Skidmore College - Scope Magazine Spring 2019

28 SCOPE SPRING 2019 “You’re a true Saratogian after you’ve made your first Stewart’s run.” That’s what one cur- rent Skidmore student wrote in a recent review of the top coffee shops in town. In addition to the 55 Stewart’s Shops in Saratoga County, there are nearly 300 through- out the other small villages and towns of upstate New York. The store serves as a diner, a pizza place, an ice cream parlor and a café for local communities. The particularly welcoming atmosphere is no doubt a result of it being a family-run business. And perhaps no one is more directly tied to the sense of community that Stewart’s is committed to cultivating than Susan Law Dake ’71, president of the Stewart’s Foundation. A drama (theater) major, Dake earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Skidmore. She recalls, “The B.S. majors at Skidmore were hands-on. Lucy Scribner was interested in a practical education for women and the B.S. majors were a reflection of her vision.” She says acting and directing as a student shaped her career and the work she does every day. “They provided me with the skills to com- municate effectively, to put together projects and provide leadership.” This year, Stewart’s Shops and related fam- ily foundations will donate an impressive $7.5 million to local charities. Dake oversees the al- location of these funds to hundreds of nonprofit organizations in the communities in which Stewart’s Shops are located. She also founded the Holiday Match Program in which Stewart’s matches all customer donations made in shops between Thanksgiving and Christmas. In 2018, the program set a new record: $2 million for children’s organizations. Stewart’s is clear about how and why the foundation operates as it does. “Communities support us, so we support them,” Dake says. “We truly believe in giving back.” The Foundation and the Dake family have also supported Skidmore. Thanks to a generous grant, Skidmore will once again host the Stewart’s Signature Series this summer — premier events that bring top names in jazz, dance, radio and theater to Skidmore stages. For Dake, the series reinforces Skidmore as a cultural resource for the entire community. The most rewarding part of Dake’s job is, not surprisingly, “helping nonprofits achieve their goals with financial support.” But she also goes above and beyond that, sitting on several boards and “offering advice on how to raise money, increase their visibility and fine-tune their vision.” Stewart’s makes and distributes 75 percent of the products they sell. Sure, you can pop in to grab a gallon of milk produced by one of 30 local, family-run farms, but you can also sit down in a booth to eat. For those in the mood for a meal, there’s macaroni and cheese or jambalaya, among other dishes, straight from the Stewart’s Kitchen. Named 2019’s “Best Coffee Shop” by Capital Region Living Magazine and “Best of the Best” in the “Place to get a Frozen Treat” category by the Times Union, it’s likely you’ll find families enjoying an ice cream sundae on a weekend or co-workers sharing a cup of joe after work. When she’s not out and about making the community a better place for upstate residents and families, you might catch Dake enjoying one of Stewart’s famous, award-winning ice cream cones. “It’s my favorite prod- uct, of course,” she says. “I love chocolate peanut butter cup, but also mint cookie crumble!” On that note … anyone want to make a Stewart’s run? — Sara Miga Family style How Susan Law Dake ’71 and the Stewart’s Foundation help nourish upstate communities Susan Dake contributed image F O O D F O R C R E A T I V E T H O U G H T “Communities support us, so we support them.”

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