Recap & Vote at the bottom!
Bennington Museum strives to provide financially accessible educational programming to the community and area schools in order to maximize participation. We believe that cultural appreciation begins at the very earliest stages of life, and we want the kids in our community to grow up feeling a sense of pride and belonging to their local cultural institution. Our goal is to make all of our educational offerings completely free to any school located within our supervisory district, thereby increasing accessibility and encouraging participation in our rural area where school budgets are often already stretched thin. Last year, Bennington Museum presented 58 in-house school programs, 29 outreach school programs, 5 rented school programs, and 6 Museum ABCs (preschool literacy and culture) events, reaching approximately 1,549 students through our educational offerings. This year we expect that number to grow especially if we are able to offer these opportunities for free. Bennington Museum’s education programs are critical to our mission. Partnering with the Coggins Classic Golf Tournament will allow us to fully maximize the effectiveness and reach of educational programming in our southern Vermont community, ensuring that the Museum’s educational programming has a stable and sustainable base and can continue to make an impact in the schools that need it most.
The Bennington Branch of the BFYMCA will be moving into a new space at the end of 2026! The Benn High project will be a multi-generational space that will house community members from infancy through retirement age. Funds will first support essential physical components that make the space comfortable, accessible, and adaptable. This includes multipurpose furniture such as modular seating, collaborative tables, mobile storage units, and accessible workstations. These pieces will allow the environment to flex between activities—workshops, family gatherings, intergenerational mentoring, and community events. To foster connection between generations, funds will also be used to curate materials that invite shared engagement. This may include books and board games for multigenerational interaction, craft and maker‑space supplies, and educational kits for hands‑on learning.
Bennington Project Independence, Adult Day Service, would use the funds, generously raised by the Coggins Classic, to help provide comprehensive and innovative Adult Day Services for older persons, younger adults with disabilities and their family caregivers throughout our area.