Gospel Choir Concert to benefit Amherst A Better Chance (ABC) on April 10 at 7:30 PM

Come to a Gospel Choir Concert to benefit Amherst A Better Chance (ABC) on Tuesday, April 10th, at Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst.

The concert starts at 7:30 PM and features the Amherst Area Gospel Choir, the Amherst Regional High School Chorale, the Hampshire Young People’s Chorus, and the Resurrect Gospel Choir at Amherst College.

Concert-goers are also invited to a welcome reception with light refreshments from 6:30 to 7:15 p.m. in the room adjacent to the Sanctuary at Grace Church. The reception will include the opportunity to meet the Amherst A Better Chance Scholars and the Resident Directors. A Donation of $20 (or more!) from each concert-goer will be gratefully accepted, but all who wish to celebrate the ABC Program through gospel music are most welcome!

ABC Host Families Needed

The Amherst A Better Chance Program is welcoming four new Scholars this year – three 9th graders and one 10th grader! 

ABC is looking for host families for these young men. Host families open their homes and their hearts to the Scholars who live with their host families during the first weekend of every month of the school year. All members of the Amherst community are encouraged to consider this opportunity to gain as much as you give.

A description of the host family program and contact information can be found on the Amherst ABC website: https://www.amherstabetterchance.org/volunteer/host-family-program/. 

Interested families can also contact Wendy Kohler, President of the ABC Board of Directors, at wendykohler@comcast.net

Amherst A Better Chance Fall Foliage 5k Walk/Run on October 14

Please join us for the 46th annual Amherst A Better Chance Fall Foliage 5k Walk/Run on Saturday, October 14th.  The Amherst Town Common will be full of fun, family activities as walkers and runners begin the race. The course is a beautiful loop through scenic countryside during peak foliage! All levels of participation are encouraged. Bring the whole family!

Anyone who pre-registers by October 7th will be guaranteed an event t-shirt. All registrants will receive a free meal post-race and there will be lots of great prizes.

We have special rates for children, families and teams! Go to (https://www.amherstabetterchance.org/fallfoliagewalkrun/ for more details and to register. Or, contact Kursten Holabird, kurstenh@gmail.com if you have any questions. 

Hope to see you there!

Gospel Choir Concert to Benefit Amherst A Better Chance (ABC House) on May 16

Tuesday, May 16th Gospel Choir Concert To benefit Amherst A Better Chance (ABC) Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst 7:30 PM Featuring: The Amherst Community Gospel Choir Amherst Regional High School Chorale The Amherst College Gospel Choir Reception following the concert A donation of $20 (or more!) from each concert-goer will be gratefully accepted, but all who wish to celebrate the ABC Program through gospel music are most welcome!

Volunteers Needed: Board of Directors of Amherst A Better Chance

Interested in volunteering with a program that for nearly 50 years has successfully supported young men of color from disadvantaged school districts who come to Amherst to live in a supportive home environment while attending Amherst Regional High School?  Please consider joining the Board of Directors of Amherst A Better Chance.  We can guarantee our volunteers the opportunity to truly make a difference in the lives of these young men.  They are scholars who demonstrate such promise while here in Amherst and who, as ABC and ARHS alumni, live lives of purpose.

Please contact Wendy Kohler, President of Amherst A Better Chance, for more information.  (Email:  wendykohler@comcast.net; Cell:  413-250-0091)

Mi Tierra in Hadley Hosts Fundraiser for Amherst A Better Chance on January 9

Here are some details about a wonderful community event (not sponsored by the PGO):

Please join Mi Tierra Mexican restaurant in Hadley for a fundraiser to support Amherst A Better Chance. 100% of the food profits will go to support Amherst A Better Chance's work bringing "better chance" experiences to young men of color. All you have to do is come and enjoy delicious Mexican food! 

January 9 from 5 to 9 pm

Reservations are especially encouraged for larger parties:

Call 413-587-9820

SNOW DATE: JAN 16TH

Event Details on Facebook

Amherst A Better Chance's Mission:

Amherst ABC provides a supportive ‘better chance’ experience for young men of color coming from resource-disadvantaged school districts. We seek to create robust academic and social challenges, opportunities, and activities that allow each young man to realize his full potential within a close-knit community of family, teachers, and volunteers.

Amherst ABC Fall Foliage Walk- October 15th

The Amherst Committee for A Better Chance will hold its 45th Annual Fall Foliage Event on Saturday, October 15, including the 3-mile Family Style Walk and the 5k Competitive Run. An Amherst tradition, the event has annually brought together hundreds of members of the community together to admire the diverse colors of the foliage while they walk or run in support and celebration of diversity in our community.

Since 1968, Amherst ABC has played a critical role in changing the face of leadership in American society, selecting high qualified young men of color from disadvantaged school districts whose families envision a brighter future for their sons outside of their home environments. These ABC Scholars live at the ABC House in downtown Amherst under the guidance of Resident Directors Sid and Isabel Ferreira while they attend Amherst Regional High School.

For more information as to how to participate and/or donate to the ABC Fall Foliage Event, go to the Amherst A Better Chance website http://amherstabetterchance.org/

Amherst A Better Chance (ABC House) To Host Reception and Honor Local Doctor on May 19th

The Amherst A Better Chance Program will host a reception at the Red Barn at Hampshire College on Thursday, May 19th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Local doctor Kate Atkinson and her staff at Atkinson Family Practice will be honored as 2016 Amherst ABC Local Heroes. Dr. Atkinson is a Fort River alumni parent. 

A reception will begin at 5:00 pm. Visitors will have the opportunity to meet with ABC scholars and hear their stories. Formal remarks begin at 5:45 pm. At 6:15 pm, there will be a tour of the new R.W Kern Center, Hampshire College’s new “living building,” a structure designed for sustainability and intended to promote ethical citizenship. [Amherst ABC is the FIRST community organization to have the opportunity to tour this exciting new “zero-net energy” building.]

Tour leaders will meet guests at The Red Barn and escort them to the Kern Center for tours guided by Hampshire College staff. Tours will start at approximately 6:15.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event on May 19th. We hope that many members of the community join the ABC Scholars and the Board of Directors to celebrate this program, with the bonus opportunity to tour a new facility that promotes sustainability and thus, in a very real sense, can provide all of us as well as future generations with a better chance.

The ABC Board of Directors asks that those who plan to attend send an email to
mail@amherstabetterchance.org by May 13th.

For more than four decades, teenage men of color have come to our community to find “A Better Chance” in our safe, loving, focused boarding home environment while they attend Amherst Regional High School. During that time, Amherst ABC has helped more than 125 young men transcend the barriers to success, nurturing them and encouraging them to reach their highest potential academically as well as personally. It is the Amherst community that has made this incredible success story a reality.

Amherst Committee for A Better Chance holds 44th Annual Fall Foliage Event on Saturday, October 17, 2015

The Amherst Committee for A Better Chance will hold its 44th Annual Fall Foliage Event on Saturday, October 17, 2015, including the 3-mile Family Style Walk, and the 5k Competitive Run. An Amherst tradition, the event has annually brought together hundreds of residents and school children to admire the diverse colors of the foliage while they walk or run for diversity in the community.

The Fall Foliage Event is Amherst ABC's biggest fundraiser, providing living and school expenses for the ABC scholars: young men of color identified by the national ABC program for their leadership potential. They board at the ABC House on North Prospect Street under the tutelage of Resident Director Talib Sadiq while they attend Amherst Regional High School. Operating costs for the program total the equivalent of a middle class family income, about $100,000.

Register here for this wonderful community event supporting an incredible cause!