Martha’s Vineyard Community Services will host its 46th Possible Dreams auction Sunday as the organization seeks to raise about $10 million for a complete revamp of its campus.
Comedian and late-night talk show host Seth Meyers takes the stage once again as emcee and Sherry Truhlar returns as auctioneer. Possible Dreams include a signed Celtics basketball from the championship team, a private party at the Ritz in Oak Bluffs and a Sleepless in Seattle lunch at Mr. Meyers’ home with Meg Ryan and producer Gary Foster.
Martha’s Vineyard Community Services (MVCS) is a hub for all manner of essential social services on the Island, from addiction counseling to mental health care, disability services and domestic violence support.
CEO Beth Folcarelli said that one in four Islanders rely on the organization, which is currently in the midst of a capital campaign to completely overhaul its aging campus from the ground up.
Ms. Folcarelli said that the decision to rebuild the entire campus was not made lightly.
“We’ve had multiple conversations, even since my arrival in 2020, as to whether a rebuild was necessary or [if] we could refurbish what was on the campus,” she said. “It was a slam dunk answer that we really needed to rebuild. It’s so dilapidated, so old, so antiquated.”
The organization received approval for the rebuild from the Martha’s Vineyard Commission in 2019. It then spent the last several years assessing its priorities and the costs of the project.
Assessments showed a leaky foundation, unreliable internet, walls so thin that sound machines are used to obscure clients’ private conversations and below-grade buildings that lack enough space for daily operations and flood when it rains.
To fund the project, the organization must raise $17.5 million, $7.7 million of which has been accounted for. It will break ground on the new facility once $12.5 million is pledged — a benchmark Ms. Folcarelli hopes to clear by the end of the calendar year. She said the goal is to complete the project by September 2026.
Film producer and philanthropist Gary Foster chairs the capital campaign committee.
“People on all ends of the spectrum feel this is important,” Mr. Foster said. “All families deal with things, MVCS is who you call.”
Ms. Folcarelli said the organization is seeking grant funding to supplement donations, and secured a grant last year to furnish part of the new building.
“We’re looking at all sources to fund this project,” she said. “Nothing is off the table.”
Phase one of the capital campaign concluded with the construction of the new Early Childhood Center, completed in 2021. The building was dedicated to Paul and Sandra Pimentel in a ceremony last month to honor a $2 million donation from Jim and Susan Swartz — the largest donation in the history of Community Services.
The Pimentels are longtime friends of Jim and Susan Swartz and have served on the board of Community Services for a combined 40 years. Mr. Pimentel, who died 2019, was Mr. Swartz’s college roommate.
“Paul was a brilliant engineer, humble and kind to all and a mentor to so many,” Mr. Swartz said at the dedication ceremony. “Sandy, with degrees in human resources and nursing, has devoted her life to improve the lives of so many children, teens and adults. It gives Susan and me a great honor to honor them.”
Phase two of the project includes the demolition and rebuilding of the remainder of the existing campus. Currently, the campus consists of many detached buildings, each housing different services. The rebuild will condense all of these buildings into one singular structure. Ms. Folcarelli said this change will promote unity among the different departments and programs.
Scott Turton, who serves as vice president of quality and clinical operations at Community Services, said that every choice, down to the color of the walls, was made with the intention of comforting and empowering everyone who enters the facility.
Mr. Turton is a licensed clinical social worker who sees clients on campus while also overseeing the department. He said he has used his clinical experience to advise the board of directors on how to optimize the new building to serve vulnerable clients. He feels that a welcoming and hopeful physical space is crucial to patients’ willingness to seek care, as well as their ability to benefit from it.
“[For] somebody who’s struggling with their day-to-day life, walking into a building that has an open, light energy to it is huge,” he said. “That is a message that we give to people: that they are valued and respected in the service we are providing them.”
The new building will also be completely accessible.
In addition to benefiting patients, Mr. Turton said the rebuild will aid staff and administrators in doing their work and, ultimately, taking care of themselves. Present issues, such as a dearth of space for staff to take breaks and hold meetings, are addressed in the site plan.
“We absorb a lot of what people bring to us — in their struggles, in the traumas they’ve experienced in their lives,” Mr. Turton said. “You want the building to be as uplifting as possible.”
According to Ms. Folcarelli, planning for the new campus has also helped the organization consider how it will function in the future. The board of directors is set to approve a three-year strategic plan at the end of July that will expand services and strengthen ties with other Island organizations, including the hospital and Martha’s Vineyard Public Schools.
Central to this plan, she said, is hiring more medical staff and administrators.
“The services that we offer depend on having employees to be able to deliver our services,” Ms. Folcarelli said.
For Mr. Foster, the organization’s role as a hub for services means its continued growth is vital for Islanders.
“There are lots of organizations on the Island worthy of attention, but I think MVCS is the anchor,” Mr. Foster said.
The 46th annual Possible Dreams auction takes place Sunday, July 21 at 4 p.m. at the Winnetu Oceanside Resort. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit mvcommunityservices.org.
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