Amherst Athletics to Provide Helping Hand for Holidays

December 13, 2005

AMHERST, MA - The Amherst College athletic department will continue its aid to those in need during the holiday season by sponsoring a pair of charity drives this week. Head men's lacrosse and women's squash coach Tom Carmean and Hitchcock fellow Kathryn Honderd '05 are spearheading the "Hope for the Holidays" toy drive, while the Amherst men's lacrosse team is sponsoring a food drive for the Northampton Survival Center.

The "Hope for the Holidays" toy drive will be held this Thursday and Friday, when new toys, gift cards, or holiday bags can be dropped off at the Amherst College Gymnasium (Coolidge Cage) from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Hope for the Holidays" is a Pioneer Valley-wide effort to collect toys for children in Southwestern Louisiana whose families continue to suffer the devastating effects of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The effort hopes to provide victims, who are spending what little money they have to rebuild their lives, with the chance to give their children gifts this year. The Amherst athletic department will be collecting new unwrapped toys, gift cards, and holiday toy bags, all of which will then be driven down to Louisiana by Carmean and his wife, Seana. This effort, although based at Amherst College, extends throughout the Pioneer Valley as other academic institutions have generously pledged their support. The communities of Northfield Mount Herman, Minnechaug, and South Hadley High Schools are all raising awareness about this cause and, of course, enthusiastically collecting donations. If one of the other participating schools is more convenient, please contact them directly to inquire about their donation procedure and collecting days (which will occur earlier than those at Amherst College).

Donations of new unwrapped toys will be delivered to distribution centers in three of the most in-need towns in Louisiana: Eunice, in the center of Cajun Country, Vinton, near the Texas border, and Grand Lakes, in the hard-hit Cameron Parish. Distribution centers, which were initially set up to issue food and other necessities, will in effect become toy stores for parents who would otherwise be unable to afford presents this year. Parents can select toys for their children at no cost, ensuring that in-need children will receive at least some presents during the holiday season. In addition to new unwrapped toys, Amherst is also seeking holiday toy bags for the 77 4-5 year old children in the Headstart Program in Cameron Parish whose families have lost everything. Gift cards for retail outlets in Louisiana, such as Walmart, JCPenney and Radio Shack, are also a much-needed, extremely versatile item. Local United Way relief organizers will distribute these cards. Financial donations are also greatly appreciated and will be used to provide Headstart teachers with the educational and classroom resources that they lost when Hurricane Rita destroyed the Headstart Center.

"Hope for the Holidays" is working directly with the Louisiana Local Aid Project (LLAP), an organization based in Northampton, Mass. that is in close communication with the small towns of Southwestern Louisiana and has provided ongoing support through various outreach efforts. The LLAP, through one of its core organizers, Seana Carmean, has been the driving force behind "Hope for the Holidays," connecting the project with its three destination towns, providing regular updates on the situation in Louisiana, and promoting the toy drive among their supporters in Northampton.

In addition to its community-wide collection days, Amherst College has also been doing numerous, smaller-scale
collecting and fundraising events around campus with various college groups. With the financial support of Social Council and a generous donation from Valentine Dining Hall, students raised over $270 selling food at campus events, all of which will go directly to purchasing presents. Amherst is working on a holiday candy-gram fundraiser in collaboration with the Association of Amherst Students. Also, the Amherst College women's ice hockey team collected toys and financial donations at their home games on December 2nd and 3rd.

If you have any questions regarding the "Hope for the Holidays" drive, please contact Tom Carmean at 413-542-2113 or Kathryn Honderd '05 at 413-542-2218. Financial donations to "Hope for the Holidays" can be made through its sponsoring organization. Checks can be made out to Williamsburg Congregational Church-Hurricane Relief and can be sent to Williamsburg Congregational Church, North Main Street, Williamsburg, MA 01096. The church is the established non-profit that functions as the financial base for the LLAP; 100% of all donations go directly to hurricane relief.

The Amherst men's lacrosse team will be circulating the Amherst College campus at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, December 14, in an attempt to collect as many non-perishable food items as possible. They would like to encourage all those who wish to contribute to do so, and if anyone from the community would like to add to the men's lacrosse team's efforts please contact Kevin Boova '06, Sean Murray '06, Andrew Wilcox '06 or Derek Cherney '07. All proceeds from this effort will go to the Northampton Survival Center and will be distributed to families in need throughout Hampshire County. For more information on the Northampton Survival Center visit www.thensc.org.