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Marblehead Counseling Center honors Aldrich, names two scholarship winners
Dave Aldrich, the Nahant resident who founded Grab the Bagel, is the recipient of the Marblehead Counseling Center's second annual Amy Saltz Community Champions Award.
The center announced the honor May 1 and presented it Thursday at the Beacon Restaurant during its Community Champions Celebration. The recognition follows another award earlier this year. In February, Essex Media Group named Aldrich its 2025 Person of the Year for Marblehead.
The award is named for the late Amy R. Saltz of Marblehead and recognizes ongoing contributions by an area resident committed to helping others. Aldrich founded the national Grab the Torch foundation roughly two decades ago and launched Grab the Bagel in 2024 as a nonprofit social enterprise under the Grab the Torch umbrella. Proceeds from bagel sales support local families, first responders, area schools and other services in Marblehead and Swampscott.
Paul Todisco nominated Aldrich for the award.
"Dave is a caring person who selflessly gives of his time and energy without expecting anything in return," Todisco said. "Dave's motto is 'give to give, not to get,' and that's how he lives his life."
The center also awarded two $1,000 Community Service Scholarships this year.
Bryan LaFortune of Lowell, a senior at Essex North Shore Agricultural and Technical School, plans to attend the University of Massachusetts Lowell's medical laboratory science program before pursuing medical school. He intends to develop low-cost, portable testing kits for sickle cell anemia and other blood-borne diseases.
Amy Gomez Tomas of Lynn, a senior at Lynn English High School, plans to begin a nursing degree at North Shore Community College before transferring to a bachelor's program. Tomas, a licensed certified nursing assistant, said she hopes to support other teen mothers facing difficult circumstances.
The Marblehead Counseling Center has provided social and mental health services for more than 55 years.
"It's increasingly important for our society to recognize all that individuals in our community do to support one another," said Ruth Ferguson, president of the Marblehead Counseling Center's board of directors.
