Boxerwood Gardens: Nature Center and Woodland Garden
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...... or you can mail your donation to us with a check payable to the BEA. The goal of the Keep Boxerwood Blooming campaign is to raise $93,000 by the end of September. Achievement of this goal will allow Boxerwood to continue its educational programming uninterrupted and uncompromised. “As of this time [the beginning of August], we have raised almost $75,000, a combination of monies received and pledges. We are almost there,” said Russell. Until the end of September, the Kendeda Foundation is matching or doubling community donations to help Keep Boxerwood Blooming. Every dollar donated will be matched. Donations of $100 or more will be doubled, up to a total grant of $20,000.
| Amount | Level | Why Join? |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | Student | Your membership helps to fund year-round activities, presentations and special events designed to encourage a closer relationship with one's self and nature, create an awareness of the beauty, diversity, complexity and fragility of nature's systems, and teach skills and behaviors needed to be effective Stewards of the Earth. 85% of the funds received are spent on educational programming. During the past year, our programs facilitated educational experiences in nature for 1,690 school children and some 120 of their teachers Collectively these students received over 11,000 hours of instructional programming.Your support is essential. A gift today sustains Boxerwood into all her tomorrows. Thank you in advance for both your support and encouragement. At the $35 or higher level, you can receive one child's PlayTrail Blazer T-shirt. Additional shirts are $8. Tell us Tshirt size(s): Youth XS (2-4), S (6-8), M (10-12). |
| $25 | Individual | |
| $35 | Family/ PlayTrail Blazer | |
| $50 | Supporter | |
| $100 | Sustainer | |
| $250 | Patron/Business | |
| $500 | Benefactor | |
| $1,000 | Garden Angel | |
| $2,500 | Great Oak Society | |
| $3,000 | Boddhi Tree | |
| $5,000 | The Tree of Life |
IT'S OUR TURN TO HELP BOXERWOOD
Lead Editorial - The Lexington News-Gazette, March 31, 2010
Boxerwood Gardens has been a good neighbor for our community. This horticultural treasure just outside Lexington is the setting for unique, high quality, hands-on instruction about nature for students and their teachers from all three Rockbridge area school systems. For more than 10 years, Boxerwood has provided nature education lessons for our youth. During the current school year, more than 2,000 children in more than 100 classrooms from all 12 schools in Rockbridge County, Buena Vista and Lexington will participate in this nature-based programming. The lessons support the Virginia Standards of Learning, ensuring that each local student has a watershed experience before graduating from high school. Educators laud the lessons, saying they’ve helped raise students’ test scores in science and enhance their appreciation of nature. Boxerwood also holds festivals like Earth-Art and provides the public with free access to its children’s Play Trail. Boxerwood, like other area organizations, has become a real gem that we’ve taken for granted would always be there, and most of us probably haven’t even considered where it gets its funding.
Well, we’ve all just gotten a wake-up call.
Boxerwood recently learned that a pending three-year proposal for funding from the U.S. National Oceanographic & Atmospheric Administration hadn’t been accepted because of economic constraints. Not having this funding from NOAA, which has had a longstanding relationship with the nature center, means Boxerwood will have to seek financial help from other sources or drastically cut back its educational services. Boxerwood doesn’t have an endowment, so its educational programming has been supported through donations, memberships, program fees and competitively awarded grants. The partnership with NOAA has provided thousands of dollars each year in transportation and program fee subsidies.
It’s now time for the community to express its appreciation for Boxerwood by responding generously to the Keep Boxerwood Blooming campaign, the organization’s first fundraising drive. With the fiscal challenge ahead, Boxerwood is turning to its neighbors in the community. The shortterm goal is to raise $93,000 by this September. The hope is that an additional $157,000 will be raised by April of 2011 in the form of multi-year pledges from a variety of sources, especially within the community, in order to reduce its dependence on federal grant funding.
Boxerwood will also be seeking out civic organizations to “adopt” specific classrooms or grade-level programs. These organizations would, in turn, receive letters from students offering details about their educational experiences. The nature center is also looking to increase its individual memberships and the contributions they provide. Those who wish to support the Keep Boxerwood Blooming campaign by making a donation, arranging a benefit event or volunteering, can contact Tony Russell, executive director of the Boxerwood Education Association, by phone at 463-2697 or E-mail at tony@boxerwood.org.
It’s appropriate that the community show its gratitude for Boxerwood’s many contributions to the education of our young people. Let’s be good neighbors by helping the nature center plant deeper roots so it can blossom for future generations."
Honor our Founding Executive Steward, Hunter Mohring, by contributing to the Hunter Mohring EarthArt Fund.