The Passing of a Dear Friend
David Helms, the long-time mayor of my hometown, passed away on Wednesday after a short illness. One of the reasons
Marion, Virginia was and continues to be special to me can be attributed to Mayor Helms. I have been blessed to have maintained several Marion childhood friends and we keep in touch now more than 60 years later. The distance of nearly 2,500 miles apart does not matter.
Mayor Helms was different. He was not one of my several childhood friends still residing in or around Marion. Mayor Helms attended Emory & Henry College a few years before I enrolled. Therefore, he and I never met until early in his time as Mayor when he attended a Carnegie School Reunion in the early 2000’s. He 
presented me with the symbolic key of the city at that reunion. Nearly twenty years later during my Marion Senior High School Reunion, Mayor Helms presented me with another key to the city. 
When we began the Friends of Copey project in 2016, Mayor Helms became an devoted supporter and whenever possible made time to meet the visiting Copey students as he did in 2023 as shown. I always wish I could have given him a key to the community of Copey.
A few years ago Mayor Helms asked me to personally deliver a special gift to Aunt Katherine Johnson. It was a city proclamation recognizing Aunt Katherine’s 
connection to the Town of Marion where she once taught school prior to moving in the early 50’s to eastern Virginia and eventually working for NASA. I was honored to receive this Proclamation and I provided Mayor Helms and the Town of Marion a signed copy of “Hidden Figures.” The Proclamation was delivered to Aunt Katherine as promised.
Above and beyond these official and often random acts of kindness, Mayor Helms would call me to check in and say hello….as a friend will do. His thoughtfulness and friendship will be remembered. He was different and he was my town’s Mayor.
Anne G. Broady Scholarship Fund
Goal $1,800.00 Actual $1,750.00 Deadline March 24, 2024
We are only a small donation away from declaring total success for the AGBSF goal as we currently sit at 97.2%. This is outstanding! We have experienced a very different campaign 
this year in comparison to prior years. The number of donors increased by 25% percent while the average amount per donor decreased. We still had a few donors who matched or increased their support.
I am joyful to see the increased number of financially supportive Friends. I confess, soliciting funds is always a challenging time for me personally. I will never get comfortable asking others for money. I can only overcome this reluctance by knowing I am asking for a worthy cause to benefit others.
The policy has never changed from the first day. All funds donated for scholarships and salary support go to the Copey Learning Center without exception. My reluctance is overcome by knowing the funds serve to change lives while honoring my mother’s memory. The joy of having Friends share this journey with me is priceless…more valuable than I can convey.
Executive Director Salary Support Fund
Goal $2,000.00 Actual $1,575.00 Deadline April 8, 2024 (extended)
Since the last report, this campaign has also experienced a very favorable increase. The amount of change is from 69% to almost 79% of our goal. Historically, this campaign takes a little longer to achieve but eventually the goal is reached. Similar to the AGBSF experience, the total number of donors increased over prior years and the average amount of the donation decreased. Each and every donor is greatly appreciated.
The Pathway Project Is Back On!!!
Our two Copey students now have an earlier date with the immigration officials in April. This allows us to more realistically plan for their travel to the United States in June. We are excited and upon hearing the news, we first had to assess our ability to get this project back on track after we had essentially shut down the planning a couple weeks ago. The systems have been turned back on and we are moving forward.
Turning this project back on creates a significant financial challenge. As we are about to declare victory on the current two fundraisers, we expect to have an even greater challenge raising a third sum of money to pay the travel expenses for our 2024 Pathway students and chaperone to come to the United States.
We will of course still need more donors later but I will start working on fundraising opportunities to help us reach our goal. The goal could easily be close to $4,000.00.
The fundraising campaign for the Pathway Project usually starts in early May. If you have not supported the current fundraising campaigns, consider supporting the Pathway Project. In the meantime, I will be working on two or three local efforts to help us raise the funds we anticipate needing.
Campaign Donation Guidelines
The methods available for donating have not changed since the first fundraising campaign in 2014. If you are planning to be a financial supporter this year, the two fundraising methods below have served us well and without any complications.
The Copey Learning Center’s PayPal can be used to make donations directly. Please access the PayPal system by clicking on….http://copeylearningcenter.org/. Find the PayPal logo in the upper right-hand corner of their homepage. To make certain the Copey Learning Center recognizes your donation and how it should be applied, indicate in the comment section on PayPal that the donation supports the “AGBCSF” or the “EDSS”.
The alternate method is to send me your donation directly. Make the check out to me (Arthur Broady). Once received, your donation will be paid to the same Learning Center PayPal system as in Method #1. I will enter your name and designate where it is to be applied per your directions. The PayPal system will issue me a receipt which I will send to you as “proof” the donation has been submitted to the Learning Center in your name. Make your check out to Arthur Broady and send to:
Carol Barnard, 404 Birch Avenue, Richland, WA 99352
Contact me at 1-509-948-6416 if you have questions.
Reminder: If sending me your check, please DO NOT make the check out to the Copey Learning Center or “Friends of Copey”. My bank will not allow me to deposit the check unless my name is entered.
If there is a special request pertaining to 501(c)3 and IRS, please contact me.