“We’re delighted to have this first-ever event at Kilmore Farm and we hope it’s going to be a tradition for us,” Ruth Ann McSpadden, Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center (EWECC) Board Chair, told Hamptons.com at the Center’s Spring into Summer Benefit: A Barn Dance at Kilmore Farm. “We’re very delighted to honor Ba and Jim Edwards who have been wonderful friends and supporters of the Center.”
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Ba Edwards. (Photo: Nicole Barylski) |
On Saturday, June 4th, guests at Kilmore Farm in Wainscott came together to celebrate local youth, dance to tunes from Roadhouse Band, toast to summer with wine from Amagansett Spirits and Montauk Brewing Company beer, and support the Center by bidding on live and silent auction items.
The evening paid tribute to Ba and Jim Edwards. “They’ve been very steadfast supporters for the last ten years. Ba’s a member of our board,” explained McSpadden. “There are many people who do work very quietly, and without fanfare. I think sometimes you just have to take the time and single those people out and say thank-you.”
Ba’s passion for EWECC shined through when discussing the organization. “I love the Center so much. My husband and I are amazed that they would want to honor us because we just do what we do because we love doing it for the Center. It’s a special, special place,” she said. All the children that are out here, they don’t have enough activities to do, enough languages to learn. They need skills at a young age; to learn to read, to learn to write. Studies have shown that the younger you get that skill, the better you will be.”
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Eleanor Whitmore. (Photo: Nicole Barylski) |
Eleanor Whitmore is absolutely thrilled with the progress of EWECC. “I’ve always been involved in community work, always,” explained Whitmore, who the Center was named after. “And I’ve been on the board [of the Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center] for 30 years, so I’ve seen it transform from being in mobile homes to the wonderful building we have now, which is beautiful.” She’s incredibly proud of the work the Center does. “It’s so important. We do a wonderful job with the children. We have 110 children and we do a super job,” she added. “There’s a lot in the future for us. It seems that everybody, including the school board, is very happy with what we’re doing. It’s just marvelous.”
For more information about Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center, call 631-324-5560 or visit ewecc.org.
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