our mission

The mission of the Stratton Community Foundation is to address the challenges that stand between a child in need and the opportunity to be healthy, safe and prepared to learn. As a community-based nonprofit, our role is to care for the well-being of families across southern Vermont. Our vision is to help children focus on their education and set them on a path to success and economic independence.

OUR FOOTPRINT

The Stratton Community Foundation’s rural and remote footprint spans 20 towns with a radius of approximately 40 miles beyond the epicenter of Stratton Mountain.

The Foundation’s footprint includes approximately 18,430 individuals, making up 8,100 families of 2 or more members, including more than 3,500 children.

Depending on the town, 30% to 90% of children live at or below the poverty level, as measured by state qualifiers. A family of 4 making less than $36,000 qualifies.

We create and support programs and families within the following footprint of: Arlington, Bondville, Danby, Dorset, Jamaica, Landgrove, Londonderry, Manchester, Newfane-Newbrook, Pawlet, Peru, South Londonderry, Stratton, Sunderland, Townshend, Wardsboro, Weston, Windham, and Winhall.

Windham County ranks #2 in Vermont with the highest rate of food insecurity among children. According to the Vermont Department of Health, the Youth Crisis in our region is prominent.

HISTORY

Founded in 1996, the Stratton Community Foundation began with a goal to bring people together on the mountain, provide educational grants, and support interesting programs in the towns where Stratton employees lived. In 2010, the Foundation and Stratton Mountain Resort formed a direct partnership, connecting guests who love Vermont and their mountain home, to the people who live, work, and raise their children here, refining the mission to address the problem of childhood poverty and care for the well-being of area children and families in crisis. By addressing the challenges that stand between a child in need and the opportunity to be healthy, thrive, and be prepared to learn, the Foundation’s long-term goal is to break the cycle of generational poverty, and one of the state’s most prolific problems, childhood poverty. Today, the Stratton Community Foundation is proud to be recognized as the ‘philanthropic arm’ of the resort by which the Foundation carries out the shared mission to care for area youth and the community. Over the years, the Stratton Community Foundation has become a major force of change, evolving from awarding small grants, to more designedly forming sophisticated networks of community partners that extend the scope of impact and facilitate solution-based programs.

At its core, the Foundation endeavors to care for the safety, health, and basic human necessities of Vermont’s most vulnerable; foster school readiness by reducing barriers to learning; and help children develop competencies and skills necessary to lead a more productive life. To do so, the Foundation focuses on four primary pillars of support:
Health, Hunger, Basic Necessities, and Education.

The Foundation also provides Emergency Gifts directly to families facing sudden unforeseen events that make caring for children difficult, and large-scale disasters like Hurricane Irene in 2011 and the Great Flood in July 2023 that devastated our region. The Foundation supported families and business by providing $430,000 to help those devistated by the hurricane and and raised and distributed over $550,000 in just 8 weeks to help those impacted by the flood in 2023.

The Foundation’s success depends on the generosity of its members, both individual and corporate, area businesses and service organizations, sponsors, and the Stratton Mountain Resort.  

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Stratton Community Foundation is governed by a volunteer board of directors, responsible for making sure that the organization remains true to its mission, safeguards its assets, and operates in the public interest. 

  • Steve Kerstein, President

  • Abbe Haber, Vice President and Development Chair

  • Parker Rice, Treasurer

  • Jonathan Klein, Secretary

  • Mark Kelly, Marketing ChairJan Giejda

  • Jennifer Leyton, Scholarship Chair

  • Amy McHugh, Grants Chair

  • Evan Grossman

  • Kim Wohler

  • Christopher Amery

  • Jeff Cavagnino

  • Tammy Mosher, Executive Director (since 2012)

  • Katie Cyr, Events Coordinator & Administrative Assistant

  • Lisa Jager, Database & Project Management

Stratton mountain & Valley community benefit foundation
04-3343551

Founding Directors
Michael Cobb • Bob Fries • Kimet Hand • Rick Hube • Carl Williams