The Amherst Dessert Crawl is coming up on April 21, and it’s an event that any Collegiette would hate to miss! The Dessert Crawl is an event held in downtown Amherst from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. At the Dessert Crawl, guests can purchase a $10 ticket and go to 10 local restaurants to get a treat from each of them! The event is co-sponsored by the Amherst BID and Phi Sigma Pi, a national honor fraternity at UMass, and a majority of the proceeds from the event benefit Reader to Reader, a local charity that is dedicated to bringing books to under-resourced school and public libraries across the U.S. If that’s not enough to convince you to buy a ticket ASAP, here are five reasons why you should attend the Amherst Dessert Crawl!
1. It’s for a great cause.
The event’s proceeds greatly benefit Reader to Reader, which uses the money from ticket sales to purchase books and other school supplies for needy children across the U.S. The philanthropy’s website reports in its mission statement that 60 percent of underprivileged children in the U.S. do not own a single book, and the organization strives to deliver as many new and donated books as they can to those in need of them to grow and learn.
Reader to Reader notably serves the nation’s poorest communities, which include inner-city schools, Native American reservations, and poor rural towns, “where the need for books is acute.” The philanthropic organization serves these communities year round, and by buying a Dessert Crawl ticket, you too can support them in their mission while getting to eat a ton of “sweet” desserts! Anyone who is interested in learning more about Reader to Reader can check out the organization’s website.
2. Each dessert is only $1 and you get 10 of them.
If you do the math, the $10 ticket to Dessert Crawl gets you 10 desserts total — one from each restaurant participating. That means each dessert is only $1! When do you ever get the opportunity to purchase a dessert for only a dollar? These are not small desserts either; each one is about the size of your hand! Take advantage of this “sweet” deal and attend this affordable event as a cheat day! Be sure to bring Tupperware so you can save all the desserts you can not eat.
3. All the desserts are from restaurants in downtown Amherst.
You don’t have to travel far for this event since all the restaurant locations are in downtown Amherst! Some of the restaurants participating include Glazed, Insomnia Cookies, and Chez Albert! Going to this event will give you the opportunity to get dessert from your favorite Amherst restaurants for a great deal, try a dessert from restaurants you may not have visited yet, and support local businesses that have agreed to contribute desserts to support Reader to Reader!
4. You can go anywhere from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Are you worried that you will have to stay the whole three hours if you get a ticket? You don’t have to if you don’t want to since the timing of the event is flexible! When guests purchase a ticket to the Dessert Crawl, their ticket will have a specific time on it that will tell them when to report to the Amherst Visitor Center to start their crawl! You can choose any time you want, just ask when you purchase a ticket! The crawl usually takes most guests a half hour to an hour to fully complete, so you can go and get your desserts on your own time.
5. You’re supporting an amazing UMass RSO.
By purchasing a ticket to the Dessert Crawl, you are also supporting UMass’ Phi Sigma Pi chapter, a gender-inclusive honor fraternity whose local philanthropy is Reader to Reader. The fraternity (which I’m a brother of, yay!) is selling tickets on campus to benefit Reader to Reader. We appreciate the support from our fellow Collegiettes in attending the Dessert Crawl! Each PSP brother is selling tickets individually, so ask them for tickets if you know a brother personally or meet one in your class! We are also selling tickets in the Campus Center every week until the crawl, and are also selling at Berk’s Late Night on April 11 from 9:30 p.m. to 12 a.m.! You can also check out the Dessert Crawl event on Facebook. Feel free to contact me or another PSP brother for more information!
I highly encourage every Collegiette to attend the Amherst Dessert Crawl on April 21! It’s a fun and delicious event that supports a great cause, and it’s a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon bonding with your friends while eating amazing desserts.
All photos courtesy of the Reader to Reader and Phi Sigma Pi UMass Chapter Facebook Pages.