Letter from the Executive Director: Winter 2023

The new year is a time of renewal and a time to reflect on the year past. When I look back over the last year, I am grateful to all of you for supporting the vision and mission of the Mary Lyon Foundation. Our community’s children, families, and educators are better equipped because of you. Throughout the holiday season, we gave winter gear to over 150 children, supported our families with the gap in support from the state and federal programs such as fuel assistance, and kept lights on and hot water flowing in homes across the nine towns. Additionally, we fed over 100 people every other week through our grocery program and ensured 70 children had gifts under their trees this holiday.

We funded reimagination and innovation in 15 classrooms in the fall and supported every fifth-grade class attending the Wilder Homestead for Colonial Days. We also bought books and supplies for the school libraries. We gave newborn literacy packages to Trailside Health and a pediatric office in Greenfield to support the newest members of our community.

We are working with the local agencies through our West County consortium, People Who Support People, to ensure that all the people of western Franklin County can access the services they need.

 How can we help more people in 2023? Our campaign goals answer this question. We will achieve more by guaranteeing the Foundation’s future, securing more funding for programming, and assisting more students and families. We can accomplish all of the above if we work together. Thank you for believing in and supporting our mission at the Mary Lyon Foundation. Because you believe in our work, we can build a brighter future for everyone in our community.