Martha’s Vineyard Community Services is $3 million closer to rebuilding its Oak Bluffs campus thanks to the largest single donation in the organization’s history.
The major gift from Martha’s Vineyard seasonal resident Jacqueline Morby, her daughter Michelle Morby and son Andrew Morby, was announced by Community Services early this week.
“It felt incredible,” Community Services capital campaign chairman Gary Foster told the Gazette by phone Thursday morning, describing his reaction when he first learned about the donation last month. “I got a call from Beth Folcarelli, who is our CEO, and she played it calm and then she told me what the outcome was and obviously it was very exciting.” He added: “It’s a very significant number, not just for this campaign, but in the history of our organization.”
The Island’s lone umbrella social services organization was founded more than half a century ago, and Community Services launched the $17.5 million capital campaign three years ago to overhaul its aging campus off the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road.
Community Services programs include early childhood services, mental health counseling, domestic violence prevention and awareness and substance use disorder treatment, among others. The current campus is made of multiple detached buildings, some old and dilapidated; a planned new two-story building, which will be universally accessible, will bring most of the services under one roof.
The gift from the Morby family comes close on the heels of another major donation. Early this summer Edgartown seasonal residents Jim and Susan Swartz gave $2 million to Community Services, which will include renaming the early childhood center for Sandra Pimentel and her late husband Paul Pimentel.
The Morby gift announced this week will also include naming the main building on the new campus for the Morby family.
“It takes a special family to do something like that and we are so grateful to the Morbys,” Mr. Foster said. “They certainly believe in what we’re doing.”
To date more than $11 million has been raised toward the $17.5 million goal. Construction is planned to begin in 2025, with completion planned for 2026.
The Morbys said they first learned about Community Services through Ms. Pimentel, who is a family friend and has been active in Community Services.
“It seemed to me that [Community Services] was supplying wonderful support for the community,” Jacqueline Morby told the Gazette on Wednesday.
The donation is being made in memory of Ms. Morby’s late husband Jeffrey, who died last year. Dedicated philanthropists, the couple co-founded the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, an organization that funds research about the disease.
The couple met at Stanford University, married and undertook careers in banking and private equity, according to a statement from Community Services. Ms. Morby said the donation holds extra meaning for her because, as an undergraduate, she majored in psychology before making her way into finance.
“It means a great deal to be able to make a difference in the quality of life for families and to know that what we invest today, together, will enhance mental health and other services for new generations — in space designed to foster wellness,” she said.
Daughter Michelle Morby said the family was interested in helping the wider support network on the Vineyard.
“As ‘summer people,’ we especially want Islanders to thrive year round, because Martha’s Vineyard gives so much to our family when we are here,” she said in a statement. “For us there is no more meaningful legacy to one’s community than to leave it better than when one found it.”
Mr. Foster spoke with excitement about the prospect for a new campus and the outlook for Community Services.
“We’ll all be in one spot and it’ll be modern and technologically up to date and just a safe, comforting place . . . . I think the Islanders deserve that,” he said, concluding:
“I’m a big believer in communal space and energy and having everyone under one roof which will be a really big thing for morale . . . We’re building this for us.”
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