PLYMOUTH —
It’s simple math. If every one of the 10 million or so descendants of the original Mayflower Pilgrims donated 10 cents, Plymouth 400 Inc. would collect $1 million.
So, call this a good start.
The General Society of Mayflower Descendants, the organization that represents those individuals, has given $10,000 to the nonprofit organization planning the town’s 400th anniversary.
That money will actually double, to $20,000, because it will be applied toward the state’s $250,000 matching grant.
The head of the General Society, Governor General Bruce MacGunnigle, visited Plymouth from his home in Rhode Island recently to present the check, and did so at a joint meeting of town’s 400th Anniversary Committee and the nonprofit Plymouth 400 Inc.
Kevin O’Reilly, president of 400 Inc., and Anniversary Committee Chairman Dicky Quintal officially thanked MacGunnigle and, after posing for pictures, called up local businessman (and anniversary committee member) Tim Turner.
Turner built a scale model wetu – a bark-covered domed hut used by several northeastern Native American tribes, including the Wampanoag – for use in last year’s Thanksgiving parade. Then he decided to raffle the wetu to raise funds for the 400th.
Ticket sales from the wetu raffle raised $250, which will also be used toward the matching portion of the grant, so the donation will be effectively doubled to $500.
Reilly said that the amount Turner raised was almost immaterial. His effort were especially important, he noted, because it would serve to inspire other individuals to play a part in the anniversary celebration.
“Your hard work and generosity is an inspiration to all of us who share your love of America’s rich heritage and cultural diversity, as well as the many exciting opportunities of the 400th anniversary of Plymouth,” Reilly noted in an official thank you sent to Turner.
In the official thanks to MacGunnigle and the General Society O’Reilly noted that the generous donation will help the committee meet the challenge of the matching grant and ultimately help fund the numerous events commemorating the arrival of the Pilgrims and the establishment of the town of Plymouth.
“Thanks to the generosity of our donors and supporters we are already hard at work developing our calendar of events,” O’Reilly wrote, “and establishing a traveling exhibit that will bring the story of the cultural contributions and American traditions that began with the interaction of the Wampanoag and English peoples to locations across the nation.”
Meanwhile, the nonprofit is closing in on another goal – the 1,500 commemorative license plate requests needed before the state orders the plate-design work. The total of plates requested has now reached 1,024.
Read more: 400TH ANNIVERSARY PLANNING: Contributions rolling in – Plymouth, MA – Wicked Local Plymouth http://www.wickedlocal.com/plymouth/news/x1217101220/400TH-ANNIVERSARY-PLANNING-Contributions-rolling-in#ixzz27fqZ9zsa
