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During the 1960’s, we grew
from our early size of five members to over 60 women and focused on assisting
the Bon Secours Hospital pediatric ward along with making equipment donations to
establish the town’s Recreation Park. From
there, Andona began designating funds for scholarships and gave monies for the
Greater Lawrence YMCA. In 1966,
Andona piloted a Preschool Vision Screening to detect symptoms of amblyopia.
In the 1970’s we continued
to grow and expand our “giving” to a broader range of community needs.
Andona’s efforts ranged from supporting the Greater Lawrence Joint
Hospital Building Fund and with launching a major fund raising to open the well
recognized
Andover
/ North Andover Family YMCA. Funding
for local school programs, park
equipment and the Andover Memorial Library for the Children’s Room were a few
of our projects. By 1976, our well
received vision screening program was expanded to include all town preschoolers.
In the 1980’s, Andona
expanded its scholarship and summer camp programs and supported
families by offering Museum Passes in concert with the Library along with our
annual fundraising events. A
particular accomplishment in the 1980’s was Andona’s large donations in
support of forming the S.A.D.D (Students Against Drunk Driving) program at
Andover
High School
to educate students about the dangers of alcohol abuse.
We continued to donate funds to programs like Department for Community
Service (DCS), to purchase preschool equipment,
to Easter Seals for Swimming for Handicapped Children and Library Pass
Programs. By the mid 80’s, the Amblyopia screening program was screening over
300 children with the aid of 84 volunteers.
In 1988, Andona was
incorporated, following 37 years of events and community service.
The 1990’s continued with
very successful annual Balls, ClownTown’s, Spring Gala’s, Sidewalk Bazaar,
Babysitting Courses and participation in the Fireman’s Santa Parade – kept
Andona volunteers busy. Donations
to athletic programs in the schools, refurbishing park equipment and sponsoring
programs like Windrush Farm Disabled Riding,
Easter Seals and the Samaritans have become increasingly important to
those organizations. Because of our
longstanding charitable efforts on behalf of the Town, the Andover Historical
Society graciously agreed to preserve our history in its facility.
We identified some unusual needs in the 1990’s and responded in 1993 by
introducing an evening event for middle school children (our
now ever popular “Spring Fling”), then in 1994 Safety Saturday, a one-day
fair designed to introduce various
safety concepts to children from preschool to middle school began and continued
for many years. Some other
highlights establishment of a Scholarship Trust, sponsoring “Shakespeare in
the Park” like cultural events and the formation of a Public Business
Committee to streamline our relations with local businesses mark the close of
this decade.
Since 2000, Andona has
continued its drive towards supporting Andover Youth through increasing
membership and the continued dedication of members.
Our fundraising, participation in local events like “Know Your
Town”, offering an expanded Babysitting Program and
donations to several youth athletic, social and cultural programs continue.
Andona has made a substantial pledge towards construction of the new
Andover Youth Center which demonstrates Andona is an active partner in the
community. With good fortune,
dedicated members and wonderful partnership with local businesses, schools and
organizations, Andona is embarking on another exciting decade.
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