Gloucester Community Foundation : News



To preserve and enhance the quality of life in Gloucester through philanthropy

GCF	Gloucester Community Foundation	GCF
GCF	News Page 7 Gloucester Community Foundation	GCF
GCF	Gloucester Community Foundation	GCF
	*Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal* November 14, 2002 NEW DIRECTORY PROVIDES GUIDE TO LOCAL GROUPS By Bill Nachman The Gloucester Community Foundation has established its "Directory of Philanthropy & Volunteerism in Gloucester 2002" as a way to assist the county's nonprofit groups, president Peter Hint said. The 32-page directory was distributed to the public with the Oct. 24 issue of the Gazette-Journal, and copies were also distributed to more than 150 guests who attended a Gloucester Forward community forum held recently at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science campus, Gloucester Point. The foundation has approximately 2,500 more copies of the directory still in hand for distribution later, Hunt said. To keep information current, plans are underway to print another directory in about a year, Hunt said. Entries are from nonprofit agencies based in Gloucester or others in nearby communities that serve many Gloucester residents, Hunt said More than 100 listings are included in this initial directory. Illustrating the cover is artwork based on the windows of the old courthouse in Gloucester. Near the front of the directory, a quote by American anthropologist Margaret Mead, sets its tone: "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world." Each listing described the agency, provides contact information, and states its mission. A sampling of some of the listings includes Compassionate Friends - Peninsula Chapter, Gloucester Main Street Association, Gloucester SHARE, Guinea Jubilee Committee, York River Garden Club, Save the Ole Piankatank, Samaritan Group, Inc., among others. In its own entry, the foundation's mission states, "The Gloucester Community Foundation was established in 2000 to preserve and to enhance the quality of life in Gloucester through philanthropy. It is managed by a group of local directors and is operated as a regional affiliate of The Community Foundation in Richmond." The officers include Hunt, president; Sue Perrin, vice-president; Mimi Ulsaker secretary; Catesby B. Jones, treasurer, and directors John G. Gillis, Irving Rogers and Martha Kent-Hicks. The foundation has donated $5,000 to the Gloucester Point Gateway Project, Hunt said, and has established the Summer School Scholarship Program at Gloucester High School to help reduce the dropout rate. Also foundation leaders are starting to make plans for a forum to be held next fall about ways nonprofit agencies can improve themselves, Hunt said. *Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal* October 24, 2002 CURBING SPRAWL WAS TOPIC AT SEMINAR By Elsa Cooke Verbyla The Gloucester Community Foundation brought in five speakers to discuss ways to combat congestion, loss of open space, and other effects of development. Speakers offered suggestions from Constitutional changes such as getting away from local property taxes, to the aesthetic, such as burying utility lines, in a presentation help Friday night at Gloucester Point on ways to cope with suburban sprawl. The Gloucester Community Foundation sponsored the event, which was held at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and included remarks from five persons experienced in assessing development and its impacts on rural landscapes. The presentation, titles "Virginia's Natural Landscapes: Lasting Legacy or Paradise Lost?" drew about 175 people, according to Peter Hunt, chairman of the Gloucester Community Foundation. The catered evening included a reception and refreshments before the panel, and dessert and coffee afterwards. Dr. Gary T. Johnson, a Virginia Commonwealth University professor, told the audience that Virginia ranks 11th among the states in land consumption rate, and that from 1992-97 population grew by 343,500; or 1.0014 acre for each new resident. Projecting this through 2025, he said 1,389,428 more acres will be developed at this rate. The state is experiencing the most growth in the corridor from Washington D.C. to Hampton Roads. "You folks are right on the periphery," Johnson said. The effects of sprawl include a risk to Chesapeake Bay water quality, more traffic congestion, public health problems from a more sedentary lifestyle, and in general, the quality of life, he said. Solutions can include "smart growth" or steering new housing to already developed cities and communities, rather than raw land; a new approach to hioghway planning; more regional review of the effects of development on an area. Sharon Pendak, county attorney for Prince William County, said citizens should take full use of land planning tools available to them, starting with a county's comprehensive plan. This is the guiding philosophy under which all development and land use laws should fall, she said. Zoning laws, development regulations, subdivision ordinances, and capital planning should all be written to be consistent with the comprehensive plan, she said. Some communities have actually purchased development rights on properties to save the land from development, Pendak said. Usually, however, land is preserved by action of the landowner, who can enjoy significant tax breaks by using conservation easements. "There are ways to grow within what we have right now, and to make it better," she said. James Bacon, the publisher of Bacon's Rebellion Newsletter, drew laughter and applause when he said he had not been to Gloucester for many years. He said he and his wife chose the "scenic route" from Richmond, taking West Point and Route 17 to the panel site at VIMS, and on the way found what he terms the "uglification of Virginia." "Congratulations," Bacon said. "You have recreated Mercury Boulevard and moved it to Gloucester County." Ways to combat sprawl, he said, include encouraging grid street development, rather than stringing businesses out along a main road; relaxing the separation of land uses encouraged by zoning ordinances; burying utility lines over a set time period, such as 30 years, and regulate signage. "Do you guys have an arms race on signs on Route 17?" he asked. Bacon's strongest suggestion, however, came in urging a state constitutional amendment to do away with property taxes. "Local governments get the majority of their funds from property taxes, and they want to maximize the tax base and minimize expenditures," he said. But new homes, which produce new taxes, rarely pay for themselves with the resulting growth in government services, he said. "We have got to change the tax structure or we are never going to touch that fundamental dynamic," he said. Rich Collins, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation in Charlottesville, told the audience "We share a common belief that our communities are threatened by rates of growth we cannot sustain. Property law and litigation are a fact of planning in this state." America is still operating on the frontier impression of limitless land and manifest destiny, said Collins. In development controversies, there is "also the challenge of who wins and who loses." Collins said. "We're not of one mind ion this issue." Mediation can often work out differences among parties trying to preserve a community flavor and those planning developments. Talking at the local level and finding inventive solutions can produce a better way, he said. Moderating the panel was Kay Slaughter, a senior attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center in Charlottesville. She said, "Most Virginians, I think, take for granted our beauty and our landscapes, but they are disappearing t an alarming rate." Which she said is estimated at 190 acres in a day. Slaughter also said the property tax structure "fuels sprawl" which increases traffic congestion more "than if new developments are located in already developed areas." Harvey B. Morgan of Middlesex, area delegate to the General Assembly, welcomed the guests and said that the legislature has commissioned many studies of developmental sprawl. "The results of our studies are that some people say we need to tighten the laws we have, while others say we have laws that are not enforced." With a "wide divergence of opinion, the result has been that very little has changed. The essence is that we do have lots of laws. If localities choose, they cam enforce them." "Every place man sets his foot he makes a lasting impression." Morgan said. *Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal* October 10, 2002 NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FOUNDATION'S TOPIC AT VIMS The Gloucester Community Foundation will hold its annual "Gloucester Forward" event at 6:00 p.m. next Friday, Oct. 18, in Waterman's Hall at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point. The program is open to the public, although reservations are requested. Following refreshments, the lecture will begin at 7. Delegate Harvey B. Morgan (R-Middlesex) will introduce the panel. This year's program is titled "Virginia's Natural Landscapes: Lasting Legacy or Paradise Lost?" This will be "a panel presentation looking at ways Virginians can protect our abundant natural resources, beautiful and historic landscapes, and productive farmland," a release said. Panelists will include Kay Slaughter, senior attorney of the Southern Environmental Law Center; James A. Bacon, publisher of Bacon's Rebellion Newsletter; Rich Collins, director of the Institute for Environmental Negotiation at the University of Virginia; Dr. Gary T. Johnson, Department of Urban Studies and Planning, Virginia Commonwealth University, and Sharon Pandak, county attorney for Prince William County. A release said the Gloucester Community Foundation was established in 2000 to preserve and enhance the quality of life in Gloucester through philanthropy. *Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal* July 11, 2002 REDUCING DROPOUT RATE IS SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOCUS By Kim Robins Gloucester Community Foundation has contributed $3,000 to establish a Summer School Scholarship Program at Gloucester High School in an effort to help lower the dropout rate. Sue Donaldson, dean of Guidance at GHS, worked with GCF members to establish guidelines for the scholarship program to ensure its effectiveness. The program will provide 75 percent of summer school tuition to students considered needy and able to benefit, as determined by the guidance department staff. Students receiving aid are expected to provide the remaining 25percent of their tuition. Tuition is $100 per class, with students allowed to take up to two courses. Michael Nusbaum, who is co-principal of summer school at GHS this year, said over 250 students attended the first session of summer classes which ends today and he expects 180 or more for the next session. According to Nusbaum, the GHS summer classes are designed to provide remediation for students whop have struggled academically during the regular session and need to catch up. He said only 25 or 30 of those attending are candidates for summer school graduation. In thanking the foundation representatives for their gift, Donaldson said the contribution was a godsend that would ensure at least 30 at-risk students would have the opportunity to continue their education and graduate. The Gloucester Community Foundation is an affiliate of The Community Foundation of Richmond and Central Virginia. The purpose of the local group is to increase the flow of funds to Gloucester charitable institutions through the building of a long-term endowment, through specially focused funds and through a current giving program. *Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal* July 11, 2002 FOUNDATION ADDS MORE BOARD MEMBERS Gloucester Community Foundation president Peter Hunt has announced the addition of three new members to the Foundation's board of directors. Joining the board are Martha Kent-Hicks, development officer for Rappahannock Community College Education Foundation; Gloucester attorney John G. Gillis of Ware Neck and Irving Rogers, former chairman of the Gloucester Board of Supervisors and member of the county planning commission. Hunt said the board is likely to be expanded further in the future. "As the foundation grows, we will be reaching out to more and more community leaders to help guide our future. We have been very active since our founding in 2000 and it has been possible through volunteer help from some great people. My fellow officers, Sue Perrin, Catesby Jones, and Mimi Ulsaker, have put in an incredible amount of work." Last fall the foundation initiated its first "Gloucester Forward" project. A series of symposia, Gloucester Forward brought planners and political leaders from across the state to present their experiences and to look at the issues accompanying future development in the county. Hunt said the foundation will resume its Gloucester Forward program this fall. The Gloucester Community Foundation is an affiliate of The Community foundation of Richmond and Central Virginia which provides staffing, legal and accounting support to the local group. Hunt said the purpose of the Gloucester Foundation is to increase the flow of funds to Gloucester charitable institutions through the building of a long-term endowment, through specially focused funds and through a current giving program. Hunt said the foundation endowment fund now stands at $54,000 and approximately $40,000 has been distributed in grants to meet Gloucester needs. He said there are a number of tax-attractive options for Foundation donors. To Read Additional News about the G. C. F., please click on Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6

G.C.F. Home	G.C.F. News	Org. Index	Why & How To Give	Contact Us
Gloucester Community Foundation P.O. Box 2303 Gloucester, VA 23061