Monthly
Column
Commons
Sense:
By
Carter Siegel
August, 2009
For
the past three years I have been a volunteer for Squamscott
Community Commons (SCC). ”The Commons”, as
we affectionately call it, will be a model for the nation
in non-profit sustainable design, environmental stewardship,
and economies of scale and collaboration. My name is Carter
Siegel, and currently chief among the SCC volunteer positions
I have held is that of chairing the Steering Committee
for the group’s fundraising effort.
The
Commons is one of the most exciting community efforts
to ever hit the seacoast. I decided to attach my name
and effort to this endeavor because I believe in supporting
smart solutions and I am a firm believer in working to
improve the quality of life for the communities in which
we live. What really got me excited was the idea of combining
so many social, cultural, and wellness opportunities under
one roof. How inspiring and intelligent it is to co-locate
services that inherently compliment each other. I work
with a dedicated team of professionals and volunteers
whose mission is to raise the funds to make this vision
a reality.
This
past April I travelled to Washington, DC with The Commons’
Executive Director, Robin Drunsic, to request federal
appropriations for The Commons. We left at the crack of
dawn and spent a long, but incredibly educational and
fruitful, day in our nation’s capital. We had been
able to secure meetings with Senators Judd Gregg and Jeanne
Shaheen, as well as Congresswoman Carol Shea-Porter. We
intended to gain support in the Commons’ mission
and ultimately some funding for bricks and mortar. Because
of the stimulus money available and being distributed,
The Capital was abuzz with groups like ours! While we
were able to meet Senator Gregg in his office, two of
our meetings were relegated to the hallway because office
space was so tight! We stood in a small cluster and made
our case to the” powers that be”! To make
a very long story short… we requested $ 1million
and were told to expect $200,000 … if we were lucky.
On
Friday, July 31st, Republican Senator Judd Gregg and Democratic
Senator Jeanne Shaheen announced the senate appropriations
committee approved the entire $1 million dollars through
the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development appropriations
bill for the fiscal year 2010! Senator Gregg stated, “the
construction of the new community center will provide
valuable resources for families and individuals. When
completed, the center’s health facilities, recreational
activities, and other important community support services
will benefit the entire seacoast community.”
“Thousands
of Seacoast residents will benefit from housing so many
valuable services together at the Squamscott Community
Center. This new, more efficient facility will truly bring
the community together, and provide children, families
and seniors with the services they need,” said Senator
Shaheen. Especially now, given the state of our economy,
job losses, debt and insecurities that families face it’s
nice to know that our voice has been heard. As a volunteer
for this effort and one who carries a passion for its
mission, it’s hard to express how important this
achievement is to all those who have invested a lot of
time, talent, and treasure.
The
Commons capital campaign has been invigorated with this
incredible show of support and belief. It seems ironic
that as the need for the support and services of The Commons
and its partnering agencies increases exponentially, the
nation finds itself in one of the most difficult fundraising
climates in history. Will this deter us? Are we intimidated
by this? No way. We just need to keep doing what we are
doing and “stay the course” as they say. Now,
more than ever, communities need to be seeking ways to
streamline services and reduce costs for non-profits.
This project offers a solution as it will provide comprehensive
access to social, health, recreational, cultural, and
educational services under one roof. Senators Shaheen
and Gregg’s bi-partisan support of this mission
is timely and fortuitous. Their backing of Squamscott
Community Commons’ mission and vision is a valuable
testament to the project’s worth and will be an
inspiration to all of us as we continue to raise funds
for the community center.
--
Carter W. Siegel, Chair, Steering Committee, Squamscott
Community Commons.
