Join in celebrating Dolly’s 80th birthday!

Our lifesize cardboard cutout of Dolly Parton lives full-time in the front lobby of The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham, but occasionally we field requests for her presence at local events.

On Saturday, Jan. 17, we’ll be driving Dolly to two celebrations to mark her 80th birthday.

Singer and songwriter Rebecca Porter hosts a January 19 celebration of Dolly Parton’s 80th birthday at Pale Fire. She’ll also be at Massanutten Regional Library at 11 a.m. for a chilldren’s party honoring Dolly. (Grow Explore Photography/Heather Goodloe)

At 11 a.m., you can find us at the Massanutten Regional Library with local singer-songwriter Rebecca Porter for a sing-along, cake, and a reading of Dolly’s children’s book Coat of Many Colors. This event is free and open to the public.

In the evening, our Dolly will be going just a few blocks away for a 7 p.m. benefit concert, titled “Back Through the Years: A Dolly Parton Birthday Celebration,” at Pale Fire Brewing. The concert is organized by Porter, and will feature her band the Rhinestone Roses, with special guests the Corrie Lynn Green Band, Emily Woodhull, Jonathan Paige Brown Jr., Lanusa, Mara Bella, and The Jess Estienne Band.

A portion of the proceeds of the evening concert will benefit the Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program, sponsored locally by The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door. Click here to purchase tickets. 

Give to the local Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program.

Porter, a lifelong fan, says joining in Dolly’s birthday celebrations provides the perfect opportunity “to give back to my local community, as Dolly has done so many times over the years.”

She and her son enjoyed receiving Imagination Library books and Coat of Many Colors is still one of their favorites. “I was amazed and thankful for the variety of books we received over the years, books that are still in his collection!” she said.

Approximately 3,430 children, or 44% of residents under the age of five in the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County area participate in the program. Cost runs about $16,000 a month, with half of the tab picked up by the state of Virginia. Local branches must purchase the books and pay for the mailing costs as well as provide administrative support, while The Dollywood Foundation selects the books, manages the global program and the monthly mailings.

“We’re grateful to local donors who want to support literacy education and sponsors like Lakeside Book Company for helping to cover our monthly expenses,” said Lauren Jefferson, director of programs and marketing at TCFHR.

The program has been proven to increase school readiness, relationships with caregivers, and attitudes toward reading.

Dolly has long quoted her father, Lee Parton, in his belief that despite the global and iconic success of his daughter as a singer-songwriter, it was the founding this literacy development program is her best achievement. Lee Parton, a successful businessman and family provider despite his illiteracy, told her that in 2000 just before he passed away, when the program was just five years old.

Twenty-five years later, the program has donated more than 270 million books to children under the age of five in four countries — including to more than 2,000 “graduates” who have aged out of the program in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.

Eighth annual Great Community Give set to surpass historic giving mark

Great Community Give helped the Explore More Discovery Museum fund a summer teen internship program. (Courtesy photo)

Approximately 149 nonprofits serving Harrisonburg and Rockingham County will participate in the eighth annual Great Community Give on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. The online giving day, hosted by The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham (TCFHR), has raised more than $9.2 million since the first year.

If this year’s giving follows past patterns, the $10 million mark will be reached by 10 a.m.

“When The Community Foundation started this event eight years ago, we never dreamed that our community would raise $10 million dollars for area nonprofits,” said Revlan Hill, executive director. “Our thanks go out to our wonderful team of sponsors, volunteers, and of course, the donors who come back every year to make this event so successful.”

Goals for this year include raising $2 million and increasing the number of donors.

Silk Moth Stage used Great Community Give funding to increase audience accessibility. Their innovative efforts have offered a model to other theater groups. Interpreter Melissa Black (right) signs next the stage during a performance of “Underneath the Lintel” in May 2024 at Silk Moth Stage in Bridgewater. (Courtesy photo)

“Last year’s total of $2.2 million was raised with the help of more than 7,600 donors, and we’d love to surpass both of those numbers,” said Lauren Jefferson, director of programs and marketing at TCFHR. “We’d also love to grow our reach to people that may not know about the event and are giving for the first time. For each of the past two years, we’ve had about 2,200 donors who are totally new to the event and have never donated before. It would be fun to see that number rise!”

Giving is as easy as visiting www.greatcommunitygive.org, searching for an organization or a cause to support, and putting a donation into a virtual cart. Donors can support multiple organizations efficiently.

“Supporting our local nonprofits and the valuable services they offer our community members is more important than ever,” Jefferson said. “We encourage donors to help us spread the word about this event and join in a really unique day that celebrates all the hard work being done to make our community a better, healthier place.”

Generous sponsors contribute to a prize pool of approximately $76,000, all of which goes back to the nonprofits through hourly contests and random drawings.

The day kicks off at 6 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. Giving isn’t limited to just one day: Donors can also give cash or checks directly to the nonprofits from April 2-15.

Here’s how last year’s donations helped four organizations:

  • Explore More Discovery Museum funded updates to their creative studio workshop, their teen internship program, Career Saturdays with area professionals, and preschool programs.
  • Village to Village hosted a week-long free camp for more than 60 refugee students  who built relationships through workshops, games and meals with 50 community volunteers.
  • Silk Moth Stage, a theater that has pioneered accessibility in Virginia, used some of the donation from Great Community Give to provide American Sign Language interpretation at several

    Village to Village used GCG funding to fund a summer camp for refugee children. (Courtesy photo)

    performances. “Other theaters have reached out to me for advice about adding ASL and other accessibility practices since they saw how positive it was for Silk Moth Stage,” said Aili Huber, artistic director.

  • Still Meadows Enrichment Center and Camp, a therapeutic riding center and outdoor facility, used the funds from GCG to maintain railings on the accessible treehouse; purchase day camp supplies; and expand their riding activities with new equipment.

 

The Community Foundation Awards $25,000 to….

The Community Foundation Awards $25,000 to….

Since 1998, twenty-five years ago, The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County (TCFHR) has been a champion for this community, always thinking of donors’ interests and highlighting area needs. On October 5, TCFHR hosted a celebration for their 25 years of service to the Valley. The evening, set at Explore More Discovery Museum, was filled with joyous conversation and heartening speeches by past and current TCFHR leaders. Donors, professional advisors, partners, board members, past leadership, and staff joined to share our love for the place we call home.

In honor of their 25th anniversary, TCFHR announced to nonprofit organizations in the summer that they would award a special $25,000 grant to a selected nonprofit. Nonprofits who applied to TCFHR’s Giving Back application would be considered. The event committee reviewed 66 worthy applications and selected nine for the full TCFHR Board to consider. The Board then selected the three finalists. It was then the event attendees’ turn to decide. Attendees were integral to the festivities, as they would determine the nonprofit awardee of a $25,000 grant by an anonymous ballot vote.

As the event ended, TCFHR staff announced the nonprofit that received the most votes and would accept the $25,000 award. With a drum roll, TCFHR announced to the group that First Step: A Response to Domestic Violence, Inc. would receive $25,000 towards their project, Emergency Crisis Intervention and Advocacy Services for Survivors of Domestic Violence. At 6:59 PM, Candy Phillips, First Step Executive Director, answered the call. On speakerphone with the audience, Candy heard as the attendees applauded. “We appreciate this. This really means a lot to First Step and everybody here and everyone that we serve. Thank you so much!” – Candy Phillips, on speakerphone.

The Community Foundation would like to thank all their partners for an incredible 25 years. It is an honor and absolute privilege to serve this community, and we appreciate your continued support. Additionally, thank you to Explore More Discovery Museum for providing a beautiful space for our event. THANK YOU!

About The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County
The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County makes it easy to give back to the community we love.
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Great Community Give Raises $2 Million for Area Nonprofits

GREAT COMMUNITY GIVE DAY 2023: TWO MILLION RAISED  

Harrisonburg, VA – The 6TH annual GREAT COMMUNITY GIVE was held today, Wednesday, April 19, 6:30am-8pm.  As Harrisonburg and Rockingham County’s community-wide day of “Giving”, GREAT COMMUNITY GIVE wants nonprofits to have the resources they need to succeed in their missions. Their totals for all six years: $7,118,248. Past results are as follows:

2018, 53 nonprofits participated with $276,820 raised.

2019, 89 nonprofits participated with $536,300 raised.

2020, 102 nonprofits participated with $804,216 raised.

2021, 116 nonprofits participated with $1,776,878 raised.

2022, 125 nonprofits participated with $1,727,489 raised.

Official Totals as of 8:00PM, April 19, 2023

Participating Nonprofit Agencies:  148

Dollars Raised:  $2,000,545

Total Number of Unique Donors: 7,684

Praises to area media and financial sponsors demonstrating generosity and interest in supporting Great Community Give, the participating nonprofit agencies and the organizers of the event.  We thank you!

About The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg & Rockingham County

The Community Foundation makes charitable giving easy for the community we love. For more information, visit tcf-stage.stage3.estlandhosting.com/.