MARY'S GIVING FUND
The Mary Durstine McArtor Reynolds Memorial Giving Fund was established to honor and continue Mary’s lifelong pursuit of meaningful giving to others. Thus, it’s both a memorial to Mary’s beautiful life and a conduit to giving that is true to Mary’s priorities, goals, and approach. Specifically, our vision is to foster thriving and productive futures for children. And more specifically, through micro-giving grants, we develop and support meaningful, renewable programs that directly improve the health, well-being, education, and welfare of children, particularly in underserved communities. Your donations enable us to support current programs and scale future giving.
Mary's Kids
December 1, 2023
children so far and counting...
The Programs have directly engaged
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3,610
OUR PROGRAMS
Click name to jump or scroll to program
Mary's After-School Aeroponic Garden
The Community Group
Fall 2023, Lawrence, MA
Sponsored since 2023
The Community Group's Community Kids Place Out-of-School time program is excited to pilot Mary's Garden: An After-School Aeroponic Garden Program this coming fall! This indoor, mobile vertical garden and accompanying research-based curriculum will engage Lawrence elementary school students in researching, selecting, and growing a variety of edible plants while utilizing innovative gardening technology. Mary's Garden participants will grow foods that have a culturally relevant connection to their lives, selecting
plants that are important to them and their families. Student volunteers will act as Mary's Garden Ambassadors to share their learning and gardening expertise with their teachers, families and community members in an end-of-program showcase.
Fieldtrip Transportation for Title 1 Schools
New England Botanic Garden
School Year 2023-24, Boylston, MA
Sponsored since 2023
Thanks to the generous support from Mary's Giving Fund, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill will be able to provide safe, no-cost bus transportation for fieldtrips to the Garden for students from Title 1 schools in the greater Worcester (MA) area. During each fieldtrip, students will have the opportunity to explore nature, learn about native plants and ecosystems, and participate in nature-based, age-appropriate STEM activities focusing on issues such as
bio diversity, tree equity, and environmental stewardship. New England Botanic Garden is located on 171 acres in Boylston, Massachusetts and welcomes nearly 200,000 visitors each year.
#Let's Talk
Local Volunteer Professional Counselors
October 2023, Hilton Head Island and Bluffton, SC
Sponsored since 2023
#Let's Talk is a program offered to middle and high school students to reinforce real life information and practical life skills necessary to help empower teens to have positive mental health and be the best that they can be as they reach adulthood. Professionals will address many different topics that are relevant to young adolescents, such as mental and physical health, self-care, social media, money management, and giving back to the community. The program is filled with information and engaging activities for the
adolescents delivered by professionals in our local community.
Guiding Hands
The Hands and Feet
Winter 2023, West Palm Beach, FL
Sponsored since 2023
The Guiding Hands program strives to bridge the gap between youth that have aged out of group homes, as well as some youth still in group homes, and individuals who want to support them. Many times these youths move into new apartments or homes and have nothing. With no family to support them in becoming an adult, The Hands and Feet pairs each youth with a volunteer who takes them shopping and teaches them life skills, such as how to budget and plan accordingly for their needs. The Hands and Feet
provides a gift card to the youth to purchase these items. Through shopping The Hands and Feet encourages its volunteers to get to know these youths and for a bond and connection that will last not just one day but a lifetime.
The Banquet of Salem
Salem Community Foundation
October 2022, Salem, OH
Sponsored since 2020
The Banquet of Salem, where Mary spent her childhood, provides several age-appropriate reading books to underserved grade-school students and a meal to the students and their parents or guardians. Now in its third year of sponsorship, Mary’s Giving Fund provides the Banquet of Salem with reading books for the month of October. Scholastic Books were distributed at the Banquet of Salem to children and grandchildren in Mary's memory. The books were carefully selected and tied to the children's age, interests, and reading level. Mary's Giving
Fund is recognized in the local paper, The Salem News, where Mary's story was a front page feature article (see Article in Gallery), and each book bears the rose emblem signifying Mary's Giving Fund. Once again, with the support of Mary's Giving Fund, the Banquet of Salem was a huge success and Salem's school-age children were the true beneficiaries.
Mary's Reading Nook
Hannah's Home of South Florida
August, 2022, Tequesta, FL
Sponsored since 2022
Hannah's Home started as a referral service for young pregnant women who were homeless or housing insecure. It currently houses eight women and their babies and provides long term support. The facility also has an on-site child care center. Employees and volunteers noticed when they read to the babies during a dedicated reading hour, that more of the moms were willing to read to them. Everyone noticed that reading not only relaxed the children and helped calm them down, but the children were more engaged as a result. Currently, the center's daily reading hour is around the time of day the kids are most fussy, and it has proven to be a game changer. Fortunately, Hannah's Home has an amazing volunteer that has taken ownership of the
reading time and has trained the resident mothers and other volunteers to step in should she not be available. In addition, Mary's Giving Fund's donation has helped provide a reading "nook", a space unique to its own spot, with comfortable seating, ample lighting, bright and vibrant board books as well as a bookcase to store the books. Hannah's Home plans to sponsor a Name the Nook challenge on all its social media platforms with the qualifier being the name must include "Mary".
Summer Academic Enrichment and
Dinner Program
Tennis Rocks Tutoring and Music Association
Summer 2023, Wilmington, DE
Sponsored since 2022
The mission of Tennis Rocks is to provide an opportunity for the underserved youth and families in Wilmington to fulfill their maximum potential academically, socially, and physically. Tennis Rocks uses tutoring and music to address education needs, and tennis to develop physical fitness, healthy lifestyles, and essential life skills. The free 7-week summer program sponsored by Mary's Giving Fund serves children from 1st - 12th grades. The program focuses on improving academic skills in Math, Reading Comprehension, English, Social studies and Science which will allow the participants
to be successful during the upcoming school year. The overall goal is to combat the chronically high 65% high school dropout rate in Wilmington. Tennis Rocks has been able to achieve a 98% graduation rate from their participants.
Westgate Elementary School
Program Curriculum, Material & Supplies
Junior Achievement of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast
March 2023, West Palm Beach, FL
Sponsored since 2022
Too many children do not have access to education crucial for their future success: personal financial responsibility, budgeting, critical thinking, career readiness, and demonstrating an entrepreneurial drive. Junior Achievement exists so that all kids, regardless of background, receive the tools they need to build a future for themselves in which they are optimistic, economically self-sufficient and determined, with a belief in the power of free enterprise. Junior Achievement prepares students to develop successful financial management habits, empowers them to explore the potential of becoming
an aspiring entrepreneur and provides them with the skills necessary to succeed in a global workforce. Junior Achievement has partnered with Mary's Giving Fund to offer programs to West Gate Elementary School, at which over 94% of its students are eligible for free/reduced priced lunches (which often correlates to students in need of more free enterprise and financial literacy education). Mary's Giving Fund provided for the program curricula, materials and supplies to support 730 students. These curricula used sequential themes, each with hands-on activities, to promote business and economics understanding and were delivered by community volunteers who provided real-world perspective.
Explore Palm Beach State College
Palm Beach State College
Fall and Spring 2024, Lake Worth, FL
Sponsored since 2022
Palm Beach State College (PBSC) is the fourth largest college in the Florida College system, offering a variety of degrees and certificates to students. While PBSC offers onsite open houses and presents at local high schools, students may not be able to attend evening or weekend events due to jobs or lack of transportation. Mary's Giving fund provides transportation for Palm Beach County high school juniors and seniors to tour the five campuses of PBSC twice a year on a school day.
With the help of Mary's Giving Fund, students learn not only about the programs offered at PBSC, but they also learn about financial aid and the admissions process. This career fair helps students understand their options for both traditional college degrees and for certificates in the trade and industry fields. Touring the campus in person allows students to see that college is possible and helps them navigate this challenging process.
Apiary Program
Westover School
October 2021, Middlebury, CT
Sponsored since 2021
Westover School, an all-girls college preparatory school located in Middlebury, Connecticut, is where Mary taught French after graduating from Dartmouth College. Today, one of her former students, Heather Nuzzo, is a faculty member and the head beekeeper for the school’s Apiary Program. She recalls Mary’s kind, generous, and giving spirit. Today, Mary’s Giving Fund allows the Apiary Program to have a secure space on campus for its hives. Students involved in the Program engage in hands-on practical learning of beekeeping activities and gain an awareness and
appreciation for honeybees and their impact on the natural world around us. In its first year of funding from Mary's Giving fund, 2021-2022, the Program reached 271 people including 86 Westover students, 170 local elementary and middle schools and 15 alumnae. For 2023, Mary's Giving Fund provided additional funding and supplies for its continued growth and expansion. Once the hives are strong and thriving, Westover will incorporate the opportunity for the students to produce their own honey and beeswax products to sell in the school store.
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In addition, Westover continues to enhance the Program's interactions with courses in Environmental Science, Biology, History and even Languages, all of which expand the reach of the Program on its campus.
Los Caballeros de El Sol
El Sol, Jupiter's Neighborhood Resource Center
June 2023, Jupiter, FL
Sponsored since 2020
Originally conceived as a way to teach boys aged 9-11 the basics of etiquette, netiquette, table manners, and other essential social and business practices, this program has continued to promote those skills while adding a critical male role model element. Now called "Los Caballeros de El Sol," in the past year the weekly program has given eleven young Hispanic gentlemen from low income families the opportunity to engage firsthand with successful Hispanic men. They have met four of their baseball heroes from the Miami Marlins, along with a physician, a police officer, and, during
an exciting trip to a radio station, a professional DJ. The boys visited the Loggerhead Marine Life Center to learn about human impact on wildlife populations (after which they participated in a beach cleanup). They had the chance to tour Florida Atlantic University and ponder post-high school education opportunities, as well as purchase books at the Barnes & Noble. Consistent with the program's original mission, the boys practiced their social etiquette at a "Mary's Table" dinner, and attended a professional performance of The Nutcracker. The impact on the program's participants has been so positive that organizers have attracted additional sponsors, which has allowed them to expand the initial six-week format indefinitely.
A Growing Garden
The Edna W. Runner Tutorial Center
October 2021, Jupiter, FL
Sponsored since 2020
"A Growing Garden" supports over 100 children and helps them learn the fundamentals of growing food organically. Many of the children come from families which face food insecurity and cannot prioritize fresh fruits and vegetables. The Center is offering Extended Learning Opportunities with guest teachers who help the children plant and harvest various fruits and vegetables, learn about gardening, the environment, sustainable practices,
food preparation and cooking. At harvest time, children are able to take food home for their families and neighbors. Through a curriculum guided by the University of Miami and Florida Atlantic University, the children began planting in January of 2020. Five variations of fruit trees and six variations of vegetable plants now line the beds and garden path.
Service Leader Mentor and
Community Give Back Day
Western Reserve Academy
September 2021, Hudson, OH
Sponsored since 2021
The WRA Service Leaders, a group of student leaders who design community service programs in which all WRA students participate, created a partnership program with Buddy-Up Tennis in the Spring of 2023. The Buddy-Up Tennis program is a high-energy adaptive tennis and fitness program for people with Down Syndrome ages 5+ which enables them to flourish, succeed, and reach their fullest potential by providing a unique environment that combines tennis, fitness, and social activities. WRA students will be Buddies who provide support,
develop friendships and reinforce the Coaches' instructions
ALUMNI PROGRAMS
Period Supply Program
Junior League of the Palm Beaches with Alliance for Period Supplies
Winter 2023, West Palm Beach, FL
Sponsored since 2021
Many low-income women and girls struggle to afford menstrual products. The Junior League of the Palm Beaches (JLPB), in partnership with the Alliance for Period Supplies, provides period supplies to women in need. Mary's Giving Fund donates 50 packs of period supplies to girls at the Boys and Girls Club of Palm Beach County. With the donated period supplies, Mary's Giving Fund also provides an educational book on girl's health, The Care and Keeping of You, targeted to girls ages 8-12. During this time, the JLPB discusses period poverty with the
girls to raise awareness and to destigmatize the biological process of menstruation.
Therapeutic Arts Enrichment Program
Calhoun County High School
Sponsored in 2021-2023, Battle Creek, MI
Sponsored since 2021
CCHS, an alternative high school, serves students with economic, learning, and other challenges, and lacks funding for arts education. The school qualifies for Title 1 funds and free breakfast and lunch for the entire student body. Around half of the CCHS student body (more that 30 at-risk students) participated in the Therapeutic Arts Program last school year, and the program resumed with additional students in September 2022. Mary's Giving Fund covered the costs of supplies needed for the
program every school year. Current enrichment options include photography, poetry, digital storytelling, painting and drawing, and gaming. CCHS is planning an end-of-school-year event for the community that will double as a program fundraiser and allow students to showcase and sell some of their creations.
Leaders in Training
Hilton Head Island Recreation Center
Sponsored in 2022, Hilton Head Island, SC
Leaders in Training is a program designed by the Hilton Head Island Recreation Center. This program helped enable these teens (ages 14-16) with skills and experiences to develop a foundation of LEADERSHIP, INTEGRITY, and TOOLS they can use in their daily life to pursue other opportunities for growth in extracurricular activities, and to also prepare them for the workforce. The teens worked directly with head staff members throughout the summer camp program through 1 vs 1 meetings, staff trainings and a mentorship approach to develop their leadership
skills. The teens finished the program with the confidence to overcome barriers, use their voice, solve problems, and use positive communication skills.