NORTHAMPTON — Four organizations that provide services to homeless individuals and offer regular meals at a soup kitchen will benefit from an annual fundraiser taking place this weekend.
Shelter Sunday, in its 28th year, will feature collection sites throughout the city, with many Northampton, Florence and Leeds residents receiving a community-wide mailing, in advance, that outlines ways they can contribute.
The coalition supporting Shelter Sunday includes ServiceNet, which runs the Grove Street Inn that houses up to 21 women and men throughout the year; the Friends of Hampshire County Homeless, which with ServiceNet operates the Interfaith Emergency Shelter that provides 20 beds during the coldest months; MANNA Soup Kitchen, which handles weekly meals; and the Center for Human Development’s Single Room Occupancy Outreach Project, in which 300 individuals are assisted in finding places to live.
With a growing waitlist for the seasonal shelter and more people depending on getting their meals from MANNA, the coalition is aiming to collect $55,000, which will be divided equally among the four programs.
A similar Shelter Sunday effort in Amherst is scheduled for Oct. 20, marking the 30th event of its kind. In recent years, money raised through the event has supported the Not Bread Alone soup kitchen, a Center for Human Development program and Craig’s Doors: A Home Association, Inc., which runs the Craig’s Place seasonal homeless shelter, a year-round resource center for homeless people, and a Wednesday morning breakfast.
Amherst’s 300 volunteers, including a number of University of Massachusetts students, will canvass neighborhoods that day, with other volunteers welcome to sign up at tables at Stop & Shop in Hadley and Atkins Farms Country Market in Amherst or by sending email to admin@craigsdoors.org
In Northampton, volunteers are needed for the collections sites at local businesses, and new volunteers are welcome to step forward. For information, send an email to volunteer@northamptonsheltersunday.org.
The community-wide mailing has an envelope and donation form, but people can also donate online at northamptonsheltersunday.org.
Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.
