Partners Bank is sponsoring Austin17House’s 2nd Annual Masquerade Ball and becoming a Friend of Fight Club 17 Sponsor. The “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” gala will be held on Saturday, June 8, 2024. The $250 donation from Partners Bank will support the basic needs and supplies to make Fight Club 17 a successful program for youth impacted by addiction.

Ask any parent what their worst nightmare is, and their response will most likely be losing their child. Far too many lives of children are lost to tragedies and the grief the parents endure is unimaginable. That was the reality for Mark Anderson, a father in Fremont, NH, when he lost his 17-year-old son Austin in a car accident on December 3, 2016. In his grief, Anderson planned and established Austin17House, which opened its doors in April 2017.

Austin17House is a youth and family community center that assists vulnerable youth and families in a variety of different areas such as substance abuse, mental health, and suicidal thoughts, attempts, and ideations. This organization honors Austin, who’s death may not have been caused by those issues, but like many teens, struggled with them. Today, Austin17House has multiple programs in which youth and adults are supported through their challenges by strengthening their identity and developing leadership skills. One of those programs is Fight Club 17.

Fight Club 17 is for young people who are seeking recovery. This fee-free program provides a supportive environment for them to progress in their recovery and healing. The Peer Recovery Support Services in Fight Club 17 are clinically supported services. All mentors are trained Recovery Support Workers and are overseen with clinical supervision.

In addition to the sponsorship, Partners Bank Kingston Office employees Alyson Krisanda and Shannon LaValley are volunteers at Austin17House.

For more information on Austin17House and Fight Club 17 or to purchase tickets to the Masquerade Ball, visit https://www.austin17house.org/.