Boxerwood Education Association this month launched the public phase of a year-long capital campaign that has already raised $470,000 of its $500,000 goal.
According to Executive Director Ben Eland, funds from the initiative will help the nonprofit strengthen its service to the community in four key areas.
Most immediately, donations to the capital campaign will help purchase and protect 10 additional acres of undeveloped land, expanding the footprint of Boxerwood’s Woodland Garden to 30 acres. The new property, soon to come on the market, is adjacent to the mountain- vista field where Boxerwood hosts its popular summer Music in the Garden series.
In a letter to supporters earlier this month, Eland explained, “Acquiring this wild space protects the ecological integrity of what we already own, buffers Boxerwood from incompatible development, and gives Boxerwood more space — for trails, for habitat, and the next 25 years of educational programming, recreation and learning.”
Eland noted the organization has also applied for state grant funding through the Virginia Outdoors Foundation to help offset the significant cost of this “once-in-a-lifetime” purchase.
The capital campaign is also raising funds for garden and facility needs. Boxerwood was initially a private residence until purchased by the newly formed Boxerwood Education Association in 2000. The facilities themselves are more than 70 years old and require significant upkeep such as new roofing and repair to the original barn – all big-ticket items made possible by donors to the capital fund.
“We’re doing more than just repair, though,” said Eland, “We’re also investing in new projects that improve Boxerwood’s ability to serve our community.”
Eland is especially excited about a new partnership with Rockbridge Timber Framers whose volunteers this October will rebuild Boxerwood’s music stage. In a much anticipated upgrade, the new stage will include a roof for the first time, reducing the number of rain-outs for concerts and educational events.
Eland noted the funds from the special campaign are also earmarked for basic needs that will keep Boxerwood thriving for the next 25 years: good tools for the garden, and strategic program investment.
With a mission to educate and inspire people of all ages to become stewards of the Earth, BEA was founded in 2000 with a dream and a mortgage, said Eland. Today, its staff and volunteers provide 5,000 nature-based programs to 2,600 children each year as well as hundreds of community members.
Recognized in 2015 by the commonwealth of Virginia as an environmental education center of excellence, the nonprofit consistently attracts state and national attention for the quality and impact of its programs. Its efforts have not only promoted stewardship values and actions across the Rockbridge area, but have led to a number of young adults pursuing documented environmental careers, said Eland.
In addition to their intrinsic benefit, Boxerwood’s various initiatives have also brought several million dollars of external grant fundings into the county over the years, said Eland.
“This is an exciting time in our organization’s evolution,” he added, noting that Boxerwood “has never been the kind of place that runs on any one person, any one gift, or any one grant. It runs on generations of people deciding that this place and its mission are worth the investment.”
For more information about the campaign or to volunteer, visit www.boxerwood. org or contact Eland at (540) 463-2697.
