As Northampton Dollars for Scholars enters its 45th year, The Daily Hampshire Gazette will profile some of the scholars and scholarships that epitomize this “Community Behind the Students.”
In 1958, the founder of Dollars for Scholars, Fall River optometrist Irving Fradkin had a simple and democratic notion — to challenge every person in his community to donate $1 to establish a scholarship fund that would enable local students to attend college.
He arranged for Eleanor Roosevelt to donate the first dollar. This Fall River chapter would become the template for a nationwide movement that today comprises more than 1,100 local Dollars for Scholars chapters. More than 1 million students have been assisted over the past 60 years.
The Northampton chapter of Dollars for Scholars held its first awards ceremony on June 30, 1975. Over the past 44 years, many families, organizations and business have established scholarships to assist Northampton students with college expenses.
The Fred Ames
Family Scholarship
The Fred Ames Family Scholarship was founded in the memory of Fred Ames, a lifelong educator who helped found Dollars for Scholars.
A resident of Northampton all of his life, Fred graduated from Northampton High School, where he later worked as a science teacher and then, as one of the school’s guidance counselors. Fred held a master’s degree in entomology from the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Fred’s heart was filled with wanting to help others. He strongly believed that education should be accessible to everyone. His philosophy was that students who were afforded the chance to begin higher education would be more likely to be driven to continue their pursuit of knowledge.
This belief in education for all drove Fred to become one of the founding members of Dollars for Scholars in 1978, and he sat on the board until his death in 2005. The Ames family knew that the best way to commemorate Fred and his passion for helping people was to start a scholarship in his name so that Fred could continue to help.
Community was also held in high esteem by Fred. He was a longtime volunteer and threw himself in eagerly wherever there was a need, even when it meant he had to educate himself first. Not an avid golfer early on, Fred was asked to coach the golf team at Northampton High; he quickly learned everything he could about the game so he could be of service, and then he became an accomplished golfer.
Fred also sold football tickets in the fall, refereed soccer, and manned the basketball scoreboard in winter. Fred refereed soccer into his 70s, even though he had limited mobility.
Fred had a gift that allowed him to interact with youths from different generations, building solid relationships with all of them. This scholarship is meant to support a student or students who share Fred’s love for community and helping others.