From the President

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

On behalf of the Eastmont Community Foundation Board, I want to say thank you for your continued support of our efforts and programs. As we go into 2024, the foundation looks forward to connecting others and continuing to provide valuable resources that make eastern Montgomery County a great place to live.

Here is a summary of recent happenings and future plans with each main area of ECF:

Scholarships: We have recently added another endowed fund to bring our total to five endowed funds to award scholarships from. We will begin reviewing applications later this spring for the Class of 2024 EMHS graduates and renewals; a total of $9500 in scholarships were awarded in 2023.

Grants: We have three funds to award grants from; we awarded $6000 in grants to local nonprofit organizations in the eastern Montgomery County area in the spring of 2033; we will kicking off a campaign to endow the newly established Mustang Athletic Fund for future grants in our area; look for more details to come out regarding this new fund and how you can support this.

Old Town Fields: We are currently scheduling and preparing for the 2024; we are going to extend the concert season and bring in some great bands; we continue to work with Montgomery County regarding the site work for the new EMS building on the baseball field lot; the track continues to be used daily by the community for exercise; we are looking forward to getting together in the warm, summer weather.

Waldron Fitness Center: Gym membership continues to remain steady; four new pieces of equipment were purchased with donations that had been made in Dr. Smith’s memory; We are in the process of re-certifying our staff in first aid and CPR; the 2023 Independence Day 5K race saw 207 runners — we are hoping to increase that number in 2024

Eastmont Thrift Store: Continues to be a popular resource in our area; hours of operation are Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; we are looking to hire one or two more part-time staff; in 2023 we had great success with volunteer hours through the Junior Beta Club, ACCE program and community members to sort and organize out-of-season items.

LINC: Continues their online publication, with printed copies available at select businesses and locations in the eastern Montgomery area; the foundation continues to support LINC by placing ads in the publications and supported it in a raffle on July Fourth; there will be an anniversary edition coming out in a few months for LINC to celebrate this milestone.

Tomato Festival: We had great attendance in 2033 and all vendor spaces were filled, the food (especially the fried green tomatoes and pizza) was a huge success and sold out; we had many kid-friendly events for families; the 2024 date is on the calendar for Aug. 17.

Meadowbrook Center: The community room is open for reservations and stays rented over half of the year; small business office rentals are available at Meadowbrook; we have had to replace an HVAC unit above the Waldron Fitness Center at the end of 2023, which costed ECF a little over $11,000. We currently have one more HVAC unit to replace as part of our responsibility in the Meadowbrook lease.

Special Events: ShawsVegas Casino Night is scheduled for April 20, 2024; we hope you will be able to join us for this popular fundraising event; this is one of the largest fundraising events for the foundation and we would like to thank everyone for their support in attending and donations of silent auction items. The Meadowbrook Open golf tournament returned for one day on Oct. 29, 2023; all teams had a memorable afternoon playing this unique course in beautiful weather and the fall scenery.

Other notables: Our 2023 Impact Report will be finished soon and available electronically; the foundation is continuing its partnership with The Hokie Way in 2024 and scheduling for some Virginia Tech athletes to assist with promotions and make appearances at events; we expect to have several ACCE students volunteering hours in the spring/summer.

Stay up to date with 2024 events by following us on Facebook and checking out our website at www.eastmontcf.com.

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation, you can donate online, mail or drop off a check. The Eastmont Community Foundation serves eastern Montgomery County so your funds stay in the community. Every dollar makes an impact on our programs and facilities.

We hope to see you soon. I would be happy to have your input and to bring you up to date with further details of any projects or programs that we are doing.

Sincerely,

Lauren M. Tate
President,
Eastmont Community Foundation

Jan. 1, 2024