BRATTLEBORO — A glance around Liz Richards' Dummerston home tells you without a doubt two things that drive her passion: family and community.
Adorning her house are uncounted intergenerational scenes of her husband, children, and grandchildren amid file folders for the gala and silent auction she has co-chaired for 15 years for Youth Services, her corporate sponsorship assignments, and thank you notes she is penning to the many friends and acquaintances she has convinced to support the agency's Annual Appeal.
Being an invaluable link to the community is a role she has also played for other local organizations over more than three decades.
As Richards formally leaves the board this June after 15 years, she will need to be replaced by at least three new board members if they're going to keep up with her outreach and development efforts, according to Youth Services Board President Barbara Gentry, citing Richards' latest accolade from the organization.
On Thursday, June 5, Richards was inducted into Youth Services' Hall of Fame, the organization's inaugural recipient of its Community Ambassador Award, during a private evening reception.
The ceremony, which included moving testimonials from former board member Iedje Hornsby, Executive Director Julie Davenson, and Board President Barbara Gentry, was at the Backside Café in Brattleboro. On hand were Richards' family, and former and current Youth Services board members.
The Hall of Fame is a new way for Youth Services' board to recognize community members such as Richards who make outstanding and sustained contributions to youth development and the agency's outreach.
“Liz has set the bar high for the rest of us with more than $375,000 generated through her amazing fundraising efforts and her ability to convince her many contacts of the value of supporting Youth Services,” Gentry said. “This is only outdone by her terrific personality and joie de vivre.”
Fundraising, organizing events, and networking for many nonprofits in her hometown of Brattleboro is Liz's lifelong passion. In addition to her 15 years on Youth Services' board of directors, she has organized campaigns to support the Harris Hill Ski Jump, Brattleboro Memorial Hospital, and Winston Prouty's Taste of the Town among numerous other fundraisers.
According to Gentry, even as Richards formally leaves the board of Youth Services, she will continue to integrate her commitment to area youth with her family responsibilities through an unwavering commitment to Youth Services, the area's key organization for integrated family support programs.