Submitted by Nancy Szostak Wright
Westborough – The Friends of the Westborough Appalachia Service Project (ASP) are hosting the semi-formal annual ASP Gala Saturday, March 19, at 7 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough. All of the evening’s proceeds will help fund trip expenses for local high school students and adult leaders. As a group they will travel by vans from the Westborough area to rural West Virginia to rebuild homes and experience living in local Appalachian communities. The ASP trip is organized by First United Methodist Church and St. Luke the Evangelist Church, and is in its 27th year.
“Last year’s inaugural gala event was an overwhelming success with a packed house full of friends, neighbors and supporters enjoying an adult evening of dancing and entertainment,” said Lisa Nichols, one of ASP’s gala coordinators. “We raised over $15,000 that went directly toward our collective efforts to make this service trip a success on many levels.”
This year’s organizers are optimistic about raising even more funds than last year and have relocated the event to a larger venue to accommodate this year’s anticipated crowd of ASP supporters.
Along with the event’s silent auction and raffle, there will be two bands featured. The Point ‘n’ Swing Big Band will again be bringing their energetic dance music to the gala. Following their big band music will be music from The NAYS, who play a broad range of rock music from the ’50s and ’60s, specializing in music by the Beatles. It’s an entertaining evening that will be one of Westborough ASP’s largest fundraisers for 2016.
Each year the group of trip volunteers grows. When this effort started in 1990 there were five students and four adults on the trip. Last summer, the Westborough ASP group sent 101 youth and 42 adults to two towns in the hills of Appalachian Virginia. They were part of the national ASP effort, where over 17,000 ASP volunteers from all over the country served in the Appalachian areas of five states. Each Westborough-area volunteer devoted nine days of work and travel to a needy region of Appalachia to help better the conditions of some of the poorest people in America.
Jonathan Owen, ASP coordinator, added, “Substandard housing is a problem in many parts of this country, especially so in Central Appalachia. Faced with such a large problem, the Appalachia Service Project encourages us to focus not on what we can’t solve, but on what we can, using our own time and our own hands on a home for someone in need.
“Volunteers learn just how big a difference they can make to one family in a week. Multiply that by enough volunteers over enough time, and we not only have a significant impact in Appalachia, but also in Westborough, as our empowered youth return home. This July, we expect to have 168 volunteers traveling to two locations in Southern West Virginia.”
To accomplish this remarkable journey, each youth volunteer is individually responsible for raising $560 needed for transportation, building supplies, and simple food and lodging. Donations from outside the group help to keep this amount much lower than the actual $961 cost per youth.
Each student is also expected to contribute 12 hours toward fundraising projects. Some of the events for this year’s trip include a coffee house, chili challenge, can drives, spaghetti dinner/talent show, car washes, selling pies and poinsettias, as well as a Rock-a-thon event. Support comes from many area sources and contributors.
Tickets are $50 each for guests aged 21 or older. There will be complimentary hors d’ oeuvres and desserts, as well as a cash bar. You can purchase tickets online at www.westboroughasp.org/gala or in person at First United Methodist Church or St. Luke’s Church. If you are unable to attend this event and would like to make a donation, you can do so online at http://www.westboroughasp.org/donate.html. Follow Westborough ASP on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WestboroughASP/.
