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Bill Maxwell Internship Funds Support GIAC Program | Travis Brooks, GIAC, George Ferrari, Community Foundation, Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, GIAC, William Maxwell, honoree, Mike Zak, donor. | |
On Thursday, September 21, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) launched its newly endowed William Maxwell Internship Program. William Maxwell, Professor Emeritus at Cornell's School of Operations Research and Information Engineering has been a member of the GIAC family for over 15 years. Recently, Mike Zak, a former student of his wanted to honor Professor Maxwell for the impact he had on his life. The result of Mike's most generous gift is an endowment at Community Foundation to formalize and fund GIAC’s internship program named in honor of William Maxwell.
Bill has also created a companion fund, the William and Judith Maxwell Internship Fund to expand the internship program.
Mike Zak shared "....we are here to acknowledge a long time champion for the youth of greater Ithaca. William L. Maxwell has changed the lives of many,
including mine, and I am excited about how these internships, named after him, may change the lives of young men and women in greater Ithaca."
"I am here today to thank Professor Bill Maxwell for having done what he did, for me (a former student), a long time ago and to express my happiness that now, with these Maxwell Internships at GIAC, in his name, can take more and more risks on youth. For the young men and women who have yet to establish themselves, who perhaps just need a chance to see how the world works and to find a place in it for them, and to then go on and prosper as citizens that contribute to the greater
common good.... let’s wish all future recipients of these internships the very best in pursuing their dreams and finding the places where they can contribute the most."
Ithaca Voice article
We welcome donations from additional donors for any amount into these two new funds.
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Julia Ressler
Julia Ressler (she/her) works on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team at Cayuga Health as the Manager for Community Health and Engagement. In this role, she is working to expand organizational efforts to meet community health needs and advance health equity through community-centered solutions. She co-chairs the Cayuga Health Data Governance Committee for Health and Organizational Equity and coordinates the Rural Health Equity Training Collaborative.
Julia holds Master’s degrees in Social Work and Public Health from Temple University. She has lived and worked in and around Philadelphia, PA for most of her professional career in a variety of settings, including healthcare organizations, non-profits, and public agencies. She has had a broad range of experience in the areas of child development, mental health, overdose prevention, LGBTQ+ health and gender affirming care, trauma-informed care, and community health education. She moved to Ithaca about three years ago after ignoring TLC’s advice and chasing the waterfalls. Since then, she has been inspired by local changemakers and is thrilled to be a part of this Board and work in collaboration toward an equitably healthy and thriving community.
Read more, HERE.
| A Note From Doula Access Initiative |  | |
"Thanks to your generous donations from the Just Community Fund, the Women’s Fund, and the "Tompkins Today and Tomorrow Fund”, we have provided doula care to over 20 birth-givers in our community.
We are proud to report that we prioritize individuals most impacted by birth disparities in Tompkins County. 29% of the individuals receiving free doula care through Doula Access Initiative (DAI) identify as Black or Indigenous. Also of note, 17% of the individuals receiving free doula care through DAI relied on their doula as their only support person. We initially received a total of $8550, then another $6,712 in October of 2022 from the Community Foundation.
We have had lots of successful community outreach fundraising in the last year, most notably, our 2022 Winter Auction Fundraiser. We raised almost $10,000 dollars and collaborated with many local businesses and organizations. We were very proud of that successful fundraiser, especially as an organization that began in the midst of a pandemic and had only done completely virtual fundraising up until that point."
~Jacqueline Leferriere, past Director
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Community Conversations serve as a forum for the Tompkins Chamber and Visit Ithaca to engage businesses who are based outside of Ithaca and allow us to better understand and support the unique needs of each community. Business owners, non-profit leaders, and government officials are invited to attend. and agencies whose mission builds resiliency in our communities. Community Foundation underwrote the 2022 series and continues to attend in 2023.
There has been increased participation by county organizations and departments which serve those communities also participating to listen and learn.
Topics in Danby included recent re-zoning, utility barriers (water, internet) to building more housing, lack of bus service, interest in local volunteer opportunities, interest in sharing community amenities with visitors.
Topics in Enfield included limited access to internet, need for a rideshare to supplement bus service, food insecurity, poor housing quality, challenges hiring seasonal and youth employees due to regulations, and interest in promoting community events to county residents and visitors.
register for the next Community Conversation HERE
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Board Member
Stamie Despo's Remarks at our Philanthropy Magnified Reception
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I moved to Ithaca in May of 2020.
I remember it clearly because it snowed on moving day, which was Mother’s day and we were in shorts, moving from Charlotte, NC. It was a bit daunting thinking about moving during COVID and not knowing a single person in Ithaca. I knew that I needed to find my people and get involved in my new community. I joined Rotary and attended a virtual meeting where I met George Ferrari and heard about the Community Foundation of Tompkins County. I knew right away that I had found an organization that was making a local impact and I had found some of my people in the staff and volunteers.
It was appealing to get involved with an organization that has been in existence for over 20 years, which has a mission to bring resources and people together to build a more equitable county. An organization that inspires immediate investments into our communities as well as establishing gifts for the future. I offered my services as a volunteer who has experience in the nonprofit world and joined the development committee. After a year of meetings where I learned so much from George and the staff, I was asked to join the board.
For my husband and I, philanthropy is about the 6 T’s – trust, time, talent, treasure, testimony, ties, trust.
Read more, HERE
| $500,000 Operating Endowment Gift |  | |
A long standing donor who has supported us with major annual gifts as well as providing COVID funding relief has made another powerful statement of her support.
Most community foundations start with an originating gift that is endowed to help pay for programs and services. We never had that although generous donors started a relatively small fund for that purpose years ago.
Earlier this summer we were informed that this donor plans to make $250,000 gifts in both 2024 and 2025 resulting in a more than doubling of our current operating endowment . This $500,000 pledge is a mark of her trust in our work and an expression of her hopes that support for our work and impact is always available.
We welcome donations of any amount into our operational endowment. These gifts enable us to demonstrate our impact to our donors and to build a renewable resource for our community now and forever into the future.
Endowments invite us to understand that we can do something today which creates hope for the future.
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|  | Join Us on Sept 28 for Hispanic Heritage Celebration | |
Here at the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, every staff, board, and committee member feels strongly that it is important to share each of our own unique heritages and the rich diversity of our lived experiences to create communities of equity in order for all of us to be able to thrive.
“As a Latina who also serves as part of the Community Foundation of Tompkins County, it is important to me that my community can share our knowledge and dreams with other communities in Tompkins County, as well as have access to the opportunities to make those dreams into reality.” ~Madeline Rosas
Come learn about and celebrate Hispanic, Indigenous, and Latino culture at the 2023 Heritage Awareness & Celebration event, where we will be sharing valuable information about local organizations involved in these communities and ways to support them.
register for this event HERE
| Site Visit with The Learning Farm |  | |
I was welcomed by a sea of beautiful smiling faces kissed by the sun. First thing in the morning, the children attend morning circle. Led by Christa, the children are reminded how to treat each other and how to treat the farm. They are taught to act with love and kindness and to embrace each other’s uniqueness. There was a sense of calm among the circle. As they moved into snack, I was introduced to two beautiful white bunnies by a little girl no older than 4. It was an enchanted start to a wonderful site visit.
The Learning Farm is black-owned, woman-owned, and founders have African American and Indigenous farming histories. The Farm’s mission is to give children the various tools, support, motivation and rewards necessary to become responsible, knowledgeable and caring citizens. They do this through fostering a better understanding of where food comes from through connecting kids to their rightful place in the production, distribution and consumption of sustainably-farmed and fished, locally-produced food. The Farm wants them to grow, harvest, cook, and share the great bounty of what grows abundantly nearby to where they live and to do so in a mindful and caring way.
As I made my way through the farm, I noticed small READ MORE...
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