Preservation Trust Receives Major Gift for Vermont Rural Communities
The Preservation Trust of Vermont today received a donation of more than $1 million to establish a fund to support the preservation and revitalization of rural Vermont.
An unassuming couple from Minnesota, Lawrence and Mary Schwanke have spent nearly 50 years visiting – and appreciating – Vermont’s rural communities. “As we visited and learned, we discovered that the Preservation Trust of Vermont is doing the work to help preserve and support the essence of what we found so attractive about Vermont,” says Schwanke. “The small communities, the general stores, a church or a town hall that was remodeled or updated to have a day care – these are the things that are critical to keeping these rural areas and small towns viable.”
The Lawrence and Mary Schwanke Fund for Rural Communities will provide funds to community groups for capital projects or activities that help preserve the essential character of Vermont: rehabilitation of exterior and interior historic finishes, code improvements, emergency stabilization, and more. The fund will also support activities like community suppers or celebrations that add to the town’s vitality or make use of a historic building. Groups supporting projects in towns of less than 3,000 people are eligible. Grants will range from $2,000 to $20,000 and will be awarded on a rolling basis.
“We were both raised on farms. In Minnesota, as the farms got larger and the size of families declined, many of the small towns have withered. You drive down Main Street and most of the buildings are empty. Pretty soon schools closed. Eventually there may be nothing left,” says Schwanke. “Vermont is working to preserve what we see as a more civilized version of existence – not big box stores but small towns. The Preservation Trust has helped keep things going like general stores that were in danger of not surviving. These are valuable and critical to the life blood of Vermont. Small towns are a key part of what makes Vermont unique and special.”
Remarkably, the actual donation is $1,050,000. Why? Because the Schwankes want to start the giving immediately, and not wait until the beginning of the next fiscal year.
