by Suzanne on March 25, 2009
I am frequently asked, “How is Martha’s Vineyard different from so many other vacation destinations?” As I search my mile long mental list, there is one piece that shines through every time. The Vineyard community gives back. Via the organization of and participation in glitzy fundraising extravaganzas like Houses on the Tube, small intimate wine & dinner events, private donations to local non-profits, generous land conservation gifts and more.
To live on the Vineyard is to love the island deeply - land, water, landmarks, people, restaurants, farms, sunsets, arts, delicacies. And our home owners understand on a visceral level that they play an integral part in sustaining this lifestyle that they love.
Without land conservation and wetlands protection, there will be nowhere safe to swim. The artists will not survive without support, the farms will not offer off-the-vine snap peas that taste like they’ve been marinated in syrup, the lobster will not melt in our mouths.
I love the work I do. I can’t think of anything better than sharing this island, supporting my community and supporting others in doing the same. The Vineyard offers views like nowhere else, the Vineyard offers a lifestyle found nowhere else, Vineyarders give like no one else.
by Suzanne on September 29, 2008
At the end of July, I helped raise well over $1 million dollars for the Island Affordable Housing Fund…the following week it was close to $1 million for another worthy cause.
Martha’s Vineyard is inches away from having its very own YMCA, and I was so pleased to co-chair their magnificently successful event on August 3rd: Sunday brunch and All That Jazz.
Featuring Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks of Manhattan, the place was swinging with their music - they actually use original instruments from the 30’s and 40’s to attain their one of a kind sound. This was a summer fundraiser to be sure, filled with Edgartowners and summer people. The Harborview provided the food, and Our Market supplied the bubbly and the Bloody Mary Bar.
Our live auction raised $95,000 from seven items including a Boston Whaler and a charter sail on a yacht (a bit of a sailing theme here!). Ticket sales equaled $205,000 bringing us to $295,000. And then, an anonymous (and longtime friend of the YMCA) offered a $500,000 dollar for dollar challenge grant.
The YMCA needs $12 million to break ground, and this event places them at $11.7. A $17 million total will complete the project. The goal is to raise the remaining $300,000 through individual pledges and donations so that they can break ground this fall.
It was an incredible event, and working with Jim Swartz and John Klein, co-chairs of the capital campaign, and my fundraising co-chair, Tina Miller, was outstanding. We looked at all of the other events - and they had one common theme - they all happened at night. So we flipped things around, shook them up and landed on brunch - and it worked. I can not thank this Vineyard community enough for their generousity
