BRATTLEBORO — On behalf of the staff, clients, and board of Groundworks Collaborative, I extend a robust thank you to The Hatch, which organized the March 30 Storytellers on a Mission event that raised more than $30,000 to support the work we do.
Members of The Hatch - Tom Bodett, Rita Ramirez, Elizabeth Catlin, and Rich Korson - put months of time and talent into curating this incredible show, raising funds and awareness of the need for our services in this community.
It was a great feeling to see the groundswell of support for our mission and enthusiasm for those who took the stage.
In an introduction to the show, Tom Bodett spoke the words of Father Greg Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries - a gang intervention and rehabilitation program in Los Angeles.
Father Boyle has said, “It would seem that, quite possibly, the ultimate measure of health in any community might well reside in our ability to stand in awe at what folks have to carry rather than in judgment of how they carry it.”
These words resonate beautifully with our approach to this work and our aim to meet the basic needs of our neighbors, and do so with dignity.
The funds raised through the event - more than $14,000 of which were contributions of benefactors and supporters who paid a premium price for tickets to the show as an extra donation to Groundworks, for which we are so grateful - will help us serve more than 4,000 of our neighbors in need again this year.
We cannot thank The Hatch enough for this fun and impactful evening and all of the work they put in to make it happen.