Plans for Laura's March 2008 are coming along nicely and, just as we had hoped, people are registering for the March or sponsoring marchers through FirstGiving, a program which makes registration simpler and faster this year.

We are very pleased to have Cheryl Hanna, Vermont Law School professor and an expert on Constitutional law, as this year's keynote speaker. Ms Hanna is a frequent guest on VPR and a prolific writer. Besides the opportunity to hear Ms. Hanna, March participants can enjoy the music of the talented band Wagan and bid on many raffle items, truly something for everyone, provided generously by local merchants. For the thirsty and hungry, there will be lots of water and munchies on hand, too.

During the weekend of the March, and throughout Art Hop month, Bob Bolyard, Art Hop Coordinator, is going to display some of Laura's works right at SEABA headquarters, which is very close to Oakledge Park. We are hoping that March attendees will stop by to view the display. Laura was very eclectic in her artistic talents, and her family has amassed a collection of her quilts, crafts, paintings, drawings, sketches, posters, and photographs, enough works to display during Art Hop for years to come. Laura would be so thrilled by this recognition and, even though given posthumously, it means a lot to her family since it acknowledges and celebrates the Laura whose spirit manifests through her work.

Finally, as they have done the last two Septembers since Laura's passing, Sara and Ethan Brown, proprietors of Great Harvest Bread Company, will again be offering cinnamon buns for sale during the month of September in memory of Laura and will donate a portion of the proceeds to the LKW Fund. Please be sure to stop in for a bun and to check out their delectable assortment of daily and monthly staples and specials, all fresh from their ovens right on the premises. Stay for lunch and enjoy their delicious Panini and home-made soups.

We hope to see you at Oakledge Park in Burlington on September 6th for Laura's March!

In mid-June, the LKW Fund members met to begin planning the second annual Laura's March to raise awareness of and help prevent violence against women. Laura's March 2008 will take place on September 6, once again at Oakledge Park. As it did last year, the Fund is partnering with Women Helping Battered Women and the Women's Rape Crisis Center. For WHBW, the Fund is raising funds to purchase additional Laura's Kits for more Chittenden County elementary schools. These kits contain books, games, and art projects that teach children affected by domestic violence how to cope and express themselves appropriately and constructively. For the WRCC, the Fund will be raising funds to create and implement a library\conference room, called Laura's Room, where survivors of sexual assault, as well as their children, can receive counseling and other advocacy services in a welcoming, safe, and comfortable space. Ned's cousin Pam Nielson has generously offered to donate children's books to this special place.
More details about the upcoming March and a printible mail-in registration form will soon appear on this website. However, for clarification of all March details and ease of registering, this year the Fund will be using FirstGiving, a program that Fund treasurer Deb Gilbert is installing. Be on the lookout!

Wonderful news is that Bob Bolyard, Art Hop Coordinator for SEABA(the South End Arts and Business Association), recently contacted the Fund to let us know he would like to display some of Laura's artwork during Art Hop, which happens to coincide with this year's March. We are thrilled and honored by his interest and offer. Plans for the selection and installation of Laura's works are ongoing as the Winterbottom family continues discussion with Mr. Bolyard.

Other exciting news is that the Women's Resource Center's Calendar 2009, a project sponsored by Middlebury College's WomenSafe and Chellis House, has been published. Patty Le Bon Herb, who conceived of and designed the calendar and whose work is featured within it, has dedicated it to the memory of Laura. One of Laura's works, along with a poem she had written, is featured for September, Laura's birth month. To have Laura recognized in this way and have her work included among such prestigious company is a very special honor. Besides Patty Le Bon Herb, other esteemed contributors to the calendar include Vermont poet, essayist, and artist Julia Alvarez; activist, scholar, and Professor of Women's and Gender Studies at Vanderbilt University Charlotte Pierce-Baker, whose image is on the cover and whose book Surviving the Silence narrates her own brutal and harrowing sexual assault and the stories of other African-American women who, too, survived rape; poet and Vanderbilt professor Huston A. Baker, Jr.; Atlanta poet Mark Frederick Baker; Vermont artist and teacher Mary Lower; San Francisco artist Sarah T. Mayer; Director of WomenSafe Naomi Smith; Vermont author and artist Phoebe Stone; Poet Laureate of Vermont Ruth Stone; and Middlebury artist and meditation teacher Mary Swanson. In addition to these distinguished artists and writers and our Laura, other contributors to the calendar include eight Middlebury College students and Ned and JoAnn Winterbottom.
The beautiful and poignant calendar, which costs $20, depicts through art, prose, and poetry the travesty of violence against women within our communities and its profoundly insidious effects and informs victims that resources and support are available. The calendars will be on sale in Addison County; however, the LKW Fund, which underwrote a portion of the calendar's publishing costs, will offer some for sale at Laura's March. All proceeds go to WomenSafe.

Download the Spring 2008 Newsletter

The April 14 silent auction and dinner at A Single Pebble to raise money for scholarships for children to attend Burlington City Arts 2008 summer art camp was a great success with about 55 guests attending. The out-of-the-ordinary gourmet Asian meal that the kitchen served up was abundant (several went home with doggy bags!) and delicious. As for the auction, we had over 25 items, donated by merchants, artisans, resorts, friends and relatives of the Fund's directors, Fund members themselves, and just many generous well-wishers who had heard about our event and wanted to contribute. BCA also contributed a few items: a certificate toward a class or camp and a wonderful painting created by a former child camper. Because of the outpouring of support from many magnanimous and thoughtful people for a very worthy cause, we are pleased to report that a total of 26 full- and part-time scholarships will be awarded to children, who could not have otherwise afforded tuition, so that they may enjoy art camp this summer!

One highlight of the evening was the presentation of the very first Laura's Spirit Award. The LKW Fund had decided to create an annual award with which to pay tribute to someone in the community whose work in the arts or for the environment, especially with and on behalf of children, reflects the talent, interests, and passion that Laura had. At the April 14 event, we were privileged to give Laura's Spirit Award to Tamara McFall, the BCA Clay Studio Director/Education Coordinator. Just a few days before the silent auction/dinner, we happened to learn that Laura herself had actually met Tamara through a mutual friend, JR Miller. That information made giving the award to Tamara even more significant.

Now we are turning our attention to preparing for Laura's March 2008, which will take place on September 6, on the Burlington Bike Path starting and ending at Oakledge Park. As we did last year, we are partnering with WHBW and the WRCC. For WHBW, we want to purchase more Laura's Kits so that WHBW may expand its school program to include more Chittenden County schools. (There are a total of 33 that need to be reached.) These kits contain entertaining and engaging ways to teach children affected by domestic violence how to cope and react in appropriate and constructive ways. As for WRCC, we would like to raise funds for the creation of a library/conference room, called Laura's Room, in its new headquarters. Here, in this safe, welcoming space, survivors of sexual violence and their children can receive the counseling and advocacy services they need. We hope Laura's March 2008 will be as enthusiastically received as last year's. However, we truly need your support to make it a success so that we can continue to do important work for the community in memory of Laura. Complete March details will be provided in the coming months on this website as well as in flyers and the media, and by whatever means we can get the word out. Please mark the date on your calendars!

During February and March, the LKW Fund has been busing planning a silent auction and dinner fundraiser to provide scholarships to send children, who could not otherwise afford it, to Burlington City Arts’ summer art camp. This event will take place on Monday evening, April 14, from 6:00 until 9:30, at A Single Pebble restaurant in Burlington. Our host for the evening, A Single Pebble will provide a tantalizing meal of delectable Asian cuisine.

As a highlight of the evening, we will present the first ever Laura’s Spirit Award to an inspirational person in the arts community whose work with and on behalf of children reflects the talent, enthusiasm and passion that Laura, an artist and art teacher herself, had.

This year’s Laura’s Spirit Award will go to BCA’s Clay Studio Director/Education Coordinator Tamara McFall, who was nominated to be the recipient by her colleagues at BCA. We feel privileged to recognize and honor Tamara for her exemplary dedication and contributions to art education for children.

As for the auction, we have an assortment—truly something for everyone—of wonderful items in various price ranges that businesses, organizations, friends, family, and others have most generously donated to the Fund. These items are listed below:

• A one-year gym membership to Sports and Fitness Edge
• Photography sessions at Jordan Silverman Photographs
• Seinfeld: Seasons 1, 2, and 3” –DVD autographed by Jerry Seinfeld
• Children’s chairs and children’s blocks from Design Within Reach
• An all-season-long Bash Badge from Smuggler’s Notch
• A framed piece of children’s art from Burlington City Arts
• A gift certificate from Burlington City Arts for camp or a class
• One 90 minute in-home design consultation from Harrold Richard Design
• A full day of skiing for a family of any size from Cochran Ski Area
• One-night’s stay in a Designer Country Inn room at the Inn at Essex
• A Topnotch Spa Package
• Gift certificates for Healthy Living, KidsTown, Papa Frank’s, a therapeutic massage, and Athena Day Spa
• A large oriental design ceramic planter and wooden stand
• A tea set and tea
• A complete sushi set for two
• A tree-trimming service
• Crafts from local artisans
• Four gondola rides at Stowe Mountain Resort
• Women’s jewelry including watches, a silver and turquoise necklace, and a mother of pearl and coral necklace and bracelet set
• And even more!
  

2007 came to a close in an especially meaningful way for Laura's Fund. During the Christmas season, as part of their annual tree lighting service, Reverend David Wright and his congregation collected money to donate to the LKW Fund in memory of Laura. College Street Congregational Church has been very supportive and encouraging of the work the Fund is doing in the community. Always welcoming and perceptibly exemplifying the principles of fellowship and community service, CSCC has become the church-away-from-home for JoAnn and Ned.

The board members of Laura's fund began 2008 with plans to hold a mid-year fundraising event, a silent auction and dinner at Single Pebble on April 14, 2008. The mission of the Fund has always been two-fold: to support programs whose purpose is to advocate for preventing and ending violence toward women; and to foster art, nature, and science programs for children, areas of particular and special interest to Laura. We will continue to dedicate Laura's March, which we plan to hold annually each September, to raising funds for services provided by women's anti-violence advocates. With our mid-year fundraiser, which will be on a much smaller scale, as this April's silent auction and dinner, we hope to generate funds especially for children's programs. On April 14, the LKW Fund's silent auction and supper will raise money for scholarships to send disadvantaged children to Burlington City Arts' summer art camp. For the last two summers, the LKW Fund has been supporting this program but, hopefully, our April event will enable BCA, whose need for scholarships is growing dramatically, to award many more of them this coming summer.

We welcome your support of and participation in our April fundraising event and will keep you informed of the particulars as they emerge.

Download the Fall/Winter 2007 Newsletter

Our latest edition of the bi-annual newsletter should be arriving shortly in the mail and will also be posted on this website. The quotation appearing at the top of the newsletter comes from a poem Laura had written about the seasons. She had written and illustrated the poem several years ago as a birthday card for her sister Leigh.

As a result of the generosity of Laura's March supporters, we raised enough money for Women Helping Battered Women to purchase 10 kits, called Laura's Kits, for 10 individual elementary schools. These kits, which will be used in a program starting in January, contain games, art projects, and story books-all to be used to help children impacted by domestic violence learn appropriate ways to express their feelings and cope with their situations.

We were also able to cover all the costs of the weekend camping/hiking retreat sponsored by the Women's Rape Crisis Center for women impacted by sexual violence. Leigh and JoAnn were able to spend Saturday evening with the group. When Leigh and JoAnn arrived at Underhill Park, they learned that they would not only be hiking to the campsite, an entirely uphill climb, but also carrying logs to feed the fire. For two people who hadn't been hiking in some time, it was a bit of a challenge but well worth it as welcoming faces, hearty food, and a warming fire awaited them. That the WRCC chose Underhill Park for the retreat was particularly poignant as it is a place that Laura had frequented and loved. As this fact was unknown to the organizers when they had selected the site, it was almost as if their selection had been inspired by Laura herself.

For a detailed listing of all gift recipients for 2007, please look under Donations Update on this website.

One of the organizations listed is Woman/SAFE, another agency dedicated to ending violence toward women. Patty LeBon Herb, affiliated with Women and Gender Studies at Middlebury College and Woman/SAFE, is currently working on producing a 2009 calendar whose purpose is raise awareness of the severity of violence toward women and children and advocate for zero tolerance. Laura's poem, from which a stanza appears in the newsletter, will appear in its entirety along with one of her ink drawings. Ms. LeBon Herb is hoping to have the calendar ready for May and is busy trying to raise funds to produce and publish it. The LKW Fund has made a contribution to this effort, but more funds are needed. If you would like to contribute, please contact Patty at plherrb@hotmail.com. We are hoping many of you will purchase this calendar, a wonderful gift for Mother's Day, once it becomes available and spread the word of its availability. Proceeds will go to Women/SAFE.

Finally, speaking of gifts, several people have made donations to the LKW Fund to honor a person or persons for a special occasion, such as a wedding, civil union, or birthday. In turn, we design a congratulatory card in which we announce that a gift has been given to the Fund and by whom. We then send the card to the person or persons in whose name the gift was made. If you would like to honor or acknowledge someone or commemorate an occasion in this special way, let us know. Just give us the details, and we will do the rest. In accordance with your wishes, we could either include or exclude the amount given. You can send your request and donation to the LKW Fund, PO Box 65176, Burlington, VT 05401.

On September 8, early morning grey skies and rain gave way to sunshine by the time registrants appeared at 9:00 a.m. to sign up for Laura’s March. From Burlington itself, nearby towns, and even from states like New Hampshire, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina, adults of varying ages, children, babies, and even dogs converged at Oakledge’s lower shelter in support of the first ever LKW fundraiser: Laura’s March.

What a turnout it was! In memory of Laura, about two hundred people sporting white and purple LKW Fund tee shirts joined Laura’s family, the LKW Fund board members and their families, and an energetic group of volunteers in purple tees, who helped ensure that everything went smoothly, to walk, run, and even push baby strollers along the bike path in an effort to raise awareness that violence against women must not be tolerated and to help raise money for Women Helping Battered Women’s elementary school program for children affected by domestic abuse and the Women’s Rape Crisis Center’s weekend hiking retreat for up to ten victims of sexual assault.

Before Marchers tackled the bike path that meanders along the lake, through neighborhoods, and back around the lake, they were greeted and cheered on by Mayor Bob Kiss of Burlington, who also enthusiastically ran the 5K distance.

Ikey Spear of Women Helping Battered Women and Cathleen Wilson of the Women’s Rape Crisis Center addressed the crowd, too. Both were joined at the March by several representatives of each organization and other advocacy groups, all of whom came to help mobilize support for the March itself and for the efforts of their respective agencies. They brought along many outreach educational materials that they displayed on an information table set up for that purpose.

The March’s keynote speaker was Chief Tom Tremblay of the Burlington Police Department. Chief Tremblay spoke eloquently and passionately of the insidiousness of violence toward women, its unfortunate underreporting, the need of men to hold themselves more accountable for its prevention, and the important role that advocacy groups, like the ones present at the March, play in dealing with and combating this acute problem. Chief Tremblay and his wife and daughters also participated in the 5K.

When Marchers returned from their walk or run, they indulged in an abundance of refreshments generously donated by Costco, Shaw’s, Hannaford’s, and Aquafina; and enjoyed the music of Erik Larson, Laura’s cousin who came up from Manhattan the night before just to play guitar and sing for the occasion. Erik drew a reverential hush when he sang the beautiful song he had composed especially in memory of Laura.
Before Marchers dispersed, over 20 raffle prizes, also generously and enthusiastically donated by area merchants, were handed out to thrilled participants. Laura Miller, the lovely young daughter of JR and Denise Miller, two friends of Laura Winterbottom, helped select the winning raffle ticket-holders.

The March was exceedingly well-received and supported, and many expressed that they would be eagerly awaiting the next one. In fact, along with Erik, who vowed to bring band mates along for the 2008 March, other gratified and enthusiastic participants could be overheard making plans for the next March and offering suggestions for other types of fundraisers.
Afterwards, when all the proceeds of the day were tallied, board members learned that about $11,000 had been raised, not quite the amount ($150,000) erroneously reported by the press but an impressive amount, nevertheless, and one deeply appreciated by the LKW Fund and greatly needed by its immediate and future beneficiaries.

To all our supporters—Mayor Kiss, Chief Tremblay, our sponsors, marchers, volunteers, guest speakers and advocates, picture-takers, media representatives, our musician, and just observers-- in whatever capacity or manner you supported us, the LKW Fund says thank you so very, very much!

After Laura’s March, Barbara J. Bardin of Splash at the Boathouse and Let’s Pretend catered and donated a luncheon at Splash for family, old and new-found friends, and close associates of the LKW Fund and honored participants in Laura’s March. At Splash, which commands a proximate view of beautiful, expansive Lake Champlain, guests feasted on delectable hors d’oeurvres, hearty make-your-own sandwiches, assorted salads, and scrumptious desserts provided by Barb herself, a woman of unsurpassed generosity who darted in and out of the kitchen making sure everything was proceeding smoothly. She had little cause for concern as her competent and friendly wait staff worked without pause making sure trays were full and rotating. Generous in their own right, they donated not only their time but also their tips to the LKW Fund; and, when Farrell Brothers Distributing heard about our fundraiser and its purpose, they decided to provide the beverages free of charge. It should also be noted that Barb donated all proceeds from the cash bar to the Fund.

In case anyone has cause for concern about the paucity of acts of human kindness, we can state without reservation that magnanimity and generosity are alive and well and to be found in Burlington, Vermont and in the persons of Barb Bardin, the Farrell brothers, and the wait staff at Splash. Laura’s family and everyone on the board of the LKW Fund cannot express enough the depth of our gratitude to them.

When speaking of generous and good-hearted people, we must include, too, Sara and Ethan Brown of Great Harvest Bread Co. on Pine Street in Burlington. As they did last September, Sara and Ethan are once again donating a portion of the proceeds of cinnamon rolls sold during the entire month of September to the LKW Fund. If you are wondering why September and why cinnamon rolls, it is that September is the month during which Laura was born and, while she raved about all Great Harvest's breads and desserts, she was absolutely crazy about its cinnamon rolls and had to have once each time she went there--and that was often!

The Browns are doing this benefit sale in addition to their having provided the March with three raffle prizes of one free loaf of bread a month as well as a coupon for a free loaf of bread to each and every March registrant.

The Burlington community is fortunate to have not only a top notch bakery but also such exceptionally civic-minded merchants in its midst.

If you haven't already become a diehard patron of Great Harvest, stop in and learn first-hand what all the raves are about.

The Laura Kate Winterbottom Memorial Fund is pleased to announce that we have begun partnering with the Vermont Network Against Domestic and Sexual Violence. Due to the nature of Laura's death, and our ongoing sponsorship and support of the Women's Rape Crisis Center and Women Helping Battered Women, we are honored to work with the The VT Network in order to stop domestic and sexual violence. For more information on the VT Network, please visit:

http://www.vtnetwork.org//main.php//WhoWeAre/FindaMemberProgram

We believe we have a wonderful day planned and have even reserved a shelter where everyone can congregate after the walk (run) to relax and socialize. There will be refreshments, raffle prizes, music, and more!

We look upon this as an opportunity for community, friends, and family to come together to remember Laura, who was a frequent visitor both to Oakledge Park, where she liked to play tennis; and to the Burlington bike path, where she enjoyed either biking, running, or just walking.

We look upon this event, too, as an opportunity to honor Laura's memory, in this instance by raising funds to support two vital but under-funded programs, one run by Women Helping Battered Women and the other by the Women's Rape Crisis Center. For WHBW, the Fund plans to purchase kits containing books, games, and art projects to distribute to as many Chittenden County elementary schools as we can. These kits will be used in a WHBW support group for children affected by domestic violence. Similarly, for WRCC, the Fund intends to help finance a retreat or healing workshop for survivors of rape and sexual assault.

We hope that many of you will participate in Laura's March and help us in our mission. Be sure to mark this date on your calendar.

When we were introduced to Ellen, who is with the Department of Corrections, at a victim's advocacy breakfast at the State House in Montpelier a year ago, we were heartened by her genuine interest in our welfare and her commitment to assist us in her capacity as a Victim Service Specialist.

We are very fortunate to have Ellen in our lives and honored to have her on our board. Besides a good-natured and harmonious disposition, Ellen brings to us a wealth of experience and wisdom that we greatly value and appreciate.

Despite their youth, they impressed me as having composure and competence that belied their young ages. It was also apparent that they cared deeply about what had happened to Laura and to us. We were soon to learn that they would comfort, support, and advocate for us in more ways than we could have imagined and often beyond the scope of their professional obligations. Their sensitivity, compassion, and devotion touched us deeply. They, in fact, became our friends, the valued kind that know instinctively that sometimes all they have to do is just be with us or simply allow us to vent or express our pain. In late December, when Heather told me she was taking another job and would no longer be our advocate, I felt an immediate rush of conflicting emotions. Although I was truly happy for her, I felt sad for myself. I did not want to lose contact with her or lose her support. With the next breath, however, she announced she wanted to be on our Board. My first reaction was to laugh, partially out of nervous relief, but also because I could not believe what I was hearing. Her wanting to be on our Board caught me completely off guard. It was unbelievably good news!

Besides her resourcefulness and proven talent for tackling many projects, some at the same time, and accomplish all with remarkable success, Heather brings to us infectious good humor, boundless enthusiasm, and unflagging energy. We are thrilled to have Heather join us!

Laura and Leigh discovered Great Harvest when it first opened for business and took us there the very next time we were in Burlington. Needless to say, all of us became instant fans. Since then, every trip Ned, Aran, Marcelo, and I make to Burlington includes a requisite stop, sometimes more than one, at GH and, then, before we leave town, we stop by again to stock up on our favorites to take home with us.