The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Awards $295,000

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation Awards $295,000 to Revitalize Local Gardens, Catalyze Public Art Project Featuring Prominent Sculptor

Investment to Benefit All who Visit Point Defiance Park, Lakewold Gardens, University of Washington, Tacoma

The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation has awarded $295,000 in grants to four local nonprofits to renovate local gardens, support a prominent new public art project, and improve infrastructure.



The investment comes from the Donald R. and Mary E. Williams Horticulture and Donald R. and Mary E. Williams Arts funds, established from the $15 million Williams bequest. Grants range in size from $15,000 to $155,000.

“These grants are among the first of many extraordinary investments in our community that Don and Mary’s gift will make possible,” said Rose Lincoln Hamilton, president and CEO of The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation. “It’s been a privilege to honor their legacy by supporting projects that align with their passions and make a significant difference in our community.”

Funded projects include:

 

• Tacoma Garden Club: A $155,000 grant for the renovation of the one-acre meadow in the Northwest Native Plant Garden at Point Defiance Park. The project includes redesign and reconstruction of the area to combat invasive trees and plantings, as well as additional educational components to teach visitors about the featured species and roles they play in various local ecosystems. Groundbreaking is anticipated mid-2013.

 

• University of Washington Tacoma: A three-year grant totaling $75,000 for the Japanese Language School Memorial project. The grant is a matching gift, funding approximately half the project costs. The Memorial will commemorate and share the history of the Japanese Language School with a new public art piece designed by prominent artist Gerard Tsutakawa.

 

• Lakewold Gardens: A $50,000 grant to redesign and renovate a 10,000 square foot area at the entrance of the Garden, to be known as the Don and Mary Williams Garden Room.

 

• WW Seymour Conservatory: A $15,000 grant to transition from an outdated manual environmental control system to an efficient automated heating and ventilation system.

Supporting Horticulture:

Mary Williams had a lifelong love of horticulture, a heart for volunteering, and a passion for beautifying the community. She was an avid gardener and devoted member of The Tacoma Garden Club (TGC), which received the largest grant for the Northwest Native Plant Garden in Point Defiance Park. For almost 50 years, The TGC has maintained the Garden, which features a wide variety of northwest native plants, through a partnership with Metro Parks Tacoma.

“Mary worked tirelessly in the Northwest Native Plant Garden for more than 27 years,” said Barb Dalton, Northwest Native Plant Garden Chair of The TGC.

“With this generous gift, we’re able to proactively address some of the challenges facing our fifty-year-old garden and finally transform the meadow into an important education component. By naming the meadow in her honor, Mary’s love and commitment to this unique place will forever be remembered in a special way.”

“The transformed Meadow will be an inviting public place for families, and future generations, to enjoy,” added Lincoln Hamilton.

Advancing Public Art:

A three-year lead grant totaling $75,000 was also awarded to the University of Washington, Tacoma for the Japanese Language School Memorial project. The Japanese Language School opened in 1911 to teach Japanese culture and language to Japanese American children. It was an important center for the community to gather until WWII, when Japanese American residents were sent to internment camps. Few returned after the war.

“The grant from the Don and Mary Williams Arts Fund has provided generous and vital leverage toward completion of the Japanese Language School Memorial, featuring a large Gerard Tsutakawa sculpture in the heart of the UW Tacoma campus,” said Joshua Knudson, Vice Chancellor for Advancement.

“The memorial will establish a world-class public art installation, recognizing the history of the Japanese Language School, which served the Japanese American community that thrived in downtown before WWII.”

The memorial is expected to be completed within one year’s time and will be incorporated within the overall Prairie Line Trail Design, along a major pedestrian and bicycle thoroughfare. The featured Northwest artist, Gerard Tsutakawa, is well-known for his sculpture “Mitt” at Safeco Field.

“This project both memorializes an important part of our community’s history and supports the University that both Don and Mary attended,” said Lincoln Hamilton.

“Art is a part of what makes our community so vibrant, and this new addition will be an important piece for our region.”

About Donald and Mary Williams:



Don and Mary Williams were quiet individuals who cared deeply for the Tacoma community. Long-time residents, the couple shared a passion for community involvement, quietly supporting numerous charitable causes with their

time and financial resources.

Don served on a number of Boards, including The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation, Tacoma Boys & Girls Club, Young Men’s Business Club, Tacoma Goodwill Industries and the Tacoma Club.

Mary was active in The Tacoma Garden Club and served as the Alumni Advisor for the Alpha Phi Sorority Chapter at the University of Puget Sound for a number of years. She also served a term as President of the Tacoma Orthopedic Association and was an active member of Fircrest Golf Club’s Women’s Golf Association.

Don and Mary Williams’s generous bequest of $15 million was entrusted to the Community Foundation in 2011. It was the largest single gift received in the Community Foundation’s history. Grants distributed from the Williams’s horticulture and art funds were recommended by advisory committees of The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation and approved by its Board of Directors.

###

About The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation



The Greater Tacoma Community Foundation is a philanthropic organization and trusted partner with the Pierce County community, fostering generosity by connecting people who care with causes that matter. Building a safe, vibrant, engaged community is central to the mission of the Community Foundation. Over the last 31 years, the Community Foundation has distributed more than $87 million in grants and currently manages $80 million in assets. Please visit our website at www.gtcf.org.