MWTR Chair Pete Siberell receives check from Foundation Chair Erica Blodgett. Photo courtesy of SM Community Foundation, click to enlarge
Press Release posted 3/13/13 – At a private reception on March 2, the Sierra Madre Community Foundation presented its first grant of the year in the amount of $1,250 to the Mt. Wilson Trail Race Committee to help support the 2013 Kids’ Run at the annual Mt. Wilson Trail Race on May 25.
Foundation Board Chair Erica Blodgett presented the grant to Trail Race Committee Chairman Pete Siberell in front of a crowd of about 60 guests. Those in attendance included former Foundation Board members, leaders of various community and civic groups, and friends and family of current Board members, all invited to celebrate the accomplishments of the Foundation over the last year.
In 2012, the Sierra Madre Community Foundation distributed grants to the Creative Arts Group, the Sierra Madre Playhouse, the Sierra Madre Public Library, and the 4th of July Committee, in addition to establishing the Eph Konigsberg Memorial Fund. The fund was created through a bequest to the Foundation from the estate of the late Konigsberg, a well-known Sierra Madre volunteer, to support staff development at the public library.
According to Siberell, the grant to the Mt. Wilson Trail Race Kids’ Run meant that the race committee would be able to keep the kids event free for the children who participate. This was the first grant the Foundation has made to the Race itself, though the Foundation is the trustee organization for the Fletcher Fund, whose resources go to maintaining the world renowned Mt. Wilson Trail. Donations can be made to the Fletcher Fund through the Foundation to help the volunteers who maintain the trail with the supplies they need.
During her brief remarks, Blodgett took time to share some of the history of the Foundation – from its involvement in the auditorium restoration at Sierra Madre Elementary School to the support of the creation of Goldberg Park – and to honor the work and vision of past Board members. “We who serve on the Board now take very seriously the responsibility of stewarding their vision for this organization,” she said. Blodgett noted that all the work of the Foundation, past and present, is done by volunteers.
The reception was held at the home of Gina Long, who joined the Board in early 2012, and her husband Steve. Gina and newest Board member Michelle Keith headed up all of the party planning. Catering was donated in part by Claude Beltran and beverages by The Bottle Shop.
For more information about the Sierra Madre Community Foundation visit www.sierramadrefoundation.org.