The air at Maxie’s was electric, as live music mixed with the buzz of a restaurant packed to the gills. All kinds of faces, young and old, filled the seats, and it was clear that everyone had their reasons for showing up. Some leafed through the Finger Lakes Land Trust pamphlets offered near the entrance, reading about the recent acquisition of Six Mile Creek. Others were just happy to chow down on some fried chicken and local ale, and the idea of supporting local nonprofits only made it sweeter.
Maxie’s Supper Club held a fundraiser for the FLLT on Tuesday, April 5. The fundraiser, which collected $745 at the end of the night, was created specifically to raise money to protect Ithaca’s drinking water supply on Six Mile Creek.
Andrew E. Zepp, the executive director of FLLT, said this isn’t a reaction to the recently found lead in local drinking water, especially in the elementary schools. Instead, this is part of a decades-long effort to conserve local undeveloped land.
“Across the 12 counties of the Finger Lakes, we ask landowners, local communities and local governments, to first identify what lands are most important to protect,” said Zepp.
The proceeds of the night went specifically towards a project to protect Six Mile Creek, a major source of Ithacan drinking water. According to FLLT’s website, the parcel of land contains 900 miles of frontage – land directly abutting the river.
Benefiting both Maxie’s and FLLT, the fundraiser was symbiotic. Zepp said the goal is to do as many fundraisers within Ithaca as possible, as well as spread out past Ithaca to neighboring cities, such as Rochester.
Last year, the FLLT completed 14 land protection projects and opened two new land preserves. With about 200 volunteers, the organization is now responsible for over 17,000 acres of land, including 36 nature preserves with about 40 miles of hiking trails. In addition, there are currently 119 conservation easements, which protect the land under private ownership from becoming developed areas. It is a legal agreement between the landowner and the FLLT to help protect the land.
Phil Greenberg, a member of the FLLT’s Board of Directors, said the FLLT looks at conservations for the lands that are ecologically and environmentally important, which includes all of the water fronts, the tributaries, the wetlands, the forests, and other things of that nature.
“Primarily we’re focusing on clean water…[and] we look at agricultural land as well, for local foods, and we want to preserve the vistas, the forests and the wild places and the landscapes for everyone’s enjoyment in a permanent perspective,” Greenberg said.
Greenberg spoke highly of Andrew Zepp as the director of FLLT, and said that he has contributed a lot to the organization’s cause.
“He is an encyclopedia of knowledge of the area of the finger lakes and what areas are important; he spent a large part of his professional life pursuing this,” Greenberg said. “He’s really instrumental in making the organization as much of a success as it really is.”
For this fundraiser, Maxie’s donated $5 to the FLLT for every Southern fried chicken and barbecue organic tofu dinner sold. In addition, for every pint of Bacchus Ale sold, the restaurant donated an additional dollar to FLLT.
As manager of Maxie’s, Isadora Herold has found fundraisers to be a great opportunity to fill the seats, and the restaurant’s Southern fried chicken fundraisers are one of the best ways to do that.
“It’s something to do on a Tuesday afternoon and it’s for a good cause.” With hardly a table or barstool empty, the special event drew in a much bigger crowd than usual. “The past two nights have been so quiet, and we were able to get a good word about it and show that we care and they really care.”
Due to the environmental focus, Herold said FLLT seemed like an ideal fundraiser to support. “Everyone loves going for walks, going outside, so if they can help raise money, it would be for something like that.”
Herold said the restaurant picks Tuesday nights because those are the nights that a live band plays at the restaurant, adding to a fun and welcoming environment.
Due to the great revenue that fundraisers, such as this one, bring to Maxie’s, Herold said the restaurant tries to make a habit of supporting any fundraisers beneficial to the community, including Meals on Wheels and the Museum of the Earth’s Rock the Future II campaign to maintain and enhance new facilities in the museum.
As FLLT looks for more places to raise funds, Maxie’s is always open to being approached by new charities. “It’s always such a great turn out,” said Herold. Fundraisers seem to be the extra push some Ithacans need. “We love fundraisers and doing things for a good cause.”
