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    Dripping Springs Community Foundation President Susan Santamaria presents a $2,500 check to Pam Owens, President and CEO of the Visitors Bureau. PHOTO COURTESY OF THE DRIPPING SPRINGS VISITORS BUREAU.

Christmas lights money raised by Visitors Bureau

An August summer effort to raise money for Christmas lights for Mercer Street was a huge success.

The Visitors Bureau raised $19,393 for Christmas holiday lighting, which included $2,500 matching seed money from the Dripping Springs Community Foundation.

"It has been so exciting to see how the Dripping Springs resident and local
businesses got behind this project.” Pam Owens, President and CEO of the Visitors Bureau, said. “It was very fun to see all the positive comments and engagement on social media. Thank you to the Community Foundation for the seed money. It is obvious Dripping Springs people wanted the lights!"

Susan Santamaria, President of the Dripping Springs Community Foundation, made similar comment about the community coming together. “The Visitors’ Center were awarded a challenge grant from the Dripping Springs Community Foundation (DSCF) for their goal of new Holiday lights,” Santamaria said. “They wanted $10,000 and the DSCF awarded them $2500 on the condition that they raise the additional $7500. The DSCF felt that this challenge grant would prompt the community to a call for action and, in fact, that is exactly what happened.  The DSCF is very pleased that we could provide the impetus for this community-wide fundraising event to provide new Holiday lights that the entire community can enjoy and be Drippin’ proud of.”

The reason the money was raised, Owens explained, is that the City of Dripping Springs does not have a lot of available funds in the budget to improve on existing decorations. Likewise, most merchants within downtown Dripping Springs and the historical district are small businesses that also lack budgets for community decoration. “So, it was important to take advantage of this opportunity and raise the money now, while the matching grant was available,” Owens said.

Owens said she believes the holiday lights are important from an economic perspective. She explained that while most towns in our area, like Johnson City, Fredericksburg, and Wimberley have ornate and festive holiday displays perfectly ordained around the town centers, the Christmas decorations in Dripping Springs have often been described as lack-luster. “The majority of visitors to other Hill Country towns pass through Dripping Springs where the few holiday trimmings make it appear that our community has nothing special to offer. Consequently, our spectacular neighbors reap the benefits of holiday economic prosperity and community spirit. People go and spend an evening in those other towns—having dinner there and shopping there, instead of in our restaurants and shops,” Owens said.

Christmas light donations can still be made online at destinationdrippingsprings.com/holidays, or mail a check to PO Box 206 or drop a check or cash off at the Visitors Bureau office at 509 Mercer Street.

“The Visitors Bureau is happy to help ‘light up Mercer Street,’” Owens said, “Each individual, family, HOA or organization who donates, will have their names on a banner prominently displayed on Mercer Street throughout the holidays. Our goal is to light up Mercer Street from east to west-- then next we’ll go to historic Old Fitzhugh Road. This is a great way to better our community.”

About the Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau:

The Dripping Springs Visitors Bureau is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization devoted to promoting tourism, providing residents with community information and supporting the Dripping Springs Chamber of Commerce and the City of Dripping Springs in their missions. For more information, visit: destinationdrippingsprings.com .

About the Dripping Springs Community Foundation:

DSCF serves as a resource for donors and for local non-profit organizations by encouraging and facilitating philanthropic gifts and by delivering grants, training, support and visibility to organizations that provide services to the residents in the greater Dripping Springs Area. For more information on this 501(c)3 non-profit organization, visit: dscommunityfoundation.org .

 

 

 

Dripping Springs Century-News

P.O. Box 732
Dripping Springs, Texas 78620

Phone: (512) 858-4163
Fax: (512) 847-9054