This will be the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s first Thanksgiving in its new home at the Vineyard Haven Marine Hospital. As I reflect on the nine months since we opened, I am filled with an overwhelming sense of gratitude to the many individuals and businesses who have supported us — and to the community in general, who embraced the museum in ways we never imagined.

We are thankful to Cronig’s Markets and Cape Cod Five, who sponsored (and continue to sponsor) free admission to the public on Tuesday nights. Many Island musicians contributed live music to those nights during the summer, and the Artcliff food truck turned balmy evenings into outdoor picnics. Indoors, at our newly-christened First Light Café, the treats and delicacies continue to be served, thanks to Gina Stanley and Freedom Cartwright.

We are thankful to the Island schools, whose buses are frequently seen delivering dozens upon dozens of Vineyard students to our front door, for our special curriculum based on themes from Island history. Over 700 individual students have come since March, for more than 100 classes taught in the Morgan Learning Center and the galleries — a total of more than 2,000 experiences, every one of them free of cost to schools, students, and families.

We are deeply thankful to our volunteers, the men and women from the community who contribute thousands of hours in various capacities. As docents, they help us welcome the public, but many more volunteers work behind the scenes in the oral history department, the research library, education, events, and visitor services. The museum would not be such a rich and vibrant place if it were not for our multi-talented volunteers.

We are especially thankful to our donors and members, both old and new. Few museums can survive on admissions income alone. Without your contributions, the Martha’s Vineyard Museum would be only a shadow of what we have become. With your help, we will continue to grow and improve.

Finally, we save our most heartfelt thanks for the Island community itself — you, whose stories we tell and whose faces we feature in many forms and identities. You help us inspire everyone to discover, explore and strengthen their connections to this Island and its diverse heritage. That is our mission, our passion, and our work. Thank you for being our partners in all of it.

Stever Aubrey

West Tisbury

The writer is chairman of the board for the Martha’s Vineyard Museum.