Much More Than A Field

Last Thursday we gathered for our annual Spring Fling Gala which celebrated a group of builders and designers who were instrumental in our Property Renovation Project. Each of our “Renovation Angels”, Guido Petra, Jim Manafort, David Thompson, Leland Torrence, John Gemetro and Randy Salvatore, contributed something different along the way … but all of them also contributed their incredible guidance, dedication, equipment and manpower – as well as a deep belief in our mission and our kids. It was the combined efforts of our honorees that turned crumbling buildings and a crumbling parking lot into a campus to be proud of and worthy of those whom we serve, and you – our stalwart donors who contributed the funding to make it all possible. 

Just as our honorees transformed our property, we witness the transformation our mission brings about in our students every day as they discover something new about themselves and the world around them. Maybe it’s swinging a golf club, or playing a trumpet, cradling a lacrosse stick, cooking a quiche, watching a theater performance or a whale breach, milking a cow, flying a kite, witnessing a US Presidential Inauguration in person, doing a service project, holding a star fish or traveling out of state for the very first time on an airplane to watch a live rocket launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.

For so many kids, it’s like the world is stacked against them sometimes.  Poverty can seem like an insurmountable obstacle to overcome.  But our kids recite an HONOR CODE every single morning that reminds them that they are a Child of God, filled with an abundant amount of gifts and talents…and that they are capable of being agents of change in this world.   

And whether that change begins in the classroom, on a field trip or on our new athletic field, it is you whom we have to thank for providing the scaffolding for us to deliver upon our mission. So please take a moment to revel in this latest accomplishment which you have helped to bring about.