Legacy Lens Summer 2024

LEGACY

Lens

Preparing Christ Followers and Kingdom Builders

Preparando Seguidores de Cristo y Constructores de Su Reino

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Message from our Head of School Curt DeYoung.

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Building a Legacy summer renovation plans.

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This year’s auction raised a record breaking $209,000!

Message from the Head of School

As we approach the final month of the school year, it’s astonishing how quickly time has flown by once again. This year has been filled with exciting changes, significant growth, impactful opportunities, and outstanding work by both teachers and students.

The year began with extensive renovations to our elementary building over the summer, including updates to hallways, offices, numerous classrooms, and the teacher’s lounge. These improvements not only enhance the look and feel of the school but also provide better learning environments for our students, all made possible by the generous support of Legacy’s donors, for which I am truly grateful. This year also brought remarkable growth in our early childhood classes. There has been such growth over the last year in the preschool classes that we hired two new amazing teachers for this school year. The excitement of this growth has carried throughout the year as we now see even more growth for the upcoming school year. Over the last two years, our early childhood numbers have grown by over 20 students! This growth has also led to the addition of our Extended Care Program to support our families and we will be adding Before & After Care next year for K-8th students. Both of these programs will enhance the experience of our families and students. I am grateful for all the work of our dedicated staff in making this happen. Most importantly, I am thankful for our Lord’s faithfulness.

I am also excited about the addition of a couple of opportunities that will impact our students’ experience throughout their time at Legacy. Legacy is partnering with Doulos Discovery School, a small Christian, bi-lingual school in Jarabacoa, Dominican Republic. A group of our West Campus students have already engaged in different interactions with students at Doulos by creating a video introducing Legacy to the students of Doulos and talking with them through a Google Meet. It is the hope of this partnership that all our students learn more about the wider world and their place in it.

Another partnership is developing with the Special Olympics of Michigan (SOMI). With its close proximity (right across the street from the West Campus) and an amazing mission, it provides a unique opportunity for our staff and students. The West Campus students had the opportunity to cheer at a basketball tournament of unified teams. The students did a great job cheering on the teams and enjoying some basketball! I am excited for the many opportunities these partnerships will provide for our students to continue to grow in becoming “Christ-followers and Kingdom-builders.”

Finally, I would like to inform you about a financial challenge that the Legacy School Board is working to address. This particular challenge is connected to the unfunded Christian Schools International (CSI) Pension obligation. The CSI Pension was the retirement plan that most CSI schools, including Legacy, used for their teachers. Due to this uncertainty, the decision was made by participating schools to “freeze” the CSI Pension in 2016. As part of the “freeze,” all CSI schools that are part of the Pension Plan are now required to provide annual contributions to support the Pension fund. Legacy’s annual contribution percentage was determined by the size of our school in the 25 years prior to 2017. Due to this decision, Legacy was one of the hardest hit schools in the country and faces a significant yearly payment of over $200,000. The drive to pay the Pension obligation off is a critical step for Legacy. This is an important opportunity for Legacy to address this challenge and provide a more stable financial future for the school. Please see page 5 for more details and prayerfully consider joining us in support of Legacy’s mission to empower all of our students in becoming “Christ-followers and Kingdom-builders”.

As we conclude this school year and turn our attention to the next, I am filled with gratitude for the supportive school community and all the positive developments we’ve experienced. With anticipation, I look forward to seeing how God will continue to bless this school and community in the coming year!

Curt DeYoung Head of School

Another Year of Growth in our Early Childhood Programs

We’re thrilled to announce that Legacy’s Early Childhood Programs are experiencing another year of remarkable growth! For the second consecutive year, enrollment numbers have increased with all of our early childhood classes seeing an increase and some even reaching a waitlist. We extend our deepest gratitude to each and every one of you for sharing your love for Legacy with your family and friends and we thank God for the continued growth of our school!

Save the Date: LCS Golf Outing

Plan to join us on Monday, September 23 at Stonewater Country Club in support of Legacy Christian for our 4th Annual Golf Outing. Interested in sponsoring the event or registering a foursome? Contact rmorren@legacycs.org for more information.

Gayle Veenstra - Retiring After 25 Years at Legacy

Years of Service Milestones

Join us in honoring and extending our heartfelt gratitude to Gayle Veenstra, as she bids farewell after 25 years at Legacy Christian. We are so thankful for her years of dedication at the elementary office. We appreciate her managment of the day to day office needs, her warm smile to visitors, and her support for our teachers and administrators. Congratulations Gayle! You will be missed!

Please join us in thanking these faculty members for their years of service to our Legacy students and community!

DAVE

Building a Legacy Campaign Update

This summer marks the onset of the third phase in the “Building a Legacy” capital campaign. With a dedicated focus on fundraising for the Pension buyout initiative, known as “With Gratitude,” it was decided to scale back our plans for this summer. Consequently, Phase 3 has been subdivided into two parts, with Phase 4 slated for completion by the summer of 2025.

Phase 3 entails renovations of the 3rd and 4th grade classrooms at the East Campus. The refurbishments will include new cabinetry,

Phase 3 begins this summer and focuses on the 3rd and 4th grade classrooms.

carpeting, ceilings, lighting, and paint, all consistent with the palette of the other recently renovated classrooms. Additionally, Custer will supply brand-new classroom furniture.

Phase 4 will mark the culmination of the “Building a Legacy” capital campaign, focusing on renovating the remaining classrooms at the West Campus. The estimated cost for Phase 4 is $500,000.

While fundraising for Phase 3 has concluded, our attention now shifts towards raising funds for the pension buyout. Following the

completion of the pension buyout, we will resume fundraising efforts for Phase 4 of the “Building a Legacy” campaign. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the success of this capital campaign. From donors, staff, and board members to the dedicated individuals working onsite, your collective efforts, thoughtful planning, and hard work have played a pivotal role in transforming our facilities. We look forward to completing these projects over the coming two summers!

with gratitude gratitude

Join us to buy out our CSI Pension Obligation

In 2016, Christian Schools International (CSI) froze its pension plan due to financial challenges. As a result, Legacy is required by CSI to contribute approximately $200,000 annually until the benefits are funded. These yearly contributions could continue for another 20 years with an estimated 5% annual increase.

With historically favorable interest rates and better performance of the plan's assets in 2023, we have the option to buy-out our pension obligation at an all-time low of $2.2 million!

This presents Legacy with an opportunity to eliminate a meaningful obligation of the school at a significantly discounted amount if we are able to act quickly. The deadline to pay off the pension obligation is July 15, 2024.

You can participate in three ways:

PRAY: Please pray for Legacy, its students, teachers, & parents.

GIVE: Please consider making a one-time gift, or pledging a gift over a 2 year commitment period.

Mail a check to: Legacy Christian School re: With Gratitude 67 68th Street SW Grand Rapids, MI 49548

ENCOURAGE: Please be an ambassador to friends, family and supporters of Legacy.

We are filled with gratitude for the $500,000 that has been received in lead gifts for this $2.2 million campaign.

Please prayerfully consider joining us in our mission of preparing Christ-followers and Kingdom-builders and ensuring we can provide affordable Christian education in a place where all our students and staff can flourish.

Contact Curt DeYoung at cdeyoung@legacycs.org for more information.

Spotlight: 8th Grade Presents Moana, Jr.

Our 8th graders put on a fanatastic performance of Disney’s Moana Jr. led by their director, Lori Bolt.

Auction 2024

What an incredible night in support of Christian education at Legacy. Our community raised a record-breaking $209,000!

This year we celebrated Legacy’s 19th Annual School Auction on Saturday, April 20 at Stonewater Country Club. With your prayers, support, and donations, we were able to raise a record breaking amount - over $209,000! Not only was the night financially successful, but we had our highest attendance yet. Current, past, and future families came out for a night celebrating a school in which we all love and support. The Legacy Community showed up at the auction, and we hope to see you all again at next year’s auction!

Thank you to our Legacy Sponsors

Annual Spring Auction Legacy Christian School

$209,000

Grand Rapids, Michigan 49548