Ladies of Ellicottville Ski Club at Holiday Valley Present $9200 Check to Nannen Arboretum
On February 16, 2018, the ladies of the Ellicottville Ski Club at Holiday Valley held their 13th annual “ESC Ladies’ Day”. As a result of the day of skiing, and the dinner complete with raffles and live auction that followed, the women raised $9200 to benefit this year’s recipient, the Nannen Arboretum.
What began 13 years ago as an informal ski day followed by a dinner prepared by the men of club has grown to be an annual fundraising event. To date, the women have now raised over $71,000 for various area charities. Past recipients include Family Support for Ellicottville, the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program at Holiday Valley, the Ellicottville Memorial Library, Mercy Flight of Western New York, Susan G. Komen for the Cure of WNY, Almost Home Animal Sanctuary, Alzheimer’s Association of WNY, The March of Dimes of WNY, the Ellicottville Community Food Pantry, and last year’s recipient, Cattaraugus Community Action.
In addition to donations from ESC members, nearly every local business contributed to this year’s silent and live auction as well as a ticket raffle. Laura DeCinque, co-chair of the annual ESC Ladies’ Day event commented, “Our event is so successful thanks to the area businesses as well as the ESC members and their generous contributions over the past thirteen years.“
The Nannen Arboretum is an 8-acre sanctuary for hundreds of trees, shrubs, perennial flowers and herbs. Guests are invited to experience the nature walks, bridges, and gardens such as the Japanese meditation garden, and the herb and perennial gardens. The Arboretum is located at 28 Parkside Drive in Ellicottville, is free to the public and open every day from dawn to dusk.
The $9200 donation from the Ellicottville Ski Club Ladies’ Day directly enables the Arboretum to jumpstart their 2018 goal to ensure that the walkways and paths at the Arboretum become ADA accessible. Estimates for the project are over $20,000. Other initiatives the Arboretum has determined for 2018 are a “clean up” day to restore damage done to the trees during a March storm, a redesign of the herb garden, enhancing the Arboretum image through social media, and the recruitment of volunteers.
Pat Kerl, a member of the Nannen Arboretum Society, stated, “We are overwhelmed and so grateful to all the local businesses and the members of the Ellicottville Ski Club that helped support the ladies in their annual fundraiser. And we are thrilled to be the recipient this year!”
Anyone interested in making a donation, obtaining information about special events, or volunteering at the Nannen Arboretum may contact either Pat Kerl or Nan Miller at info@nannenarboretum.com. Visit the Arboretum’s Facebook page, Nannen Arboretum Society, or via Instagram at nannenarboretum