Welcome 2021. Thank you for choosing to volunteer with the Avon Club. We have an excellent group of committee chairs and executive board this year. Some of you are continuing from last year for which I express my deep appreciation. I hope this year we return to more normalcy. Our members adapted last year to on line meetings and helping in different ways, including donating to the Pittsburgh food bank.
The Avon Club Foundation’s purpose is to support the charitable needs of the Avonworth community and other worthy, tax-exempt organizations. We focus on projects and programs that promote education, preservation and the environment, recreation, and social responsibility. In 2020, we disbursed $21,000 in grants, an increase of almost $2,000 over the previous year. Our largest recipients were Meals on Wheels, the YMCA, POWER, Wooden Ladder preschool, Avonworth Municipal Authority/Community Park, Animal Friends, North Hills Community Outreach, Avonworth Blessings in a Backpack, and others.
Without meeting in person, it is more difficult to feel a part of the club, develop bonds, and include new people. We will work on that, knowing we are faced with an indefinite duration of social distancing. Continuing last year’s inclusion theme, we will strive to welcome members of the entire Avonworth community and improve communication and involvement of our associate members. This organization has been around over 75 years, has worked toward strong community goals and we have fun doing it! Please continue with us and invite friends and neighbors to join.
This year we hold our Holiday House tour the first Saturday of December. Held every-other year, it is our biggest fundraiser to fund our mission of grants to organizations. It is a big, successful event and we will need everyone’s help. Thank you in advance!