The Nora Roberts Foundation provided more evidence this past week as to why its founder was recently included on a list of the most generous of celebrity charity donors. According to the Jan. 19, 2011 online edition of the Herald-Mail newspaper, which serves Maryland’s Washington County, Roberts’ foundation has donated $13,000 to help fund Boonsboro High School 's music and drama programs.
This latest donation continues the Nora Roberts Foundation's long-term involvement with the city of Boonsboro, Md. Among other activities, the foundation has, since 1994, granted an annual college scholarship to a Boonsboro High School senior. The 2009 scholarship, won by Katie Wennick, was valued at $30,000.
A January/February 2008 issue of Hagerstown Magazine reports this comment from Nora Roberts regarding her foundation’s support of Boonsboro High School: “My boys graduated from there, and my grandchildren will attend school there, too. ... My Foundation is a legacy for my children and grandchildren, and it’s something they’ll continue to be involved with for life. I think it teaches them about giving back, and will allow them to focus their giving on causes that interest them.”
In addition to assisting the city of Boonsboro through her foundation, Roberts and her and her husband, Bruce Wilder, are personally involved in its economy through their ownership of three local businesses. Wilder operates the Turn the Page Bookstore Café, which specializes in nonfiction works dealing with the Civil and Revolutionary Wars and in Roberts’ own fiction titles.
Roberts and Wilder also own Inn Boonsboro, a restored 18th century inn whose rooms are designed around a “literary lovers” theme. Gift Inn Boonsboro, their nearby gift shop, also exhibits local arts and crafts.
According to a Sept. 26, 2010 post from Roberts to her ADWOFF fans, Roberts and Wilder are continuing to expand their business interests in Boonsboro. They have purchased a fourth building, which will become a fitness center. Roberts stated that the site could be in operation as early as the spring of 2011.
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