Lawrence Community

LOCATION

Methuen, Massachusetts

OVERVIEW/DESCRIPTION

Currently, the AVs reside in the quaint town of Methuen, MA, just a 5-minute drive to Lawrence. Methuen is your typical New England small town, celebrating the Christmas season with parades and tree lightings in the town square. Much of the town is owned by the Nevins family, who makes it possible to run the enchanted-looking library and MSPCA (Massachusetts Society for the Protection against Cruelty to Animals). The AV house is in walking distance of local pizza places, coffee shops, churches, and bars, as well as less than a mile from the New Hampshire border and a 30-minute drive to Boston. The AVs experienced the idyllic scenery of autumn and are preparing for the cold weather to come. Although the house is located next to the city yard, there is a park and pond across the street and an amazingly hospitable landlord just downstairs. Being so close to Lawrence, the volunteers often indulge in what that city has to offer: annual festivities, churches on every corner, and a wide variety of ethnic foods. Lawrence is also home to a large park across from City Hall, a train to go into Boston, delicious Tripoli Pizza, and of course, Market Basket where you can buy a Thanksgiving dinner for under $30!

FOUNDED

2001

HISTORY

The Lawrence site was added to the program during its second year. Since 2001, there have been Volunteers serving in the Lawrence area, primarily in schools. In the past, service sites in Lawrence have also included working with the Merrimack Valley Hospice organization, Our Mother of Good Counsel School, St. Augustine Church, St. Mary of the Assumption School, and Notre Dame High School, as well as the current day service sites of St. Augustine School, Lawrence Catholic Academy, Bellesini Academy, and Merrimack College. In 2001, the Volunteers moved into a house on the Methuen/Lawrence border. It was located next to Our Mother of Good Counsel Church. The Volunteers stayed there for two years and then in 2003 moved into a house called the Hennigan Center located in Lawrence, MA that was owned by Merrimack College. There they Volunteers shared the house with Merrimack students who wanted to live in an intentional service community. In 2007, Merrimack sold the house so the Volunteers moved into a house owned by St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Lawrence. In 2010, St. Mary’s sold that house and the Volunteers moved to the current apartment in which they reside in Methuen, MA. The Volunteers hope to move back into Lawrence in the near future.