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2020 will go down in history as an unforgettable year. As Bainbridge Island non-profit organizations, we have relied on your support to keep us going. It is in this spirit that we offer words of gratitude.
Gratitude: readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness. — Oxford Dictionary
Please enjoy this message of gratitude from AHB Executive Director, Anne Smart:
AHB continues to be ever thankful for the abundance of creative individuals who live here and share what they do with us and the community. AHB has survived this most unusual year with the imaginative ideas and support from our board of directors and loyal volunteers. Arts & Humanities Bainbridge – Anne Smart
So much to be thankful for, where to start? I personally am very thankful to have been welcomed into this community with open arms! Bainbridge Arts and Crafts is thankful for community support that runs so very wide and deep here on the Island, and for the artists who share their talents and ideas and personal research with us and with the community every day. In spite of the pandemic we are finding ways to connect and keep conversations flowing to identify common interest and common experiences to which we can all relate.
Bainbridge Arts & Crafts – Debra Ruzinsky
BARN is grateful for the persistent efforts of volunteers and community members who are finding new ways to build community through virtual classes and events. It’s been a massive shift to move activities online, and we are finding that people are rising to the occasion with flexibility, patience, and open minds!
Bainbridge Artisan Resource Network – Jessica Henderson
At the Historical Museum, we are thankful to be a part of the Bainbridge Island Community where we know our shared history is valued and celebrated. We are sincerely grateful for the support and encouragement of so many members and friends who are connecting with us virtually through new online programs and initiatives. We also feel fortunate to belong to a larger network of local nonprofit organizations working together to survive and thrive through these challenging times.
Bainbridge Island History Museum – Briana Kosowitz
The Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community is grateful for the support of our neighbors and for the strength and wisdom of our elders.
Bainbridge Island Japanese American Community – Carol Reitz
What BIMA is thankful for? In an unprecedented year like this, just about everything imaginable. BIMA exists in a region distinguished by its cultural curiosity, innovation, natural beauty and commitment to values like equality, freedom of expression, and justice. In that landscape, it continues to be a privilege and responsibility to represent the breadth, depth & diversity of the contemporary art and craft of this region and make that art as accessible and relevant to as many as possible. The museum has survived a roller coaster year and has another one ahead, but the combined efforts and acts of generosity, support and encouragement from friends, fans, partners, artists, volunteers, donors, staff, board and visitors of BIMA is what’s made that possible.
Bainbridge Island Museum of Art – Sheila Hughes
Gratitude” doesn’t begin to convey the depth of what those of us at BPA feel for this community; thank you for your enduring support of the arts and humanities and for continuing to kindle the sparks of creativity and inspiration throughout the quarantine!
Bainbridge Performing Arts – Dominique Cantwell
Given our role as the island’s preparedness nonprofit, I am EXTRA thankful this season for the pandemic response of our ever-growing corps of amazing volunteers. I’m thankful that our three-way partnership continues to produce great progress under the shared leadership team of COBI Emergency Coordinator Anne LeSage, BIFD Deputy Chief Jared Moravec, and BP Executive Director Loren Bast. And I’m thankful that we live in a supportive community responsive to our unique view of preparedness, looking at it through a lens of love, not fear.
Bainbridge Prepares – Scott James
Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild is most grateful for the amazing support for our Bainbridge Quilt Festival “Mask Up” last September 12, 2020. We all know that we had COVID restrictions along with the smoke from overwhelming fires. As a Guild, we had redesigned our annual Festival for COVID. With the support of Winslow Green, we were able to centralize our showing on the Green with scaffolding strung with wiring to display quilts on a one way path with lots of social distancing. When the smoke arrived we were dismayed but not defeated. Over 100 quilts were shared with hundreds of masked visitors. So many thanked us for the bright spot in a difficult time. Thank you BI!!
Bainbridge Island Modern Quilt Guild – Kathy Dwyer
Now more than ever, I am grateful for our parks and trails. These outdoor living rooms consistently fill me with hope and wonder. I am deeply grateful for the people who donate their time and resources to steward our parks and trails that strengthen our community.
Bainbridge Island Parks Foundation – Lisa Sheffer
I am grateful for nature’s fall colors, which fill my soul with nutrition which is as necessary as food is for the body. Walks on our trails and through our parks give us what I would wish for everybody. They are the gym, our social life (under Covid), and are spiritually filling. The trees listen, the water laps. We breathe.
Bloedel – Amy Weber
KiDiMu is thankful for the love and support from our community this year as we shifted experiential early learning opportunities for our community. We are filled with joy hearing about our families love of our at-home learning and the laughter and love of learning echoing through the museum from our preschool.
KidiMu – Corinne Wolffe
I am incredibly thankful for living on Bainbridge Island where I have observed a local cultural shift during this pandemic. This shift has moved us from complacency to awareness of other’s narratives that are different from our own. Many now have a desire to mitigate pain caused by social constructs that no longer serve us. This heightened awareness made us more intentional about how we love and live during this time of social distancing. I cherish every giggle and story from my friends and family. I am truly thankful.
Multicultural Advisory Council – Chasity Malatesta
Raising Resilience is grateful to serve a community that understands building resilience happens year by year, and kid by kid, and that it really does take a village… or an island. Some years are tougher than others (like this one!) but only when we come together to support and lift each other up, our families and our community grow stronger.
Raising Resilience – April Avey Trabucco & Krzysztofa McDonough
“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched — they must be felt with the heart.” — Helen Keller