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February 16, 2024
Lakehills Community Center establishes endowment fund with Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country
By Ron Clarke
The Bandera Prophet
The Lakehills Community Center has established a partnership with the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country.
The Community Foundation, based in Kerrville, serves donors and nonprofits that are passionately committed to the Texas Hill Country, a vision that is shared by the Lakehills Community Center. They aim to support quality of life, address root causes of pressing issues, and create community by funding organizations making our Hill Country home a better place for everyone. Other Bandera County non-profits that have a relationship with the Community Foundation include the Silver Sage and Arthur Nagel Clinic.
“We are glad to join with other local non-profit agencies who have a relationship with the Community Foundation. The leadership and member volunteers have worked very hard to build what we see here at our Community Center today. We want that grass-roots volunteer effort to continue to provide support to our Hill Country and Lakehills area for a long time to come. Our Board of Directors and members agreed that establishing a long-term endowment fund will assure that the Lakehills Community Center will continue to provide programs to this area of the Hill Country and Medina Lake long after we are all gone. A simple start today will guarantee income into the future for long-sustaining growth for this Community,” Linda Morris, Community Center treasurer and Board director, said. “Donations to the Endowment fund are simple. You can merely designate a donation to the fund by simply stating so, which restricts where that donation goes. If you let us know you want it to go there, then that’s where we will place the donation. The goal here is to have enough in the fund to produce an income to support our programs. Our initial investment of just over $50K will accrue income each month. It will take a while to grow, but with everyone’s support we are sure we can make that goal. Donators can even specifically bequeath an endowment fund donation from their will as a long-lasting legacy of their commitment to the Center and to the local Hill Country programs we provide.”
“We are so proud of how a simple little Gumbo Cook-off has grown in over 40 years to what we have today; a Community Center in Lakehills that provides much- needed services such as monthly food distributions in cooperation with Silver Sage, support to not only our older population but now becoming more focused on everyone, including family events, exercise classes, karate lessons, annual celebrations and much more! Our monthly calendar is truly very full, and you can find something for everyone! We truly are a resource for education and entertainment, and we plan to add even more and do more in the months and years to come. This legacy of the endowment fund will further that goal,” Barbara Engel, one of the center’s original founders and matriarch of the annual Medina Lake Cajun Festival, said.
“This event right here is one of the many services we offer to our local senior citizens! The money raised throughout the year benefits our many programs including this monthly dinner which is hand and scratch-cooked exclusively by an all-volunteer team each month. Today we have over 80 Lakehills and Bandera County neighbors joined together to celebrate our Hill Country area and break bread together and enjoy each other’s company. Our volunteer team is happy to provide this each month and we enjoy working and laughing together to provide this free service as a part of our programs here at the Lakehills Community Center,” Trish Dillenburg, who has hosted the monthly free senior lunch at the Lakehills Community Center for the last seven years, said.
The senior lunch is held each second Wednesday of the month, at 11 a.m.
For a full calendar and schedule of events or to become a member of the Lakehills Community Center, visit www.lakehillscommunitycenter.org. If you have any questions about the Center itself, the endowment fund, or any ideas, questions, etc., visit the Center’s website and click on the CONTACT tab at the top right of the site.
The Medina Lake Betterment Association, the parent company of the Lakehills Community Center and the Medina Lake Cajun Festival is a 501 C (3) IRS tax-exempt organizations, and all donations and bequests are tax-deductible.
The Community Foundation, based in Kerrville, serves donors and nonprofits that are passionately committed to the Texas Hill Country, a vision that is shared by the Lakehills Community Center. They aim to support quality of life, address root causes of pressing issues, and create community by funding organizations making our Hill Country home a better place for everyone. Other Bandera County non-profits that have a relationship with the Community Foundation include the Silver Sage and Arthur Nagel Clinic.
“We are glad to join with other local non-profit agencies who have a relationship with the Community Foundation. The leadership and member volunteers have worked very hard to build what we see here at our Community Center today. We want that grass-roots volunteer effort to continue to provide support to our Hill Country and Lakehills area for a long time to come. Our Board of Directors and members agreed that establishing a long-term endowment fund will assure that the Lakehills Community Center will continue to provide programs to this area of the Hill Country and Medina Lake long after we are all gone. A simple start today will guarantee income into the future for long-sustaining growth for this Community,” Linda Morris, Community Center treasurer and Board director, said. “Donations to the Endowment fund are simple. You can merely designate a donation to the fund by simply stating so, which restricts where that donation goes. If you let us know you want it to go there, then that’s where we will place the donation. The goal here is to have enough in the fund to produce an income to support our programs. Our initial investment of just over $50K will accrue income each month. It will take a while to grow, but with everyone’s support we are sure we can make that goal. Donators can even specifically bequeath an endowment fund donation from their will as a long-lasting legacy of their commitment to the Center and to the local Hill Country programs we provide.”
“We are so proud of how a simple little Gumbo Cook-off has grown in over 40 years to what we have today; a Community Center in Lakehills that provides much- needed services such as monthly food distributions in cooperation with Silver Sage, support to not only our older population but now becoming more focused on everyone, including family events, exercise classes, karate lessons, annual celebrations and much more! Our monthly calendar is truly very full, and you can find something for everyone! We truly are a resource for education and entertainment, and we plan to add even more and do more in the months and years to come. This legacy of the endowment fund will further that goal,” Barbara Engel, one of the center’s original founders and matriarch of the annual Medina Lake Cajun Festival, said.
“This event right here is one of the many services we offer to our local senior citizens! The money raised throughout the year benefits our many programs including this monthly dinner which is hand and scratch-cooked exclusively by an all-volunteer team each month. Today we have over 80 Lakehills and Bandera County neighbors joined together to celebrate our Hill Country area and break bread together and enjoy each other’s company. Our volunteer team is happy to provide this each month and we enjoy working and laughing together to provide this free service as a part of our programs here at the Lakehills Community Center,” Trish Dillenburg, who has hosted the monthly free senior lunch at the Lakehills Community Center for the last seven years, said.
The senior lunch is held each second Wednesday of the month, at 11 a.m.
For a full calendar and schedule of events or to become a member of the Lakehills Community Center, visit www.lakehillscommunitycenter.org. If you have any questions about the Center itself, the endowment fund, or any ideas, questions, etc., visit the Center’s website and click on the CONTACT tab at the top right of the site.
The Medina Lake Betterment Association, the parent company of the Lakehills Community Center and the Medina Lake Cajun Festival is a 501 C (3) IRS tax-exempt organizations, and all donations and bequests are tax-deductible.