Marking 6 Months at AB Resource Center

Acton-Boxborough Resource Center (ABRC) Reaching More Families!

All Acton and Boxborough residents are invited to drop in to ABRC to discover resources available to them in this community. A-B United Way staff and volunteers are there to provide information and help navigate a network of systems to ensure each family has the opportunity to thrive. Learn about everything from local transportation and food security options, to conservation trails and volunteer opportunities. A robust Community Resources website (abuw.org/resources) serves as an ongoing reference point for this information and more. 

There has been a steady increase in the number of visits to ABRC each month:

Visitors are coming from both towns: Acton (61%), Boxborough (20%), students with school staff (10%), unknown (9%). English is the most frequent language used for communication at ABRC (58%), followed by Spanish (21%) and Portuguese (18%).

Through AB Exchange, located within ABRC, more than 2000 items donated by the community (mostly clothing, plus other essentials including hygiene products and school supplies) have found new homes. This includes more than 300 winter coats and 90 backpacks. 

Additionally, we've been serving as the centralized coordination for community support of the Emergency Shelter at Acton's Minuteman Inn.  As of this week, twenty-four families (a total of 77 people including 31 school-aged children and 13 younger children) are living at the shelter. ABUW organized training for volunteer English Instructors who are now offering English Lessons five days a week at the shelter. Additional ABUW initiatives to support these residents include pop-up clothing shops, coordination of transportation help and enriching children’s activities on-site. 

Donations for AB Exchange & the Shelter

You can always check what donations are most needed at ABRC, including specific needs for residents of the emergency shelter on the AB Exchange Page of our Resource Site. There you'll also find the link for our Amazon Wish List, making it super easy to send key items directly to ABRC. Thank you for helping us meet the basic needs of our neighbors!