by Suzanne on January 16, 2009
You all know that I feel very strongly about giving back. I have and will continue to donate a huge part of my time to non-profits on Martha’s Vineyard.
During the winter, though, when the glitter of our fundraising efforts lives only in our summer memories, I’m careful to remember those islanders around us who need housing, heat, food and gifts…
Whether you live on the Vineyard or somewhere else, how do you give back? Do you concentrate your efforts on the local community or the world community? Let’s all inspire each other with our ideas…please comment below!
by Suzanne on October 17, 2008
This is always a bittersweet time on the island. It’s the end for some, the beginning for others - a change for everyone. Perhaps it’s hardest on the summer people - they have to go back to their real lives once Labor Day passes, after all.
A client of mine, who has become a friend, remarked that this is the first Labor Day that won’t cause physical pain for her and her family in a long time. They usually rented for the month of August and so Labor Day was a big stop sign for them that meant they had to say goodbye to the island, their friends and this way of living until next summer.
But last winter, they purchased their own island home. They won’t be leaving until Wednesday, September 3rd…and they’ll be back most every weekend, until the winter, when their whole family will join them for their first Vineyard holiday season.
Of course, people that haven’t spent much time on the island have made comments about how there must be nothing to do here when it isn’t summer - but it isn’t true. The Vineyard community is so strong, the seasons are truly palpable. Sometimes it is a little quiet…but we think that, sometimes, that’s the point.
