The Season for Gratitude

Dear Friends,

You may have heard our radio ad on The River: here it is if you haven't. Tis the season for gratitude. And I am feeling it. This place is amazing. Teachers and children are co-creating such incredible curriculum, driving out the darker days and bitter cold with their warm care and passion for learning and community.

There are lots of ways to show one's gratitude for the Center School. You pack your child's lunch every day, you drive for field trips, you attend a Center School event, you tell an interested family about our school, you give to our Annual Fund. So, I want to loop you into the latest gratitude opportunity. As you may have seen on social media, we’re trying something we’ve never done before - raising our annual fund in a coordinated community-minded group push: peer to peer campaign to raise $100K in one month. This money will all go to tuition assistance and teacher salaries.

We'd love it if you would join in! Of course like most things Center School, it's "challenge by choice." You can give to the fundraiser! AND/OR you can BE a fundraiser! The steps are simple. Just follow the prompts here.

When we get to $5000, which we hope to do by the end of today, an alumni parent will match that amount dollar for dollar.

I do want to mention, because it comes up sometimes when I am talking about fundraising for the Center School: this new school building IS beautiful. It DID cost us a lot. But 3 things are also true: 1) It is not paid for yet. We have a loan to pay off from Greenfield Savings Bank. 2) The school was designed and built on a very tight budget and is an investment in our current and future students. 3) As of yet, because the school was born only 42 years ago, we have no endowment to help us pay for the things we need. 70% of our students receive tuition assistance. So, fundraising like this is essential to our bottom line. It's what pays the bills and keeps the lights on.

Thanks for considering a gift, spreading the word, and sharing the love.

Best wishes,

Charlie

Charlie Spencer, Head of School