During the pandemic, Andrew Fitch, 38, traversed the commonwealth from east to west when he relocated from his hometown of Marshfield on the shores of the Atlantic to North Adams in northwestern Berkshire County.
“My full-time job is working for an organization called Berkshire Farm Center, which is about children and family services, mostly for New York State," Fitch told WAMC. "I work in diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging over there, which means basically trying to create an internal culture which is focused more on inclusion so that we can better serve our client's needs, as well as our internal needs.”
Fitch has a plethora of civic involvements in North Adams, from serving on the city’s Zoning Board of Appeals and the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access commission to being one of the leaders of North Adams Pride and running for city council this year.
“I'm also renovating and revitalizing some buildings in downtown North Adams at the corner of Eagle Street and Main Street, because I really believe in downtown North Adams, that we can create this vibrant experience for everyone down there,” he said.
Last summer, Fitch offered an inverted echo of his pandemic journey west, with a walk across Massachusetts heading for the Cape. Starting in Williamstown, he ended his expedition on a beach in Provincetown with a celebratory swim and glass of sparkling wine.
“I had decided that I wanted to do what I was calling the pilgrimage, basically, which is really just like a way to kind of connect with yourself, to connect with nature, and just go and explore," said Fitch. "And I wanted to do that exploring my home state of Massachusetts, this place that I love so much, by foot or on foot.”
The winds of history transformed the trek into a fundraising event that raised over $5,000 for the National Network of Abortion Funds. The organization works to provide abortion access to those facing financial or logistical barriers to the procedure.
“It was maybe two or three weeks before I started the walk last year, Roe v. Wade was overturned," explained Fitch. "And so, abortion rights were under attack across the country. And so, I just, in that moment, I realized, like, oh, this thing I'm about to do, this little personal adventure I'm about to do, it's no longer just about me, I need to make this a fundraiser as well.”
Fitch expects that his roughly 75-mile Berkshire County journey will take five days.
“There will be a part where I'll likely go up to the top of Greylock, assuming I have the time and the energy," he told WAMC. "So, I'll walk a little bit of the Appalachian Trail. But this is really meant to be connecting with people along the way and really experiencing the Berkshires not just as a tourist or as somebody passing through, or even as a resident driving through- As somebody who's walking the whole thing. So, I'll be walking from North Canaan, Connecticut, which is right on the Connecticut border with Massachusetts, through the Berkshires up to Stamford, Vermont, which is right at the border of Vermont and Massachusetts. And then I'll walk back down into Massachusetts, and probably straight to ROOTS Teen Center, or straight to my house where I'll plop down on my bed, or straight to Windsor Lake or something where I’ll hop right in the water- Whatever the mood dictates at the time.”
This year, Fitch is fundraising for a North Adams organization that he volunteers for: the ROOTS Teen Center.
“And that's a local organization in North Adams- It serves the greater northern Berkshires, but it's in North Adams. It's a space where the youth of our city – so that is, I believe, ages 12, it's either 12 or 13, up until 19 – can gather, can find resources, can find community, can find a safe space to be themselves and to express themselves," he said. "It's a really important kind of center, I think, to have in this city of ours, because there are youth out there who have been struggling and are looking for that kind of community space.”
Fitch, who says he’s donating $2 for every mile he walks across the Berkshires, has worked with the center to set up dedicated donation streams attached to the trip.
“They've been in this state where they took on this new building, they don't have all the funds in the world," he said. "I see this as an organization that really will be able to improve and to thrive with even just a small amount of additional funds.”
That said, Fitch says the undertaking is a reward in and of itself.
“These days of walking are just so beautiful and so uplifting," he told WAMC. "The connection to nature, the connection to Massachusetts, to all of these wonderful cities and towns along the way. It's just a beautiful experience. And to my understanding, this is a common term amongst hikers or people who walk the Appalachian Trail or whatever- Trail magic is a concept. And this is something else that I really learned about last year is, it's real. And I suspect trail magic probably means something different to everybody, but I had some very unique experiences last year that to me meant, this is trail magic. For example, I had to take a taxi one day to a hotel and then back to my starting point again the next morning so I could start the walk again. And this one taxi driver just gave me the pep talk of my lifetime, was even shouting at me about how I can do it, how I can do anything, how I'm capable, how I'm worth it, how I'm deserving, all of these things. I mean, there's, out of the blue, this guy is erupting at me in the back of his taxi. That was magical.”
