They start showing up just before noon, first as a trickle and soon as a wave. While volunteers from the community prepare their materials and instructions, the college students mill about in a sea of UMass sweatshirts and Greek letters.
About 12:15, everything is ready to go, and quickly everyone gets registered and formed into groups of five or six or seven. They receive brief instruction and a pep talk, and then they get their zone assignments – big manila envelopes with brochures and other information inside and a section of map on the outside with the designated streets highlighted in green. And then they’re off.
They return in dribs and drabs over the next three hours, beaming with pride and full of stories: tales of generosity, barking dogs, people expecting them and having their Shelter Sunday checks all ready, other folks obviously pretending not to be home, and many accounts of people thanking them for their participation.
A group of young men from the Theta Chi fraternity talked about some of the reasons the event is interesting and valuable to them.
Michael Brooks called the experience “Incredibly awesome,” and said he enjoyed the walking and the exercise.
Justin McGrail said “It gave us a chance to see a part of town we’d never been to before.”
Matt Bisland called it “an enriching experience,” and said “It helps develop your social skills, because you have to deal with people on the spot,” in a slightly awkward situation.
John Cusick spoke for many when he said that he and his fraternity mates “Like to give back to the community.”
When the final group returned to the tent on the Common about 4:00, a total of more than $14,500 had been collected, though that would not be known for several hours, when the Amherst Friends for the Homeless board gathered in the evening to count up the day’s returns.
Traditionally, about half of the money brought in by the Shelter Sunday event is collected that day; the other half comes in by mail from people who weren’t home and had a brochure and return envelope left at their door, or from those who simply prefer to send in their contribution.
Aaron Bousel, President of the Amherst Friends for the Homeless board of directors, called Sunday “a very successful day. The students turned out in force and the community was very generous.” He encouraged those who received the brochure to send their contributions as soon as possible, and said that those wishing to contribute who didn’t happen to receive any materials can send checks payable to: Shelter Sunday Amherst, P.O. Box 1071, Amherst MA 01004 -1071.
Amherst Friends for the Homeless would like to thank: all the volunteers – the students from the fraternities and sororities and the UMass Boltwood project; community volunteers including those recruited through the Jewish Community of Amherst, South Congregational Church, and the Unitarian Universalist Society of Amherst; event sponsor Florence Savings Bank; members of South Congregational Church for providing tables and chairs for the event, and the Hampshire County Sherriff’s Department, for providing the tent; and the residents of Amherst, Hadley and Pelham for their tremendous generosity and support of this event for 18 years.
-- Stephanie O’Keeffe
Board Member
Amherst Friends for the Homeless
