Summer Appeal 2025

Bringing Very Merry to more Vermont communities

Greetings Very Merry friends!

So many of you have had the joy of watching your kids and loved ones take center stage with Very Merry Theatre and know first-hand how the experience of making theatre can be formative for young people. On our stage, we see children take risks in a safe place, build trust and deep relationships with friends, and develop their imaginations and understanding of the world — and of course have a lot of fun in the process.

I’m thrilled to share that this work has been recognized this year with federal funding to expand these opportunities to more children across the state. Thanks to the support of Senator Sanders, this summer, we’re offering two new camps in North Hero and Greensboro, VT, bringing theatre to rural communities where access to the arts is more limited. 

At the same time, interest in our programs in Chittenden and Addison counties continues to grow. This year, Very Merry Theatre will serve over 2,000 kids through in-school performances, after-school programs, summer camps and more. It’s amazing to think about the growth we’ve built, one program at a time, from our early days 20+ years ago.

With expansion comes the need for more investment, so I’m writing to ask you to donate to help Very Merry Theatre meet this moment and be able to deliver the high-quality and impactful programming to even more children in the year ahead.

Donations to Very Merry enable us to:

• give scholarships to kids so that cost of participating is never a barrier 

• employ talented artists that make the Very Merry experience special, with live music, creative costumes and beautiful sets that bring our shows to life

• provide work experience to the 50+ teens who staff our summer camps and after-school offerings

• keep a home base in Burlington’s North End, bringing free theatre to an underserved community

Thank you, Colby!

None of this work would be possible without the support of a number of volunteers who give so much to our organization. Chief among them is Colby Kervick, who has served as president of our board for the past 7 years. Colby’s leadership has been transformative for VMT. Most significantly, she has diversified our revenue streams through grant-writing and other fundraising efforts, grown our board, supported the executive director as our programming grew through our move to the ONE Community Center (even during the pandemic), and helped launch our front of house capacity there to the point where it not only supports our budget but makes our performances patron-friendly and professional-feeling.

As Colby passes along her board leadership position to our incoming president John Boone this summer, I hope you’ll join me in recognizing her many contributions through a gift to Very Merry. I’m happy to share that anyone who donates to Very Merry through the end of July will be entered into a raffle for prizes from some local business supporters.

Wishing all of you a joyful summer!

Don