By William Crooks

Local Journalism Initiative

The Tillotson Coaticook Region Fund (TCRF) gave out 34 grants to local community organizations at a gathering at the North Hatley Legion Oct. 25. The grants were disbursed one by one, and the recipients said a few words about their projects and thanked the foundation for its donation. Notable was a speech given by David Edgell, Border Curling Club President. Over 60 people attended and socialized, enjoying some wine and cheese during and after the event.

“We were a little glove company in Coaticook,” TCRF President Michael Everett explained, referring to the regional fund’s beginnings. The company employed 50 to 60 people from 1978 until recently. It was owned by Neil Tillotson.

Tillotson was an American who lived in New England and owned a lot of nearby land in both Canada and the United States. He also owned companies all over the world, producing mostly latex gloves.

When Tillotson passed away in 2001, he left quite a bit of money (over $100 million) to the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation. $3 million was used to start the TCRF. The money is invested, and the returns are distributed amongst community organizations twice a year.

The Fund focuses on helping the community out with its basic needs, like educating kids and services that support the elderly.

Edgell’s speech

David Edgell fondly remembered childhood drives through Dixville Notch, where a well-lit factory stood, believed to produce balloons. Neil Tillotson, who began with balloon manufacturing in Canaan, Vermont, later initiated the Dixville Notch Foundation for environmental and educational causes.

Edgell was inspired by the Tillotson Foundation’s community projects after reading about them in the Sherbrooke Record. In the backdrop of changing economic times, closed factories, and border challenges due to the pandemic, Edgell recognized the need for community rejuvenation. He focused on the Border Curling Club in Beebe, a bilingual club founded in 1955. Edgell sought the Tillotson Foundation’s support for an educational and recreational curling program for elementary school students. The project aimed to foster community interaction, encourage physical activity, and combat youth sedentariness.

With the help of the Tillotson Foundation, the program would debut in Stanstead, combining classroom learning and on-ice curling. Edgell envisioned children sharing their curling experiences with families, thus strengthening community ties. He thanked the Tillotson family and the foundation for their support, emphasizing the importance of community connection and expressing hopes for the project’s positive impact on North Country.

Organizations and grants given

Collège François Delaplace: $2,490

Operation Backpack: $5,000

Centre d’Action Bénévole de la MRC de Coaticook: $10,000

Camp Massawippi: $6,000

Fondation Lampe Foundation: $4,000

Clubs Lions de Compton Inc: $6,000

CÉA Coaticook: $1,000.00

Clinique Médicale de Coaticook: $6,500

Association Sportive du Lac Wallace: $2,000

Musée Colby-Curtis/Société Historique de Stanstead: $2,800

École Saint-Luc: $1,600

Alexander Galt High School: $2,600

Ayer’s Cliff Elementary: $10,000

École Sacré-Coeur: $614

Club de l’âge d’or de Saint-Malo et de Compton: $5,000

Centre d’action bénévole de Stanstead: $4,800 (for three separate projects)

Centre culturel et communautaire de Waterville: $1,300

École Notre-Dame-de-Toutes-Aides: $6,000

École Sacré-Coeur: $3,976

CIUSSS de l’Estrie-CHUS: $8,500

North Hatley Elementary School: $2,000

Phelps Helps: $10,000

Grace Village Care Foundation: $10,000

Bibliothèque Lennoxville Library: $1,022.42 (for two separate projects)

Association du baseball mineur de Sherbrooke: $3,000

Le Renaissance Manoir St. Francis: (not specified)

FADOQ-Coaticook: $4,000

Club de curling Border Curling Club: $3,000

Royal Canadian Legion: $5,000

Sunnyside Elementary: $3,800 (for two separate projects)