Bishop’s Orchards Farm Market & Winery recently provided the Guilford Foundation with a $8,460.28 check to support a new permanent legacy fund: The Lee Family Fund to Support the Guilford Community Fund. This donation reflects the results of a fund drive held in November 2013 that encouraged shoppers to give a tax-deductible donation at check out. Bishop’s also encouraged employees to donate, and, in the end, matched all donations.

The Guilford Community Fund Endowment is being established through the generosity of Bill and Kate Lee and their family, who are longtime supporters of both the Guilford Foundation and the Guilford Community Fund. The Lees have offered up to $25,000 to this effort if the community can match it.

The income from the Guilford Community Fund Endowment provides a source of permanent support for the Community Fund’s Annual Appeal, which raises and distributes over $120,000 each year to non-profit organizations best qualified to serve Guilford residents in need. These funds are critical to the ability of these organizations to address needs in Guilford, from services for intellectual disabilities to outdoor education to housing to women in transition to mental health services to Meals on Wheels and the Food Bank.

Including the Bishop’s donation, just over $11,000 has been raised towards the Lee’s challenge, leaving $14,000 remaining to secure a total nest egg of $50,000 for the Lee Family Fund to support the Guilford Community Fund.

For information on how to support this incredible community effort, contact please contact Liza Janssen Petra, Executive Director of the Guilford Foundation, at [email protected].