St. Mary's Court hosts brunch to fundraise for community
A local senior living facility hosted its annual fundraiser Sunday to raise money to create better programs for its Foggy Bottom residents.
All of the proceeds from the fundraiser, which featured a brunch, silent auction and raffle, will aid activities and programs for residents of St. Mary's Court, a nonprofit living facility located at 24th and H streets for seniors and individuals with limited mobility.
The majority of funds from the brunch are raised through the sale of tickets, which were $32 per person, and the silent auction. Local businesses donated both the raffle prizes and auction items.
A number of the brunch attendees were also members of group FRIENDS, which was started three years ago to establish dialogue between community members and GW to solve issues and concerns.
GW donations to the auction included four GW basketball tickets and a signed copy of University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg's book, "Reflections on Higher Education." The brunch and additional activities allow St. Mary's to provide programs such as art and computer classes with no cost to residents.
Grace Charbonnet, a member of the FRIENDS group and a resident at St. Mary's, said the University helps the community extensively and that relations "have been marvelous."
"The University is very generous with us," she said, noting that GW donated a bus to the residents of St. Mary's.
Fellow resident and FRIENDS member Doris Edland agreed.
"President Trachtenberg is always willing to work with us and the University tries to make relations as good as possible," she said.
But some community members have a different opinion of the University. Dorothy Miller, a Foggy Bottom resident and member of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, a local board that makes zoning recommendations to the city, has frequently expressed her dislike of the University. She said that the FRIENDS group is not representative of the neighborhood.
"I am no friend of the University. What they do is illegal," she said, referring to the University's expansion and business initiatives despite its nonprofit status.
All of the proceeds from the fundraiser, which featured a brunch, silent auction and raffle, will aid activities and programs for residents of St. Mary's Court, a nonprofit living facility located at 24th and H streets for seniors and individuals with limited mobility.
The majority of funds from the brunch are raised through the sale of tickets, which were $32 per person, and the silent auction. Local businesses donated both the raffle prizes and auction items.
A number of the brunch attendees were also members of group FRIENDS, which was started three years ago to establish dialogue between community members and GW to solve issues and concerns.
GW donations to the auction included four GW basketball tickets and a signed copy of University President Stephen Joel Trachtenberg's book, "Reflections on Higher Education." The brunch and additional activities allow St. Mary's to provide programs such as art and computer classes with no cost to residents.
Grace Charbonnet, a member of the FRIENDS group and a resident at St. Mary's, said the University helps the community extensively and that relations "have been marvelous."
"The University is very generous with us," she said, noting that GW donated a bus to the residents of St. Mary's.
Fellow resident and FRIENDS member Doris Edland agreed.
"President Trachtenberg is always willing to work with us and the University tries to make relations as good as possible," she said.
But some community members have a different opinion of the University. Dorothy Miller, a Foggy Bottom resident and member of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission, a local board that makes zoning recommendations to the city, has frequently expressed her dislike of the University. She said that the FRIENDS group is not representative of the neighborhood.
"I am no friend of the University. What they do is illegal," she said, referring to the University's expansion and business initiatives despite its nonprofit status.
