Thursday, January 25, 2007 Older Editions

$150,000 donated to youth services

By Brian Messenger

Andover Youth Services has a long wish list of equipment and programs it would love to offer kids in town, says AYS Director Bill Fahey.

"It usually gets down to, 'We need some resources to make it happen,'" he said.

A $150,000 charitable contribution by one Andover resident will help the cause.

Fahey announced publicly at the selectmen's meeting on Monday that Andover Youth Services will receive a $150,000 gift from the Timothy P. Horne Charitable Trust, named after longtime and current Andover resident Timothy Horne.

"It took me by surprise," said Fahey of learning about the specific amount through a letter in the mail. "It's a joyous occasion. We should all be jumping up and down."

Fahey said AYS operates on an annual budget of $200,000. Fahey was only expecting a few thousand dollars initially.

Selectmen unanimously voted to accept the contribution, which came with about a page of stipulations concerning what the money could and could not be used for, "to ensure that the gift funds are used only for the benefit of the youth," according to Attorney Walter Flowers, who was representing the charitable trust. The money cannot be used to build a youth center.

"He has a long-term interest in the youth of the town," Flowers said of Horne.

Added Fahey, "I think he's a big supporter of young people and their ideas, and giving them what they need to be successful."

Fahey said the $150,000 was put into a newly-formed gift account, with the potential for $5,000 a year to be earned in interest, according to Town Treasurer David Riley.

The town has not determined how it will use the money. Andover Youth Services now has a second office, at Andover High School with plans to launch a program supporting youth-driven business ventures at the school. Fahey said the department could always use additional staffing, and would love to give more financial support to its upstart wrestling club team as well.

"I think there's a lot of opportunities out there," Fahey told selectmen on Monday. "It's probably a once-in-a-lifetime thing."

Fahey said he would likely put the money toward an item or service that could be reused by AYS. Selectmen John Hess suggested using part of the money toward additional AYS staff training.

"It's just overwhelming, in a good way," Fahey said of the possibilities.

"We'll start talking about how to put it to good community use," he said. "We want to be smart on how we use the money. We want it to impact kids and families."

According to Flowers, the Timothy P. Horne Charitable Trust had given AYS a smaller gift years before.