The Daily Hampshire Gazette
Wednesday, March 28, 2012AMHERST – There will be a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Amherst Survival Center building at 138 Sunderland Road April 13 and it could open by the end of the year, said Executive Director Cheryl Zoll.
The center, which provides about 4,000 low-income people a year with free lunches, groceries, housewares, clothes and medical care, has operated out of a cramped basement at 1200 North Pleasant St. The new 6,000-square-foot building will double the center’s space, providing room for the 70 people who eat lunch there daily, a private medical area for volunteer doctors Daniel Clapp and Paul Berman, counseling rooms and adequate parking, Zoll said. [click to continue…]
The Amherst Survival Center welcomes everyone to enjoy our Hot Lunch, Fresh Food Distribution, Free Medical Clinic, Free Store--and our Community Center/Volunteer Program. You will find us open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 am to 3 pm, except Thursdays when we stay open until 7 pm. Free Hot Lunch is served from noon to 1 pm, prepared by volunteers in our kitchen. We are closed Wednesdays.
Our Fresh Food Distribution--vegetables, fruit and fresh baked goods – is available to everyone from 11 am to 1 pm on our days open. Our Food Pantry —stocked with canned goods, meats and other perishables---is open to those who come to us from the following list of towns: Amherst, Belchertown, Deerfield, Granby, Hadley, Leverett, Pelham, Shutesbury, South Deerfield, Sunderland and Whately. Read more about our programs and services.
The Amherst Survival Center is pleased to announce our campaign for a new facility. Read the details about our capital campaign.
Our plan is to create a home that reflects and respects the dignity of the people we serve and the compassion of our community.
Thanks to the generosity of many local friends and neighbors, the ASC Capital Campaign has already raised $2 million toward the $2.5 million target that will make our plans a reality.
If you’ve visited the Center, you know firsthand that we provide a broad range of safety net services in our cramped basement quarters. Unfortunately, the demand for these services continues to grow – up 56% since 2007. Our staff and volunteers do an admirable job managing within these physical constraints, but we’ve long known that in order to provide more efficient services, with the respect and dignity that are hallmarks of the Survival Center, we need more space.
You’ll hear more about the campaign in the coming months as we work to raise the remaining $500,000 for this new construction at 138 Sunderland Road-just up the street from our current home. In the meantime, please contact us if you’d like to learn more about the project.
Monday Free Clinics Are Back!!
Mondays from 12:30-2 pm
with Dr. Paul Berman & Nurse Trish
Thursday nights continue with Dr. Daniel Clapp, 5-6 pm
