Making it Official

Recent times have been a very busy one for many. The Friends of Flandreau, Inc. (Yes, we are now officially just that!) was no exception. In September, we applied with the help of a wonderful law firm, McDermott Will & Emery, http://www.mwe.com/, to officially become a legal entity in order to help preserve The Old Flandreau Cemetery in New Rochelle, NY. Special thank you to the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, http://www.nylpi.org/. This wonderful organization connected us with the lawyers at McDermott Will & Emery. After several emails, phone calls, discussions, paperwork, and all the work of the law firm, The Friends of Flandreau, Inc. were recognized by the State of New York. On December 17^th, the Department of State approved our application to become a non-profit.

Over recent years one of our greatest advocates has been Donna E. Walcovy. Donna originates from here in New Rochelle, NY but now calls Mashpee near Cape Cod home. Through the magic of technology she has been in touch sharing her wealth of knowledge as a professional cemetery preservationist. A great article was written about our friend, Cape Cod Online.com.

As a young girl Donna and her grandfather tried to do their part in preserving The Old Flandreau Cemetery. Donna still feels connected to “her cemetery” as she once called it in an email correspondence. She has kindly offered her assistance in showing us the ropes in performing a properly planned preservation program.

Donna has made such an impact on many. That her friends have decided to rally together to assist her in raising money for a GPR system. GPR stands for Ground Penetrating Radar. This equipment will help Donna to locate the proper locations for headstones. In trying to learn more about the technology I found this interesting website, http://www.geomodel.com/graves/. Unfortunately, this advancement in technology is quite expensive. Donna will need $30,000 to acquire a GPR system. If you would like to make a donation to this excellent cause please send a donation to:

Donna GPR Fund
Attn: Sally Lewis
The Cape Cod 5
10 North Market Street
Mashpee, MA 02649

The Friends of Flandreau, Inc. are very pleased to finally be recognized by New York State as a nonprofit organization. We are also pleased to lend our support to Donna Walcovy in her efforts to acquire this equipment.