Windham Foundation

By Michael Ryan

The Windham Foundation is widely recognized in the mountaintop community for its meaningful impact on the lives of Windham residents, both in obvious and subtle ways. This impact is driven by a strong inner commitment to positive action that has benefitted the community for over 20 years.

The Windham Foundation was formally established in 2004 as Windham was in the midst of a massive transformation, including a makeover of downtown and the installation of a wastewater treatment system. Since that time, the Windham Foundation has directed its resources to make Windham a better place to live, work and visit.

The Foundation is made up of local community members including its President, whose primary residence is Windham. They remain dedicated to preserving and enriching the Windham community.

Many of the people who are now the core members of the Foundation started coming to Windham when they were kids. Their families would come here on weekends, so in a way, they grew up here. They fell in love with Windham, and when they had children of their own, they would bring them here. It was like an extension of their own childhoods.

The founders of the Windham Foundation emerged to give something back to the town. Over the years, they have remained steadfast as a group of kindred spirits dedicated to the Town of Windham.

Thomas Hoyt, the current Windham Town Supervisor, grew up in the Big Hollow area, out in the sticks beyond the Hamlet of Maplecrest. His grandfather, Cyrus, farmed land that is now a vital flood control dam, also serving as CD Lane Park, an 80-acre fishing and recreation spot.

Hoyt’s boyhood house and the house where he and his family reside today are a short shouting-distance apart, across the road from CD Lane Park. The place is near and dear to his soul.

In recent years, the Windham Foundation has been very active at the park, partnering with the Town to finance infrastructure improvements and add a bunch of fun equipment such as kayaks and playgrounds for kids and adults. The $147,870 contributed for the upgrades at CD Lane Park also helped ac- complish woodsy walking trails on the far side of the onsite lake and various familycentered activities.

Hoyt remembers back to when the Foundation and the Town initially started to get familiar with each other, breaking down boundaries, real or imagined, that separated generational townspeople. Hoyt recalls, “It was a strange notion, someone asking what they could do for the Town rather than the opposite, but it was an obvious no-brainer. I thought it would probably be good for the community, but I have to be honest, I had no idea how good it would actually be,” Hoyt says.

“When the Foundation puts their time and resources into something, it’s all about the community, whether it’s the park or the library or the fire department. They have invested in the community, and especially our youth, like the scholarship program they started for students at the school. Tracking forward to see how successful those students are, it is impressive to see how far they’ve gotten in life. The scholarships help take them to heights they didn’t even realize,” Hoyt states.

“All I can tell you is, when the Foundation has their annual fundraiser, they invite me to give them an update on the town. They want to know what we have on the horizon for projects. They will say things like ‘we love the flowers on Main Street’ and they appreciate what we’ve done with the new ambulance building. They contribute to projects that aren’t just a one-and-done kind of deal, like the new kitchen at the local VFW. It has real substance and will be there a long time. What can I tell you? The way the Foundation does their programs, it’s like sponsoring Girl Scout cookies, that same kind of old-fashioned good will,” Hoyt says.

As Windham continues to grow therein lies the opportunity for the Windham Foundation to help shape the future of the town. All donations are welcome at windhamfoundation.org/donate.

For more information about the Windham Foundation’s programs and impact, visit windhamfoundation.org.