Back in 1971, no one gave much thought to turning part of the land adjoining the D&H Canal into parkland ”“ but former Orange County executive Lou Mills, Amy Bull Crist and Jim Ottaway Sr., did.
That Deer Park project was the jumpstart for the Orange County Citizens Foundation, said Nancy Proyect, executive director of the advocacy group since 2006.
The 55-acre farm where OCCF is based on was once the property of Kurt Seligmann, a Swiss-born surrealist artist. When his wife, Arlette, died in 1993, she willed it to the county to further cultural life in the community.
The OCCF”™s home has been a springboard for many other nonprofits “all geared to making Orange County a better place to live and work,” Proyect said.
Leadership Orange, the Community Foundation of Orange and Sullivan counties, the Arboretum at Orange County Park, the Orange County Land Trust and the Heritage Trail are just some of the initiatives that have grown out of OCCF”™s advocacy ”“ as well as the D&H Canal Park.
Its 28-member board oversees 16 different committees, all geared toward improving the quality of life for residents. Though each focuses on a different topic, the goal is the same: make Orange a great place to live, work and play.
“The recession really hit us hard from 2008 through 2010, but 2011 saw many of our supporters come back to help us, so it”™s been a bit of a relief, to say the least,” Proyect said. “I think it says something about the commitment to the community and to the work we do, but most nonprofits are doing a juggling act. We”™re lucky to have a dedicated board to help us continue operating.”
Proyect shares part of the OCCF office space with the Orange County Arts Council, which it also helped create.
“Our founder was an artist, and art is an important part of our culture,” said Proyect. “There are other integral parts of our lifestyle that are just as important ”“ the quality of our communities, finding ways to make the county a better place to live, re-creating our urban areas and making ”˜walkable communities”™ part of our agenda ”“ those are just a few things we work for, and we have many dedicated business and community leaders that work with us.”
On the agenda for the OCCF: improving transportation systems and planning; creating communities where people want to live and work; preserving open space through conservation, land-use planning and agricultural usage; engaging community leaders through leadership development; enriching local heritage and experiences with cultural affairs programming; and offering diverse platforms for people to meet, discuss, and learn.
In 2009, OCCF published a Quality of Life Report Card, which objectively evaluated the quality of life in the county.
“Right now, we are getting ready to release our 2011 report card,” said Proyect. “Our first was new territory, but this time, we had something to work with to compare how things have changed… and I think it will be an eye-opener for people to see just how much things have changed since the recession hit.”
The new Quality of Life Report Card will be released next month. It is expected to include details of those struggling with the economy, especially local farmers whose crops were destroyed by tropical storms Irene and Lee.
To help, OCCF will be hosting a benefit for them to raise funds for Alamo Farm Worker Community Center, which operates a food bank and provides other services to migrant workers, many of whom have been living in guest workers”™ homes.
A series of three Sunday suppers at the Seligmann Art Galleries and Homestead in Sugar Loaf, featuring locally grown food, will be held Jan. 29, Feb. 26 and March 25. The OCCF hopes to raise $10,000 to support the community. For more information, contact occf-ny.org.
Great article Nancy. Good luck with the fundraising suppers! Best, Karen