This fall Boxerwood educators created and simultaneously ran five new kinds of youth programming to address pandemic needs. Two ongoing programs were based at Boxerwood. The three others took place in the community. The programs had already secured some streams of support, but four of them still had make-or-break funding gaps. The gaps prevented launch of those programs. The Foundation closed those gaps—and thus put those programs in motion.
The Foundation has provided essential support for many local non-profits this pandemic year. This summer the Foundation led the way by raising community funds for pandemic response. This fall, all three local jurisdictions turned to the Foundation for help reallocating federal CARES earmarked for non-profits. These allocations helped protect and nourish people across the County, both literally and figuratively. And they kept afloat non-profits like Boxerwood too.
At Boxerwood, aid from the Foundation enabled us to proceed with confidence into our new areas of programming. Our PALS program came to the rescue for ten families who brought their youngsters to Boxerwood every Friday for staff-led learning and recreation. The Woods Creek Montessori Elementary Afterschool program, now provided in partnership with Boxerwood, helps a dozen more families every school day. The Boxerwood Girls’ Hiking club ensured Buena Vista teens otherwise out of school stayed active, engaged, and reaching new goals. And what about the thirty children at two YMCA enrichment centers? They got to dig, hike, play, explore the natural world all fall, thanks to Boxerwood’s roving educator--and your donations, and those both raised and allocated through our skilled pandemic partner, the Community Foundation for Rockbridge, Bath, and Alleghany. Thank you, CFRBA, for making such a difference this fall in our community.
