The LVIS – Supporting the East Hampton Community Since 1895

The LVIS has been planting and caring for the Village’s trees for 125 years and this group of dedicated women is still going strong. The LVIS supports the East Hampton Village community in many important ways. They award scholarships to students each year. They plant trees to enhance the beauty of the village, and monitor them to keep them healthy. To support their work, the LVIS maintains several popular secondhand shops at their Main Street headquarters. They also host an annual fair on the headquarters grounds. Hamptons.com recently spoke with several LVIS members.

The LVIS began with tree planting. Olivia Brooks, the head of the tree planting program, most likely the oldest private/public tree program in the U.S. today, has served in that post since 2008. In its early days, Olivia explains, East Hampton Village had very few street trees. Around 1895 some local women saw that nobody was doing anything to make the village beautiful and they decided to take action. They thought tree roots could help stabilize the soil – the dirt roads were very dusty – and that planting trees could help stabilize the soil – the dirt roads were very dusty – and that planting trees could help, and would also bring some beauty to the village. As a lifelong village resident, Olivia feels a sense of ownership and a desire to help keep the village beautiful. “I was a tree hugger as a kid,” she says. She’s been chairing the tree program since 2008. The trees are planted by a local nursery company and treated organically for their first 3 years, to help them settle into their environment. A pruning program is run in cooperation with the village. A committee of LVIS members examine the trees in groups, with each group responsible for checking trees on certain streets to make sure they look healthy, their lawns are well groomed and dedication plaques are clean and undamaged. “I have a committee of about 30 members,” Olivia says. Damaged or ailing trees get replaced, as do any damaged plaques.

Another important mission of the LVIS is awarding college scholarships to East Hampton High School students, which they’ve been doing since the 1970s. Sarah Minardi heads the Student Awards committee. “We started with one scholarship for $50,” explains Debbie Walter, who was the chair of the committee for 25 years before handing the role over to Sarah in 2019. “Now we award 24 scholarships, worth over $100,000 each year.” Students receive half of their scholarship for their freshman year and the second half for their sophomore year. There are also four Memorial Awards of $10,000 each – two in honor of Dudley Roberts, one honoring Richard Ryan and the final honoring Joan Schnall. Those who are awarded these highest distinctions have their names engraved on special plaques that hang in the upstairs hallway of the LVIS’s Gardiner Brown House at 95 Main Street in East Hampton Village. In addition, a scholarship in honor of Madelon deVoe Talley, available each year in the fall, may be awarded to one or two women 25 years or older living in East Hampton Town who plan to, or who have already, returned to school to complete an undergraduate degree.

The committee uses a point system to determine recipients. “It’s very fair,” says Debbie, “Students must write two essays, one of which asks “If you could meet anyone living today, who would you choose and why?” Applicants also describe their community service projects, writing about what their favorite community service is and why. “The library is very supportive of community service projects,” says Debbie. The LVIS scholarship program “is very rewarding, on both sides,” she explains, and two previous scholarship recipients currently serve on the Scholarship Committee.

The LVIS is probably best known for their second-hand shops on Main Street, and for the annual summer fair that’s held on their property. The shops are in the house that serves as the LVIS headquarters and office; each room holds a different category of merchandise, all carefully organized, each by a different set of member volunteers. There are rooms for books, organized by category. There are rooms for women’s, men’s and children’s clothes, all laundered and pressed, organized seasonally and by category – formal wear, dresses, sweaters, pants, ties, t-shirts, shoes department. The shops are open Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm.

The LVIS fair takes place this year on Saturday, June 11 from 10am to 3pm on the LVIS grounds. There will be music all day, food trucks, playland for kids, plant sale and more. A highlight of the event is a Silent Auction, chaired by Patti Ferrin (she’s also in charge of memberships). A large committee – about 35 people – works on the auction. Some committee members obtain prizes, some organize items on the auction website, others check that all the info on the website is correct. “People buy from all over the country,” Patti says, “they find us.” She gathers the golf items and has had people bid from Florida. Local stores are very generous, as are people in the community. “We include the urls of local businesses with their auction items,” explains Patti, “so people can find them online. Covid was great for the auction because people were home.” This year’s LVIS fair is on June 11. The auction closes at 3pm the day of the fair.

For more info, visit lvis.org