a message from our DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
W
elcome to the second half of one of the most bizarre school years in history!
I joined the Providence community last March when we gratefully accepted our son’s admission offer to enroll in the Tech Focus Program, and then I expanded the relationship by joining the staff as the Director of Development in September. Having a freshman start a new school and starting a new job during a pandemic has been an extraordinary experience. What has struck me the most is this community’s reticence to mourn what can’t be done due to the pandemic and instead try and focus on where we can find opportunities to improve and innovate. The willingness to try and, if it doesn’t work the way it was intended, admit it and find a better way is sometimes challenging as a parent of a student, but I appreciate the example it sets for our son —don’t be afraid to try, don’t be afraid for it to not be perfect, take what you learned from the experience and build on it to make it better—repeat until you get it right. What an incredible life lesson! That same spirit has been evident when it comes to our development initiatives. Our Mother’s Guild decided to take the very popular Not Your Grandma’s Bingo event into the virtual space. Was it the same as having everyone together looking over the card of the person next to you to see how they were doing? No, but you haven’t really lived until you have seen a Zoom chat blowing up with smack talk about how close a bingo was! Knowing that it was unlikely that we would see athletes regularly in the gym, Coach Lincoln assessed the needs
of the Athletics Department and what could be done to improve the facilities that would be more challenging if the athletes were on campus. The result was the creation of the 65th Anniversary Athletics Fund with a goal of raising $65,000 to purchase a new scoreboard, scoring table, a batting cage for baseball, softball, and golf and refinish the gym floor. We have just begun reaching out to alumni who were involved in athletics to invite them to participate, but I look forward to updating you on our progress soon. And, speaking of our 65th Anniversary, our Gala is going virtual! On May 8th we will celebrate the incredible accomplishments of our students over the last 65 years, while celebrating the values that are core to the Providence community. There will be some very special guests in attendance in addition to fantastic entertainment. Attendance will be free, but VIP tickets that include a gourmet dinner, wine and 65th Anniversary swag will be available for purchase. Make sure you are subscribed to our social media feeds to get all the latest information. I am here to be of service, so please do reach out if you need more information regarding any of the above, have ideas or concerns you want to share, or just to say hello!
Mrs. Anja Kloch Director of Development Anja.Kloch@providencehigh.org
Winter 2021 | 27
