Summer ends, but Island nonprofits continue to need your generous assistance
Published: August 28, 2008
The heart of the fundraising season for Vineyard nonprofits is summer, but the need is great, and as summer turns into fall, there is still more for you to do. In the summer and fall, the Vineyard organizations you depend on throughout the year depend on you. Of course, the needs of these nonprofit organizations are ongoing, the assistance and good works they offer the Vineyard community nurture year-round and summer resident alike, but the annual moment when you can make a big difference is right now.
Think Hospice of Martha's Vineyard, the Preservation Trust, Friends of Family Planning, the Polly Hill Arboretum, YMCA Martha's Vineyard, Featherstone Center for the Arts, Habitat for Humanity, Vineyard Playhouse. And don't stop thinking.
Each one of these organizations and so many more do something for you, and you can return the favor.
You'll recall that the Island Affordable Housing Fund raised an astonishing $1,037,800, as of 8 pm on August 27, at the end of its three-day telethon. It was astonishing because of the housing fund's great effort to mount its campaign, but mostly because of your exemplary generosity, including one anonymous gift of $350,000. After the telethon, the leader of the housing fund described himself as humbled.
This year's Possible Dreams Auction, on August 4, raised more than $560,000 for Martha's Vineyard Community Services (MVCS). About 775 people enjoyed the 30th anniversary of the event, seated comfortably under a magnificent tent, free from the whims of weather. Another astonishing effort on behalf of those who work tirelessly on behalf of all of us.
Those are the triumphant stories of the summer, but as September begins, we hope there will be others.
The Martha's Vineyard Times, TicketsMV.com, a MindshareMedia effort, and Coldwell Banker/Landmarks combined efforts this year to create Community Works, of which these pages are part. Community Works, published in June, redistributed in July, and offered as a reminder this morning, offers an in-print and online calendar of nonprofit events. The late summer and fall entries are displayed here. At ticketsmv.com, you can browse the live version of this calendar, pick the events you would like to attend and the organizations you want to help, and make the requested donation or buy a ticket. We feature the calendar so you can make your decisions now. You won't want to miss this chance to make a difference.
Community Works, together with the online descriptions of Vineyard nonprofit organizations that you'll find at mvtimes.com, tells the story of Island nonprofits and the vital work they do. Community Works, in print and online, includes an expanded version of the ticketsmv.com calendar, including the mid- and late-summer events, along with messages from Island nonprofits that want you to know about their efforts to help Islanders and the fundraising efforts they have planned, to make that help possible
The ticketsmv.com calendar will also appear live on The Times website, mvtimes.com, so just a click on the event of your choice will allow you to purchase tickets.
"Our nonprofit community organizations work hard to bring the best and the most needed services, as well as the most successful events, to the most Islanders and visitors," Peter Oberfest, The Times publisher, explains. "Community Works will help nonprofits get their messages out, in print and online."
For Coldwell Banker/Landmarks, the sole major corporate sponsor of Community Works, Judy Federowicz says that helping to underwrite an effort such as Community Works is perfectly consistent with her firm's determination to marry its business goals with its widely recognized commitment to the Vineyard community.
As September begins, there remains work to be done.
