Jeffrey Pickering and Katy Healy. PHOTO BY JOSHUA KODIS

The Indian River Community Foundation topped off a lovely afternoon with a sweet treat from Yami’s Ice Cream Shop during an Ice Cream Social for Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society members at Northern Trust.

“The last time we gathered as Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society, it was actually with Alma Lee in our presence, and we had a chance to sing her happy birthday,” said Jeff Pickering, IRCF president/CEO.

“First and foremost, we’d like to remember her. Without her, as our namesake and the first person to make a planned gift from her estate towards the Community Foundation, we would not have the Alma Lee Loy Legacy Society.”

Noting that there are now nearly 80 members out of 200 clients, he added, “Comparatively to any community foundation around the country, we are on a rocket ship. It’s a sign of the generosity of this community.”

Last year, he said it took some $300 million to run our local nonprofits, including the hospitals and the healthcare system. Those organizations raised roughly $110 million in donations to do so, $12 million of which was distributed by the Community Foundation as grants.

To aid the nonprofits, Pickering said they launched an Endowment Partners Program, whereby Yamilet Cendejas, director of philanthropy, teaches how to set up endowments, make and manage investments, and cultivate planned gifts from donors.

Ballet Vero Beach is joining the program and Adam Schnell, BVB artistic director and CEO, spoke of what they have accomplished over the course of the past 10 years.

“At Ballet Vero Beach, our mission is to promote the art of dance as a universal language in our community and beyond,” said Schnell. “We have really striven over the past 10 years to challenge the notion of what an arts organization can be and also what an arts organization in a small town can be.”

To ensure everyone has access to their programming, regardless of their ability to pay, he said they work with the United Way and 19 social service agencies, which has led to the development of the student matinee series and, partnering with the Learning Alliance, a Stage to Page program for 750 first-grade students.

Debbi Arseneaux, TLA learning and arts integration manager, explained that first-graders in that program view a ballet performance of the Sleeping Princess, read a related book created by TLA, and eventually perform their own retelling of the story.

To demonstrate, she had guests participate by using their bodies, imaginations and voices to act out using what she called the Storytellers Toolkit.

“I hope that with that tiny little taste, you realize that you can expect the unexpected from Ballet Vero Beach. We are way more than tutus and pointe shoes, and we really are interested in the longevity and the betterment of this community and beyond,” said Schnell.

Several professional dancers then performed a piece called Take 14, choreographed by Jessica Dare, artistic director of the Chicago Dance Crash.

Pickering noted that because of the philanthropy of county residents, our children have greater access to arts programs such as Ballet Vero Beach than other counties, and that philanthropy has also enabled organizations such as the Learning Alliance to significantly improve reading skills as it works toward the Moonshot goal of 90 percent of children reading at grade level by third grade.

“Our mission is building a better community through donor-driven philanthropy. That building process started 15 years ago, and it has continued with the generosity of people like you,” said Pickering.

For more information, visit IRCommunityFoundation.org.

Photos by Joshua Kodis