BHS girls get a lesson in self defense - The Sentinel

PAGE 26
CAN | FROM PAGE 1
use dollars to purchase food at wholesale
prices.
According to the Western Mass Food
Bank, more people are using soup kitchens
and food pantries for the first time.
“We’re seeing two to 10 new families
every week,” said Tracey Levy, program
director of the Amherst Survival Center,
one beneficiary of the CAN! event.
In addition, folks who haven’t needed
food assistance for two or three years are
coming back, according to the Food Bank.
Traditionally, families turned to the emergency
food network just till they could get
back on their feet. Now, however, relying
on food pantries is the “new normal” for a
lot of people.
But isn’t unemployment down? Yes, but
the need for food assistance is based on the
kinds of jobs people are getting, said Levy.
Many have part-time or minimum-wage
positions. Someone making $10 an hour
is “counted as working,” she said, but cannot
support a family and is not eligible for
other assistance.
All proceeds from the CAN! drive will
go to the three Belchertown food pantries,
located at the United Church of Christ, St.
SURVIVORS | FROM PAGE 1
Freechild said the support group took
an inventory of titles based on what they
had found helpful themselves and other
basic books they found helpful.
“They wanted everyone to have access
to these titles,” said Freechild, adding that
going to the library to read them is an
excellent option for such a sensitive issue.
With limited funding the group decided
to pool their own friends and family for
the money needed to purchase the books.
“They realized that everyone they knew
would want to contribute to the cause,”
said Freechild. “They found a creative
way to make it happen and went with it.”
Freechild said education and awareness
is the first step toward safety and healing.
“As survivors, these women noted the
crucial role that written materials about
domestic abuse had played in their own
processes of freeing themselves from
abuse,” she said. “ So, they decided
that they wanted to make it easier for
other people to access books about these
issues by increasing up-to-date resources
on domestic violence and sexual assault
available through local public libraries.”
One survivor in the group explained her
involvement in this project saying, “I’m
doing this so people who are in the situation
I was stuck in for years can know that
there is a way out.”
Freechild said it is important for victims
of domestic abuse to not feel alone. She
said by reading others’ stories, it helps
“break the sense of aloneness.”
Titles of the books being donated to the
libraries include:
• The Courage to Heal: A Guide for
Women Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse
by Ellen Bass and Laura Davis
• The Verbally Abusive Relationship by
Patricia Evans
• Why Does He Do That? Inside the
Minds of Angry and Controlling Men by
©2012 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark
licensed to Coldwell Banker. Owned & Operated by NRT LLC. EHO. EOE.
THE SENTINEL • THURSDAY, JANUARY 19, 2012
Francis Roman Catholic Church and Dwight
Chapel, and to the Amherst Survival Center,
which serves many Belchertown residents.
Responding to the pantries’ requests for
more high-protein foods, CAN! is urging
supporters to donate tuna, salmon, peanut
butter, and canned soups and stews.
Canned fruits and vegetables, toiletries,
paper goods and pet food also are welcome.
All items should be in non-glass
packaging.
The three town pantries also have been
receiving an average of 400 pounds of food
a month through an ongoing drive supported
by Stop & Shop. Shoppers can drop
items in two bins at the front of the store
or purchase special boxes or bags of food
prepared by the retailer.
Donations typically drop at this time of
year, said Bob Livingston, a CAN! volunteer
who coordinates the ongoing drive.
There is a big surge during the holidays,
but that food is gone by now and the pantries’
shelves need replenishment.
Belchertown CAN! is a nonpartisan
group of individuals and businesses that
formed in December 2008 in response to
a national call for public service. It is not
affiliated with any political or religious
organization.
Lundy Bancroft
• Yes Means Yes! Visions of Female
Sexual Power and a World Without Rape
by Jaclyn Friedman and Jessica Valenti
• Transforming a Rape Culture by
Emilie Buchwald, Pamela Fletcher, and
Martha Roth
• Voices of Survivors [of domestic violence]:
Stories of Courage and Hope
produced by the Massachusetts Rural
Domestic and Sexual Violence Project of
the Massachusetts Department of Public
Health.
• The Lord Hears Your Cries: Hope and
Strength from the Scriptures in the Midst
of Domestic Violence produced by the
American Bible Society
Safe Passage is a program providing
domestic violence prevention and intervention
services. It has been providing
consultation to the group over the past
year to support these survivors to achieve
their goals of becoming effective advocates
and community activists.
“It’s an honor to work with these courageous
women to help them identify the best
ways for them to pass on the lessons they
have learned from their own experiences to
empower others to insist on healthy, abusefree
relationships,” said Freechild. “They
are so committed to doing whatever they
can to make sure that others, especially
younger people, know that they do not
have to suffer in silence.”
The Domestic Abuse Support Group
in Belchertown meets at the Belchertown
United Church of Christ, which has generously
provided meeting space, a group
facilitator, and other supportive resources
for the group. The group is open to survivors
of domestic abuse from all surrounding
towns. For more information
and group dates and meeting times, call
413-323-7442 Monday through Thursday,
9 a.m. to noon.
For more information about services at
Safe Passage, call 413-586-1125, or the
Safe Passage Hotline at 888-345-5282.
Score a Touchdown with this Exceptional Home!
Open House Sunday, January 22 nd from 1-3
(Snacks and refreshments will be served too)
2 Martin Circle, Belchertown- Stunning
3 br, 2.5 bth Contemp w/oversized
Master suite, pellet stove, hdwd flrs, c/air
& partially finished basement. New price!
$284,900 SHARON RILEY
(413)695-3178
20 George Hannum Rd, Belchertown MA
(413)323-0815 www.NEMoves.com
PALMER - Judith E. Harris died on
Jan. 11, 2012 with loving family members
by her side. Born in Hanover, New
Hampshire on
Oct. 11, 1948,
Judy grew up
in Belchertown
and attended
Belchertown
schools. She
spent most of
her adult life living
in Chicopee
before moving
to Palmer,
where she last
resided. Judy
was employed in the home health care
industry for most of her working years and
retired early due to a disability. She will
be loved forever and missed dearly by her
family and friends, among them: her son,
Jeffery Lowe, and his wife, Heather, of
Belchertown; her daughter, Shannon Lowe,
BELCHERTOWN - Marion Leora
(Hatch) Nolan, 89, passed on peacefully
Friday evening, Jan. 6, 2012. Marion
was predeceased
by her husband of
57 years James F.
Nolan who passed
in 2005. She leaves
behind three children:
Kenneth D. Nolan
and wife Paulette of
Granby, Colorado;
Linda Nolan of Lutz,
Florida; and Barbara Nolan Aldrich and
husband, Christopher (Kit) of Granby,
Massachusetts. She also leaves two grandchildren:
Eric Sicard and wife Bonnie of
Johnstown, Pennsylvania who blessed her
with twin great grandchildren, Jacob and
Julia, five years ago, and Jessica Sicard
who lives in San Francisco, California.
Three brothers, Kenneth, Richard and
Robert have predeceased her and many
nieces and nephews on the Hatch side of
the family will also miss her. Surviving
relatives are scattered across the country.
Marion was born on Dec. 7, 1922 in
Ludlow, Massachusetts, the only daugh-
OBITUARIES
Judith E. Harris
Ludlow Heating & Cooling
Sympath y Floral Arrangements
"Cold Weather is coming"
Call Us Today to
$AVE on Heating Oil
413-583-6923
y ]
of Jeffersonville, Vermont; her daughter,
Colyn Harris, of Fort Collins, Colorado;
her sister, Cathy Terry and husband, Bill, of
Belchertown; her nephew, Steven Toutant,
and his wife, Dana Carnegie, of Amherst;
her nephew, Michael Lowe, and his wife,
Eva, of Ware; her grandchildren, Stephen
and her princess, Emma Rose; and her
great-nephews and great-niece. Beers and
Story Belchertown Funeral Home is handling
the funeral arrangements. Visitation
were be Sunday, Jan. 15 from 3 to 6 p.m.
The funeral service was at the funeral home
on Monday, Jan. 16 at 11 a.m. A private
family burial service will be on Tuesday in
Grafton, MA. Memorial contributions in
Judy’s honor can be made to Hospice of the
Fisher Home, 1165 North Pleasant Street,
Amherst, MA 01002. The staff there made
Judy’s journey from this world to her eternal
rest a beautiful experience for her and
her family. For more information, please
visit www.beersandstory.com.
Marion Leora (Hatch) Nolan
GAELS | FROM PAGE 23
Ray Fagnant (1982), Jennifer Sattler
Murphy (1989), 1950s era coach Tom
Griffin and the 1947 Holyoke Catholic
football team: Leonard Meehan, Rene
Masse, Stanley Swierzewski, William
Toomey, Martin Finn, Marc Barthello,
John Fenton, Charles Mannix, William
Finnerty, John Warren, Charles Demers,
Charles Kelly, John O’Rourke, Jackson
Clare, James Monahan, Joseph Counter,
ter of Edith L. (Johnson) and Adrian H.
Hatch. She moved to Granby at the age
of eight, grew up on Meadowcroft Farm
and graduated from South Hadley High
School in 1940. She was an avid horsewoman
affiliated with both the Hampshire
and Ludlow riding clubs and an active participant
in 4H and The Grange. Marion
loved riding and showing the horses and
cattle her father bred, imported and traded.
She also participated in the family’s dairy
business by raising and showing prizewinning
dairy cattle, exhibiting at Eastern
States Exposition and as far as Ormstown,
Quebec. Marion happily took her last trail
ride with her daughter at the age of 82. In
later years she enjoyed sewing, gardening
and entertaining family at their home
in Belchertown. Services will be private,
and Marion will be laid to rest in Island
Pond Cemetery, Ludlow, MA with her husband,
James. In lieu of flowers, donations
to the Lewy Body Dementia Association
made in her name are appreciated. Beers
& Story Belchertown Funeral Home has
been entrusted with her arrangements. For
more information, please visit www.beersandstory.com.
Custom & Traditional Designs
Randalls Farm & Greenhouse
631 Center Street, Ludlow
589-7071 ~ www.randallsfarm.net
OBITUARIES
Th e Sentinel will gladly
print obituaries with
a photo free of charge.
Please contact Editor
Aimee Henderson at
ahenderson@turley.com
or 413-323-5999
for more information.
Frank Geraghty, Robert Cavanaugh,
Donnell Hart, John Reilly, Francis Finn,
John Delimat, Richard Kane, Francis
Patenaude, Edward Smith, Robert
Bougie, Richard Bougie, Anthony
Creane, Earl McNee, Claude Veillette,
John Farrell, Jerome Shea, Peter Urbon,
Howard Ford, Thomas Griffin, John
Lucey, Daniel Gaughan, Thomas Hoar,
Fred Sullivan and Michael Griffin.
The induction ceremony will take
place on June 1.
recycle this newspaper