Priceless In Pink

Save The Sherburne Inn Restoration Project has been receiving a steady stream of donations from people in and around the Sherburne community -- and indeed, from those around the country -- since our fundraising card was dropped in the mail two weeks ago. Every day checks arrive, often accompanied by notes of encouragement and thanks. Those of us on the SSIRP board knew we weren't alone in our belief that The Sherburne Inn was worthy of saving and restoring. What we didn't know is how many others are out there who feel the same way. As my dad used to tell me, when you see one rabbit in the road, there are a hundred more in the bushes.

As if the outpouring of support from our community wasn't enough, last week I spoke with Julia Rocchi, managing editor at The National Trust For Historic Preservation. Ms. Rocchi confirmed for me what those of us at SSIRP have known all along: that in order to save our historic places, citizens of small communities like Sherburne must get involved. We can no longer sit back and hope someone else will come along to preserve our history. We are "that someone." All of you who are contributing dollars to saving the Inn, who are urging us forward on Facebook and on our website, and who are showing hands and offering services are "that someone." Our story of rising up and saying no, we will not allow another historic building to fall, is not a good one...it's a great one. The National Trust is interested in our progress and will, as we move forward, follow our journey with the hope of sharing its success with other communities who feel as we do: that small town history and historic places must be preserved because who we are today and who we will be tomorrow is tied inextricably to what has come before us.

We have received thousands of dollars of support thus far, sometimes in the form of very large donations, and sometimes in the form of small ones. The smaller checks are those that tug at my heartstrings. Yesterday a $25 donation arrived. A small pink note was attached to the check that read as follows: "Committee: Keep up the good work. Don't get discouraged."

SSIRP is so appreciative of the benefactors who have and will continue to donate thousands. Their generosity will allow us to replace walls and retouch bricks and ultimately re-energize our downtown corner. But it is because of the lady and her pink note that the SSIRP board meets every week, that committee members gather to brainstorm, that we will approach corporations with funding requests, that we will spend hundreds of hours applying for grants, and that, once the building is ours, we will surge forward with plans for this community's future. It is the lady and her priceless pink note of encouragement for whom I get up every day and say we will make this happen. We will not get discouraged. We will keep up the good work because we know, as does every person who writes a twenty-five-dollar check knows, that we are -- all of us -- on a path of great and historic things to come. 

To donate to Saving The Sherburne Inn, send your check made payable to SSIRP to:

Save The Sherburne Inn Restoration Project, Inc.

POB 1102

Sherburne, NY 13460

or pay by credit card at our website:

thesherburneinn.org (click on "contribute" link)

SSIRP is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit community organization