Dear Plymouth Friends and Neighbors,
Thank you to all who have provided past generous support of the Plymouth Memory Tree Community Fund. This holiday season, we hope you will consider offering your support again.
Your generosity has enabled the Plymouth Memory Tree Fund to serve as a vital community resource, a lifeline for Plymouth residents in financial need. The Memory Tree Fund generally receives 5-10 requests for assistance each year, with the exception of flood relief efforts in 2011 and 2023, when both need and our ability to help was substantially more.
In 2025, we have made grants totaling more than $7,700 to date. This year, the fund has helped Plymouth residents with support for emergency well repair, work-truck repair, emergency ambulance services, tire repair, utility costs, and replacement of home appliances. We partnered with local service organizations to fund the repair of a home with extensive damage from a water leak and mold. In this year, when need is high, we increased by 20% our annual support for three organizations that serve Plymouth residents: Black River Good Neighbor Services, the Black River Senior Center, and the Reading-West Windsor Food Shelf. Additionally, the fund continued to offer academic scholarship assistance for graduating seniors who reside in Plymouth.
Established in 1991 to honor the memory of Eliane Sailer, the fund has traditionally invited contributions both to support our mission, and to memorialize and honor loved ones, commemorating them with a lighted holiday Memory Tree. In lieu of a formal lighting ceremony, we will support the Plymouth Volunteer Fire Department’s annual holiday tree again this year, and place memorial and honoree decorations on the tree for the community celebration on Dec. 13.
Members of the community wishing to support your Plymouth neighbors may send donations to the Plymouth Memory Tree Community Fund, at P.O. Box 47, Plymouth, VT 05056. We welcome donations to memorialize or honor of loved ones. The fund is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, so donations to the fund are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Plymouth residents who require assistance should contact one of the directors of the fund – Anne Brown, abrown@vermontel.net; Karen Bruyn, kwbruyn@gmail.com; Robert Fishman, rlf254@gmail.com; Jennifer Flaster, jenflaster@me.com; or Linda Olster, lindandaveo@aol.com – with questions, and to receive an application form by email. Printed copies are available at the town clerk’s office in the Plymouth Municipal Building.
Our very best wishes for the holidays and the coming year.
Sincerely,
The Plymouth Memory Tree Community Fund Board