Woodstock prides itself on taking care of its clients, and we periodically like to use QMP to shine a spotlight on how individuals at Woodstock impact the larger community. In this holiday season of giving, we highlight the Boston-area nonprofit started by Lisa Supple, vice president and portfolio manager at Woodstock Corporation. For Pete’s Sake is a 501(c)(3) that funds hockey camp scholarships for children in inner-city Boston neighborhoods, formed as a way to honor the memory of her friend and former colleague Peter W. Smith, who died tragically in a fire in Boston’s North End on November 22, 2017.
For Pete’s Sake started off as “Friends of Pete”—the initial fundraising effort launched on GoFundMe shortly after Pete’s death by Lisa and three other “Friends of Pete.” Lisa met Pete when they worked together on the fixed income trading desk at BNY Mellon, where she was a portfolio manager and trader prior to joining Woodstock. At the time of his death at age thirty-three, Pete was an investment counselor for Wilkins Investment Counsel in Boston. “Pete was a hockey player with the biggest smile. He brought people together and made them feel extra special,” Lisa recalls. “A bunch of us organized a fundraiser to keep Pete’s memory alive, because he was too wonderful a person to forget. Through the nonprofit’s fundraising efforts, we aim to provide children the opportunity to participate in the sport Pete loved.
The fundraisers’ original goal was to do some good in Pete’s name and possibly change someone’s life. “We began with the intent of making a general donation to SCORE Boston Hockey that would provide summer hockey camp scholarships to the kids they serve,” says Lisa. SCORE allows inner-city youths to pay just $100 to participate in a program that provides equipment, coaching, ice time, and mentorship (including helping kids learn basic financial information).
By May 2019, For Pete’s Sake had covered or committed to covering expenses for 16 children to attend summer hockey skills camp.
In 2019, SCORE established the Peter W. Smith Leadership Award; the first winner was a deserving young volunteer, Jaden Mitchell, who mentored other younger players after he aged out of the program. The nonprofit also provided a complete new set of hockey equipment for Jaden, and worked on helping SCORE replace older equipment as needed.
Today, fundraising efforts are ongoing, spearheaded by Lisa and other former colleagues and friends of Pete. They work with Sullivan’s Hockey Academy as well as SCORE, and have also made donations to a local shelter for homeless veterans as well as Bowdoin College. Pete’s friends usually get together in November—often at Clarke’s bar and restaurant in Faneuil Hall in Boston—to salute his memory. Pete was a 2007 graduate of Bowdoin College, where he was a four-year member of the men’s varsity ice hockey team. The staff at Clarke’s displays Pete’s Bowdoin College hockey shirt on one wall as a tribute to him. For Pete’s Sake holds a fundraiser once a year; the next one is tentatively scheduled for February 2025.