A HAMILTON DISTRICT CHRISTIAN HIGH PUBLICATION
SPRING 2021
Vol. 14 Issue 2
A Family Legacy
Establishing charitable gifts through your will Reverend Arie VanEek and his wife Ellen sent each
With full disclosure and on-going discussions with
of their five children to Christian schools. Starting
their children, Arie and Ellen built this charitable child
out in Fort William, Ontario, and then returning
concept: their estate would be divided into six equal
to the Hamilton area, Arie and Ellen appreciated
parts, shared among their five children plus one sixth
the rich, Christ-centred education that their kids
shared among charities.
received, from elementary, through high school and on to university. Arie and Ellen deeply valued the quality of the learning, the Biblical connections, the acts of service and the vocational call that each of
Their youngest, John, HDCH’s much-loved shop and accounting teacher, is an HDCH alum, graduating in 1985. What a blessing for our school that John returned and has been helping our students find their gifts since 2005. Arie and Ellen heard wonderful stories about HD students developing character, through learning, for lives of service to God, and were so gratified by the kingdom work that was underway. As their children settled into careers and started their own families, Arie and Ellen began to think about how they could ensure that the school would continue to flourish. Arie and Ellen focused on setting up their will to include support for the school. They included bequests for their five children and together, they created a sixth beneficiary: their “charity child”.
PHOTO : HANK RINTJEMA
their children experienced.