Milestone birthdays are always cause for great celebration, bringing family and friends together to honor a loved one. At the Community Foundation of Middlesex County (CFMC), we are humbled by amazing individuals who choose to mark their special day with a forever gift to our community. Some establish an endowed fund through CFMC to support a specific organization or area of interest, now and well into the future. Others create an unrestricted fund to provide support for changing and evolving needs. All are creating a legacy of love, hope, and connection and are inspiring stories that we love to share.

One such story highlights a family whose goodwill knows no bounds. Amy Hollis, the caring and compassionate executive director of the Shoreline Soup Kitchens and Pantries (SSKP), is known for her joy, dedication, and love of community, qualities she shared with her late husband, Scott. In 2021, the couple, along with their daughters Kate and Sarah, began brainstorming meaningful ways to celebrate Amy and Scott’s 50th birthdays while navigating serious health challenges and a global pandemic. As a family, they knew they wanted to do something more than a party and balloons. That “something” became the Hollis Rainbows of Hope Fund at CFMC to help local nonprofits provide for the basic needs of struggling community members, today and forever. To Amy, rainbows represent hope, connection, blessings, and the beauty of combined efforts, all outcomes the family hopes the Fund will achieve.

While Amy works tirelessly through SSKP to alleviate food insecurity and hunger, the Hollis family realizes that basic needs can be so much more than that, such as overcoming barriers to adequate housing, social support, and more. They also know that the “basic need” of today may be different in the future. That’s why they chose to partner with CFMC and establish an unrestricted endowed fund. They wanted to ensure their support was given where it was needed most and that their gift would benefit new organizations as the community’s needs change in the decades to come. In Scott’s words, it was a “win-win” way of making a very real and lasting difference.

Scott, Amy, Kate, and Sarah are shining examples of grassroots philanthropy and community building at their best. We are forever grateful for their friendship and partnership, and we were honored to help the Hollis family fulfill their birthday goal before Scott’s passing in 2022. We are thankful for all our valued donors whose gifts, small or large, are having a great impact in all areas of interest — animal welfare, arts and culture, health and social services, history, education, the environment, economic security, civic improvements, recreation, and so much more. We would love to hear your story and discuss the ways you can help your community thrive, now and forever. We are proud to be accredited with National Standards for U.S. Community Foundations®, the nation’s highest and most rigorous standard for philanthropic excellence. Visit us at MiddlesexCountyCF.org or call us at 860-347-0025 to get the conversation started.