A Taste of Lower Merion
10th Anniversary Event -- “Around the World”
CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS INFORMATION

Proceeds from the 10th Anniversary of A Taste of Lower Merion will benefit educational programs in the community; A Better Chance of Lower Merion (ABC House), the Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund and school activities.

ABC House

A Better Chance, Inc., established in 1963, is the oldest, largest and only national program that provides academically talented students from disadvantaged communities access to some of the nation’s finest private and public college preparatory schools.

ABC – Lower Merion was established in Ardmore in 1972. ABC scholars attend Lower Merion High School and live with seven to nine other scholars in a dormitory residence on Ardmore Avenue.

These students, all boys at this time, have survived a rigorous application process, proved themselves ambitious and capable scholars, and have made the difficult decision to leave their homes and families before their ninth grade. Their goal is to seek a better education than hometown schools can offer. The students are supervised by resident directors and tutors who act as mentors for the students and monitor their academic, social and personal development.

Lower Merion is one of only 25 public schools in the country participating in the ABC House program. All of the other 168 institutions involved are private day or boarding schools. To date, A Better Chance has placed more than 10,000 students in high schools across the country, with more than 99 percent of graduating seniors proceeding immediately to college.

Although the ABC program is organized on a national level, each “house” must raise its funds from local sources. ABC-Lower Merion’s average annual budget is entirely supported by donations from local businesses, citizens, foundations and service organizations. The monies contributed from A Taste of Lower Merion account for approximately 10 percent of the Lower Merion ABC House’s annual budget.

Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund

The Lower Merion Township Scholarship Fund is a community-funded effort to provide post-high school scholarship aid for financially need graduates of Lower Merion and Harriton High Schools.

Founded in 1965, the Scholarship Fund has assisted 3,200 area students in their quest for higher education. The Scholarship Fund is sustained by the annual magazines drives at Bala Cynwyd and Welsh Valley Middle Schools and by A Taste of Lower Merion. Area volunteers serve on the Board of Directors and Officers, overseeing collection and distribution of scholarship monies.