“Through giving we develop the mind of gratitude.
In sharing all that we have we become more.”
– bell hooks
“Toward a Worldwide Culture of Love”
Friends,
We are a generous community:
- Our Gala raised more money for scholarship this year than last.
- 100% of our board and faculty and staff have contributed to our Annual Fund.
- Parent participation in Annual Fund is up 6% from last year.
- Our blood drive and canned food drive were very successful.
- Our new Scholarship Wall is a tribute to donors who believe in the value of our mission for all students.
It is satisfying for me to be able to list these tangible and targeted acts of giving. There are others, too, daily acts of generosity I see among our students, faculty, and parent and donor communities. Striking to me is how often I hear members of our community saying “thank you.” I believe that our students value expertise; they appreciate the time and attention we are able to offer them; and they readily identify acts of giving among their teachers and peers.
What has been on my mind as we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, though, is what we are able to share at Crossroads that we cannot tally (Good Work, for example, is more than the hours we count after we complete our service days). I am grateful for my experience at Crossroads so far for the tangible things I have listed and nuances I detect in the relationships we share. The easiest example of this is the range of experiences we are able to have with one another because we share class, activity, and community time together. We come to know the variety of one another’s interests and areas of expertise. In sharing all of this with one another, we become more ourselves. Our relationships become robust and authentic experiences, and for the first time in my career, I feel like I can bring all of myself to school.
I hope that you and your family and friends find time to give and to be grateful this Thanksgiving weekend, and I hope that you are able to “become more” through this experience.
With great expectations,
Jason