Ashland Emergency Fund

Quietly providing hope to those in need.

Since 1987 the AEF has been Ashland’s behind-the-scenes, private place to which those in need have been able to turn for help.

Ashland Emergency Fund in Crisis

By Theresa Freeman/ Tab Staff Writer

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Crippled by stagnant fund-raising revenue and facing more calls for assistance, the Ashland Emergency Fund finds itself in a crisis of its own. The Ashland Emergency Fund likely will not be able to help as many of those neighbors in need as in years past, crippled by a stagnant bingo fund-raiser and donations that have plateaued.

The 18-year-old fund will not be able to support as many causes as in the past, said chairman John Ellsworth. "We have no choice but to scale back,'' said Ellsworth. "We have to react to reality. It's very hard to acknowledge.'' A new Web site, www.ashlandemergencyfund.org gives people the option of donating money via a secure online transfer. The site also recruits volunteers to get new fund-raisers off the ground. ""The reality is we've got to think of more ways to reach out to people,'' said Ellsworth.

Two years ago, the Emergency Fund had a bank balance of about $155,000, Ellsworth said. One year ago it was $119,000, but now it is about $80,000. From January to August, donations were $8,605, while expenditures were
$53,827.

Much of the dip is due to a bingo night, weekly on Wednesday at 7 at the former Gamewell building on Pleasant Street, which does not draw the crowds it once did. Previously a combined fund-raiser evening with the Campership Coalition, the Emergency Fund Bingo attendance took a nose-dive after the state smoking ban took effect in spring 2004. In March, the fund started going it alone on a bingo night, but attendance has not improved.

At a meeting Oct. 3, members agreed they have to be more critical when reviewing cases until the fund gets a boost, Ellsworth said. The fund is built around helping people in town. According to its bylaws, it aims to provide emergency financial support for residents who find themselves in need, who are unable to resolve that need without assistance, and who are unable to get that assistance from state, federal or other sources. "People come to us as a last resort," said Ellsworth. Most cases are approved anonymously, with a church, social service or fraternal organization recommending a family or person in need. "In most instances we don't even know the beneficiary of the funds,'' said Ellsworth. "They're your neighbors. You don't need to know who you're helping.'' Two years ago, the fund helped a family pay rent, heat and electricity bills while the father was treated for cancer and unable to work. Last year, the fund supported a family when the father had been laid off. "In all cases we were able to save a family and keep them in town. We can't do it all anymore,'' said Ellsworth. "It's amazing when you can recover your self-esteem.'' The fund recently helped support future residents and evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. The fund was reimbursed for every dollar spent helping evacuees build a new home in town, Ellsworth said. "That's not in the charter of the Emergency Fund, but we did it,'' said Ellsworth. "We all felt that this was so important it had to be done.''

For more information on volunteering or donating, contact John Ellsworth at 508-881-3404 or Youth Advisory Council Director Susan Gauvin at 508-881-0109.

Donations can be sent directly to The Ashland Emergency Fund, P.O. Box 112, Ashland, MA 01721.

(Theresa Freeman can be reached at 508-626-3919 or tfreeman@cnc.com.)