “the biggest lift is giving us money,” and emphasized volunteer roles and committees as routes for community involvement.

The association runs four pillar events that help fund upkeep: an annual meeting, a Strawberry Festival, a fall cocktail/dinner and a holiday cookie party. Frank described the Strawberry Festival as the association’s marquee fundraiser, where volunteers and donated supplies are used to sell strawberry shortcakes for about $10.

On revenue and expenses, Frank said the association recently received $215,000 in Community Preservation Act (CPA) funds from the city to restore the house exterior and address windows and roofing. He also said the house requires around $18,000 a year in carrying costs — including insurance and utilities — and that grants and event revenue are essential to cover those recurring expenses.

Frank highlighted program and collections work designed to broaden community engagement: volunteer curator Janet Sator (formerly of the Harvard Art Museums) runs a curation series; the house holds historic Chelsea tiles and recently received a major tile donation from a former board member. The association also sells small-batch, locally sourced jams and jellies as a fundraising line and is experimenting with smaller multi-pack options.

Youth and outreach programs are part of the association’s strategy to build long-term interest. Frank described family-friendly tour elements and kid-focused events, including trick-or-treat programs where the house distributed small constitutions in English and Spanish alongside candy.

Frank described a range of volunteer commitments — from one-day tasks such as cutting strawberries for the festival to heavier commitments for positions like curator or treasurer — and said board terms are one year with an intent to rotate membership to avoid long stagnation.

To learn more or to donate, Frank pointed listeners to the association’s website at www.governorbellinghamcarey.com. He urged residents to visit the house and consider volunteering or joining as members to help sustain the building and expand programming.

The episode closed with the host thanking Frank and inviting listeners to stop by the Governor Bellingham Carey House; the recording also contains a closing-name variation ('Monica Macklin') that differs from earlier references identifying the host as Marnie Mack.