Andover Cares Awards First Grant

The program is helps build connections between students and adults at the school. Research, said Kirby, shows that when kids are engaged at school, their chances of getting involved with drugs is reduced. Addressing the opiate addiction crisis in the Andover community is the focus of the Andover Cares grant program.

100 new participants take part in the program each of the two days of the Challenge Day. 25 teen leaders, past participants themselves, take a leadership role. Adult participation is high as well with one adult chaperone for every four students.

Kirby described the deep personal impact of one of the activities. In one exercise, students are assembled in two lines facing each other. While students stand in silence, facilitators ask anyone who has experienced an issue step forward. In the silence that follows, students learn that their peers, who most days seem so assured and together, have experienced family members with drug addiction, have lost sleep worrying about a loved one, know someone in the LBGQ community, or been hurt by someone else in the room. There is the opportunity to talk with each other and heal wounds, learning that although they may seem different on the outside, on the inside their experiences are often similar.

The $1,250 Andover Cares grant will help cover costs for the program. This year LaQuinta hotel donated lodging for the Challenge Day leaders and the school covers lunches for students and leaders.

When she received the grant at the April 15, 2016 Rotary Club of Andover weekly meeting, Kirby shared a video produced by an Andover High School student who was moved by the Challenge Day program.

Applications for Andover Cares grants are accepted on a rolling basis. Information about Andover Cares and the grant program can be found on the Rotary website, www.andoverrotary.org/.