The Congregational Church of Amherst, United Church of Christ (UCC) will be hosting a charity drive titled: “Amherst Helps the Homeless” from 10 a.m. to noon today in front of the church, in observance of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. Day, a federal holiday reserved as a national day of service advocating American’s to selflessly give back to their communities.

All of the donations received during this event will go to the Michael Stephen Boyd Memorial Foundation, established in 2019 by Dawn Nicholls, Boyd’s long term partner, and Kelly Pilotte, Boyd’s mother, in memory of their late loved one, Michael Stephen Boyd.

According to Terri Behm, chair of the World Service Committee within the congregation; “Michael Stephen Boyd was a Marine who went to Afghanistan, received an injury [while there], came back with PTSD and an addiction to opioids [prescribed due to] his injury.”

When Michael could no longer obtain prescription opioids, he turned to heroin. This led to a cyclical struggle with homlessness, joblessness, and relapse. After years of battling his illness of addiction, Micheal Stephen Boyd passed away on Oct. 2, 2018, due to an heroin IV overdose.

Shortly after his death, Nicholls and Pilotte created the foundation in his name to be there for those who are lost in the darkness of addiction, every step of the way.

According to Behm, Nicolls and Pilotte are currently waiting on grant funding to establish a “full time rehabilitation center.”

But Nicholls and Pilotte are not just sitting at home with their fingers crossed, watching the clock move closer to a grant.

“While they’re waiting, they said:’These are the people that we want to serve [in the rehabilitation center]. We want not just treat an addiction, but treat people and look at them as people. We need to get to know these people… We need to serve them now and build some trust with them, and hopefully [when the rehabilitation center opens] they’ll come see us and let us help them.'” Behm explained.

She continued: “While they’re waiting, they’re serving them directly. Every night, Dawn goes out and gets to know these people and finds out what they need. She’s put boots on every person who’s asked and brings tarps and candles.”

Behm discovered the foundation when Nicholls posted it on the Amherst town Facebook page, along with items she was looking for.

The upcoming charity drive is aiming to accept donations in the forms of comfortable clothing, specifically mens clothing large in size for layering, soft and ready to eat food that doesn’t require any external tools to open, and tarps.

“We’re looking for foods that don’t need extra ingredients and don’t need can openers. A lot of them have tooth problems because they either have not been receiving dental care or depending on their drug of choice, that might have caused the deterioration….So soft snacks are good…” said Behm.

Monetary donations via venmo, paypal, or a mailed check (address, venmo and paypal tag can be found at the end of this article) are also being accepted in addition to a pre-crafted amazon wishlist that will send the items directly to Nicholls to distribute upon arrival.

In conjunction with hosting the charity drive, the Congregational Church of Amherst has also pledged a $900 donation as an incentive to get the community to match.

“In the community that I chair, we have an endowment every year. We take it and we vet organizations that could use support.” Said Behm: “We try to do a variety between children, families, veterans, church related things [etc.]… We usually give grants of between $500 to $1000.” said Behm.

This will be the first time that the Congregational Church of Amherst has both supported the Michael Stephen Boyd Memorial foundation and hosted an event that recognizes the national day of service.

“I just knew that we had this model that worked well for us so I got together with Dawn, she made a wishlist on amazon so people could just give directly and it goes directly to her and within the week, she will have it out in people’s hands who need it, or you can give money or you go on amazon and order things off a limited list.” Behm explained.

She continued:”We are trying, in this particular time, to be very specific to the list, like the things they need right now because storage is always an issue.”

Lastly, Behm added, ” Being involved can feel really overwhelming, like some people say; ‘where do I start, I want to help, but where do I start,’ and I think it’s like any little bit you do, it means something to someone – you’ve helped someone. That is something they wouldn’t have otherwise had, and it may not feel like you’re doing a lot, but it’s a lot to them.”

To donate monetarily via venmo: @MSBMemorialfoundation,

Via paypal: MSBBoard@MSBMemorialfoundation.org

Or mail a check to The Michael Stephen Boyd Memorial Foundation17 Courtland StNashua, NH 03064