Projects
Dear generous supporters of the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund,
It feels impossible to believe that this much time has passed, and even more difficult to believe that time can continue to pass without Beth. In the midst of unspeakable grief, Beth’s friends, family, colleagues, and community have continued to build monuments of all sizes in Beth’s memory. From book drives collecting many of Beth’s favorite books to moon tree visitations to community service projects serving Beth’s dearest causes, her presence and lasting impact continues to be felt and honored near and far.
Nearly a year and a half ago, we created the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund in hopes of honoring Beth’s commitment to serving her community and prolonging her legacy in the wake of her sudden and deeply tragic death. In the spirit of upholding the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund’s core mission, in October of 2023, we sent out a request for proposals and we selected four youth in the Central Valley to receive funds supporting their focused and sustainable community projects. These youth and their respective projects were selected following a rigorous review of their application materials. Namely, we sought to select awardees whose projects were not only long-lasting and demonstrated fulfilling a need in their local community, but also were reflective of issues that were near and dear to Beth’s heart. The following youth-led projects were made possible by your generous contributions to the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund:
River Alive Club Plant Removal
The River Alive Club led by Clovis North junior Gohar Hakimipour applied for funds from the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund to purchase tools needed to remove invasive plant species, such as the Blue Gum Eucalyptus, along the San Joaquin River in a treasured native garden. By removing these plant species, the River Alive Club was not only able to help the valued area surrounding the San Joaquin River to thrive, but were also able to make the area safer and more accessible to our community. On March 24, Julie and Tim Buchanan (Beth’s parents) were both able to attend and participate in the clean-up event. As Beth was a lifelong environmentalist and cared deeply about the Central Valley’s ecological well-being, we felt that this project beautifully reflected causes that Beth valued dearly. Read more about the River Alive Club’s projects and overall mission in this newsletter sent by the Central Valley Community Foundation.
Camp Kesem
Community Day
Many of you are likely familiar with Camp Kesem, a camp that aims to support kids through and beyond their parents’ cancer treatment through a free camp and other community resources. While Camp Kesem provides countless resources for these children in need, Kesem at Fresno State, led by student Gurmannat Chalotra, recognized a need to create a Community Day - an opportunity for kids who have attended a Camp Kesem program to reconnect and engage in fun, uplifting activities outside of the camp setting. In April, with the help of funds provided by the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund, Kesem at Fresno State engaged with volunteers to provide former Kesem campers with crafts, games, and other activities to foster community and encourage lasting relationships. This seed money helps Camp Kesem demonstrate the value of this new program for future funding. This combination of continued programming, relationship-building, and community involvement aptly reflects Beth’s love for others and for serving her community, and we felt she would be excited by this unique and impactful project.
Clovis Veterans Memorial Land Acknowledgements (In Progress)
Currently, Clovis West student and Girl Scout Zeena Bangar is coordinating a Girl Scout Gold Award project to install plaques at the Clovis Veterans Memorial that respectfully acknowledge the Native land this building occupies. In hopes of promoting cultural sensitivity and justice, Zeena is working closely with local Native leaders and the Veterans Memorial District to fulfill this project’s mission. Zeena was inspired by Beth’s own Girl Scout Gold Award, and is eager to apply the funds she received from the Beth E. Buchanan Memorial Fund to purchase the materials necessary to complete her project. We are thrilled to support a project that speaks to Beth’s own care for her local community and passion for social justice. We look forward to providing you all with an update once Zeena’s project is completed within the next year!
We have learned a great deal from the first year of funding these projects. Next Academic Year, we plan to fund more youth-led community service projects and plan to create a call for proposals for funding research.
Beth carried the world in her heart, and lived her too-short life with humility, kindness, love, and a keen sense of justice. We are humbled and honored to support projects that so beautifully honor what Beth cared about most.
As we approach what would have been Beth’s 25th birthday, we hope you will continue to build monuments - big and small - to honor her legacy. We are beyond grateful to engage with our community in Beth’s name with your generous and thoughtful support.
With love and peace,
Tim, Julie, Claire, Asa, Mark, and Susan