Jane Lloyd Fund Clambake returns July 25 in Salisbury, marking 19th year

SALISBURY — The 19th annual Jane Lloyd Clambake will return to SWSA’s Satre Hill in Salisbury on July 25, bringing together volunteers, musicians and diners to raise money for a fund that has provided $1.3 million in assistance to families throughout the Region One area.

The fundraiser supports the Jane Lloyd Fund, which was created after the death of Lakeville and Salisbury native Jane Lloyd in 2005 and continues to help local residents facing financial hardship. Supported and administered through the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, the fund has assisted hundreds of families over nearly two decades.

At 2:30 p.m., volunteers will light a fire inside a pit of rocks and wood. The fire will burn for almost an hour until the stones beneath absorb the heat and glow red. The crew will then pile on seaweed, followed by corn husks, clams, lobsters and corn before covering everything with a tarp to steam the meal.

“It’s really fun,” said Donna Stoetzner, who co-chairs the event with Tanya Tedder. And the guests aren’t just spectators. “They can actually partake in putting the seaweed on, the corn husks on.”

That sense of participation reflects the spirit of the event. A core group organizes the clambake alongside what Stoetzner calls the regulars — volunteers who come “year after year after year” to serve beer, cook burgers, plate food and “step up and ask if there’s anything that they can do to help.”

Stoetzner’s own family spends the morning at the firehouse washing clams sourced that same day from family friends in Massachusetts. This year’s music, provided by Elliot Osborne and friends, is what Stoetzner calls a “loosey goosey organic music circle.” Whoever is around and wants to play simply joins in.

The fund itself grew out of a similar sense of community.

Stoetzner’s sister, Jane Lloyd, owned a gardening business. When she became ill with cancer, she had no insurance or employer to help cover mounting medical bills and everyday living expenses. In response, Salisbury Bank and Trust, now known as NBT Bank, opened an account in her name, and community members donated money to help pay not only her medical bills but also her mortgage and car payment.

“The community just stepped up,” Stoetzner said.

After Lloyd died, her family decided to continue that support for others. Today, applicants are typically referred through local social service agencies, which present their stories anonymously to the fund’s advisory board. Each year, the board allocates assistance to roughly 15 to 20 people, with some recipients receiving help for multiple years.

“We just automatically say yes,” Stoetzner said. “We’ve never turned anyone away.”

The clambake typically sells about 350 meal tickets, but attendance usually reaches 400 to 500. The event has become enough of a tradition that some families schedule reunions around it.

Beyond the clambake, the fund also holds an annual dance and appeal, and area schools frequently organize fundraisers on its behalf, donating proceeds without being asked. Such events include the annual Hotchkiss School Polar Plunge.

Stoetzner, who also works as an advancement associate and events coordinator at Indian Mountain School, said the fund would like to expand beyond the Region One area but is limited by the size of its volunteer operation and available resources.

For now, it remains focused on the community where it began.

Clambake meal tickets are available through the Jane Lloyd Fund website, but anyone is welcome to stop by for a burger, a beer or the music. Tickets cost $70.