AMHERST — As the COVID-19 pandemic bars many families and children from their usual winter activities, community donations to the Amherst Survival Center will put more than 500 board games and puzzles into the hands of local families.
On Wednesday afternoon, staff from The Mill District and Cowls Building Supply delivered 400-plus board games, purchased by WD Cowls Inc., to the Amherst Survival Center, which will distribute the board games to families with young children. Additionally, Cowls Building Supply and The Mill District, as well as North Amherst Motors and the Toy Box, added dozens more games and puzzles to the Survival Center’s supply.
The idea to distribute board games came about as a way “to infuse a little bit of levity and fun for families throughout the winter months,” said Lev Ben-Ezra, executive director of the Amherst Survival Center.
“We thought that in February, one of the coldest and darkest months of the year,” the games could help to “beat the winter boredom,” she added. The board games also served as a substitute for the center’s holiday gift program, which could not run as usual this year due to social distancing measures.
Members of The Mill District and Cowls eagerly answered the center’s call for donations.
“It is really hard to find stuff to do when you’ve been home for so long,” said Stacey Theriault, manager of the Mill District General Store, “and games never go out of style.”
WD Cowls had initially agreed to match any board game or puzzle donations from The Mill District, but ultimately upped this pledge by hundreds.
The Survival Center already runs a grocery delivery program that serves around 1,200 area residents, and will include the board games in the grocery deliveries of families with children in the target age range for the games.
The grocery program began in April with around 250 signed up, and “grew pretty rapidly” over the following months, Ben-Ezra said. Before the pandemic, the grocery delivery program was a significantly smaller program, serving 40 to 50 seniors in Amherst and Belchertown.
The center has also upped the number of prepared meals its provides to the community, supplying about 250 of these meals to area residents each day. Last month, staff provided nearly 9,000 of these meals to area residents.
Ben Ezra encouraged anyone in need of food to come to the Survival Center, noting that the center provides meals and fresh produce daily, with no questions asked and no registration required. The center’s pantry is open to residents of 13 towns and requires a brief registration process, but no documentation.
She also thanked the community for its continued support of the Survival Center’s mission.
“The Amherst Survival Center’s efforts are always powered by this community,” Ben-Ezra said. “The community has really shown up full force over the past few months … it has really been a collective community effort of supporting our neighbors.”